Humanitas

tunisian The Graphic Roots of Humanity: Prehistoric Art as the Foundation of Visual Design

2026-01-11T09:16:46+00:00

Prehistoric art represents one of the earliest manifestations of visual thinking and graphic communication in human history. This article examines prehistoric artistic practices as the foundational roots of visual design, highlighting the emergence of symbolic representation, graphic gesture, and image-based communication among Homo sapiens. Through a qualitative analysis of cave paintings, engravings, modeled forms, and archaeological evidence, the study explores how early visual systems functioned as tools for meaning-making, cultural transmission, and social organization. Drawing on anthropological, aesthetic, and semiotic perspectives, the research investigates the relationship between technique, symbol, and narrative in prehistoric imagery. The article further examines the enduring influence of prehistoric visual forms on contemporary graphic design, advertising, and product packaging, demonstrating how ancient symbols, abstraction, and materiality continue to inform modern visual practices. By situating prehistoric art within the broader history of visual communication, this study argues that early artistic expressions constitute the conceptual and graphic foundations of human design culture, bridging ancestral creativity and contemporary visual language.

Tunisian THE DESIGUAL BRAND AND THE IBERIAN ARCHIVES: HERITAGE DESIGN AND CULTURAL MEMORY.

2026-01-11T07:51:15+00:00

This article explores the impact of design and heritage through a specific case study: the Desigual brand and Iberian archives. The aim is to examine how this configuration of heritage between high and low culture influences the production of archives and memory. By outlining the key themes and concepts addressed, our research exposes how recurring design elements at Desigual, such as motifs and colors inspired by Iberian heritage, create thematic coherence and reinforce the link between design and heritage through the concept of isotopy.

The article explains how the latter contributes to the construction of identity, cultural preservation and the formation of collective memory. It also presents the methodology and multidisciplinary approach that will be used, integrating elements of semiotics, sociology, anthropology and cultural and architectural studies. By highlighting the relevance of the intersection between design and heritage in the contemporary context. By providing a framework for the essay, the article aims to engage the reader and convey the importance of these interconnected themes, setting the scene for further exploration.

EFL STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF USING PARAPHRASING TOOLS IN WRITING COURSES AT AN-NAJAH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY.

2025-12-29T16:00:08+00:00

Education is significantly influenced by technological advancements, particularly in the context of plagiarism and paraphrasing tools. This chapter aims to investigate EFL learners' perspectives on using AI-based writing tools, specifically paraphrasing tools, to support their writing at An-Najah National University. A study was conducted to examine the perceptions of English as foreign Language (EFL) students at An-Najah National University regarding these tools in writing courses, utilizing a qualitative approach. The researcher conducted separate interviews with eight students from the department of English at An-Najah National University. These interviews consisted of three open-ended questions to elicit thorough responses and provide qualitative insights. To analyze the gathered data, the researcher adopted the thematic approach. The results indicated a generally positive perception of paraphrasing tools as a means of enhancing writing skills. Additionally, the findings highlighted that EFL students typically had a strong inclination to use paraphrasing tools when writing academic articles, as these tools play a significant role in fostering their self-confidence. However, this chapter did not explore the broader influence of a specific tool on motivation or critical thinking, nor did it compare one of these tools with another AI paraphrasing tool. Recommendations were made for the use of paraphrasing tools to enhance writing skills among EFL students, guiding educators and developers. Future research is recommended to investigate the long-term effects of AI integration in language learning and to conduct comparative studies to understand these effects better.

Francesco Robortello e a teoria do epigrama

2025-12-22T11:11:51+00:00

Apresenta-se neste artigo, pela primeira vez em tradução portuguesa, aquele que pode ser considerado o primeiro contributo relevante para a configuração de uma teoria do género epigramático: a Explicatio eorum quae ad methodum et artificium scribendi epigrammatis spectant, de Francesco Robortello (1548). A tradução é acompanhada de uma breve nota introdutória, de anotações e do texto latino

The bright side of the flood in the rural world: decoding the Roman rural experience of Nature’s dynamics and environmental knowledge

2025-12-11T21:38:29+00:00

This article offers a semiotic analysis of Roman riverine landscapes to reconstruct how rural communities interpreted water, moisture, and floods as meaningful environmental signs. Drawing on agronomic, historical, and poetic sources – including Cato, Varro, Columella, Pliny, Vergil, Seneca, and Livy – the study examines how observable features such as flow, saturation, alluvium, and drought functioned as culturally intelligible perceptual cues. “Signs of meaning” emerged from shared rural experience and shaped both technical instructions and literary representations of landscape.

Methodologically, the article identifies recurrent sign-patterns in descriptive passages and evaluates how they were codified in literary language. Particular attention is given to the contrast between agronomic treatises, which reduce explicit symbolic language when addressing practical procedures, and poetic or historical texts, which preserve richer layers of symbolic and emotional meaning. This comparison reveals how different genres articulated the same environmental knowledge with distinct expressive aims.

The analysis shows that water operated simultaneously as a material resource and a semiotic agent that structured notions of fertility, balance, risk, and disruption. The study concludes that Roman conceptions of landscape were shaped by a culturally transmitted environmental awareness rooted in agricultural routines, and that literary texts indirectly preserve the perceptual world of the rural “silent people.” More broadly, the article demonstrates how semiotic methods can recover traditional ecological knowledge embedded in ancient representations of rivers, floods, and cultivation.