AH100 SP12 Art History Survey 1 Syllabus

AH100 Art History Survey 1
SP12
Section A: T/Th 10:40am-12:05pm
Section C: T/Th 2:40-4:05pm
Myers Auditorium

Adrian R. Duran, PhD
aduran@mca.edu
901.272.5129 [x 272]
http://theduranarthistoryblog.blogspot.com

Office Hours: T/Th 1-2:30 in MCA Library. Or by appointment.

Important Note: Students must pass this course to achieve eligibility for higher levels of study within Art History.

Notice: Some of the content of this course may disturb the sensibilities of some students. If you need to discuss this situation, please contact me.

Notice: Students who are entitled to considerations under ADA guidelines are asked to contact me immediately. Every situation is unique and warrants specific consideration. Thus, notifications made in close proximity to exams and/or other due dates may cause complications. The greater the amount of available time, the more appropriately and successfully these matters can be addressed.

Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Students will be able to identify works from the history of art beginning in Prehistory and continuing through to the Fourteenth Century. This will be demonstrated through the identification and dating of works.
• Students will learn Art Historical terminology. This will be demonstrated through the definition of these terms and the identification of works to which they apply.
• Students will become familiar with essential Art Historical methodologies. These methodologies may include: visual and formal analysis, connoisseurship, patronage studies, material and visual culture studies, and gender/race/class perspectives. This will be demonstrated through exam essays and papers.
• Students will become familiar general and specific intellectual themes, as applicable to the works under study.
• Students will become familiar with the social and religious/mythological systems of those peoples studied.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory and will be monitored. Expecting to pass this course without constant, attentive attendance is not realistic. Missed classes will have a negative effect on your final grade. Upon your fourth absence, you will receive an F grade in the course. Punctuality is likewise expected. For every two late arrivals, you will be assessed one absence.

Communication: I can be contacted by both phone and e-mail. E-mail is preferred and, most likely, will result in a quicker response. As part of a larger, college-wide initiative, I insist that you use your MCA e-mail account [last_first@mcastudent.org]. If you are having any problems with your e-mail account, please contact Ian Sterling. Information may be disseminated via MCA e-mail. It is your responsibility to monitor these accounts.

Powerpoints and Class Materials: Class Powerpoints and class materials will be available on the MCA server (Dali). Students should consult these as the class progresses and use them as study aids. These Powerpoints may differ slightly from their in-class format. Students are responsible for those images seen in class. Those images that are not shown in class may be used as supporting information, but will not be mandatory for exams.

Internet Resources: Students should be wary of internet resources. Art historical research, as is the case in many academic disciplines, is still largely a print-based endeavor. There are a number of online journals, but students must be diligent in recognizing the difference between a legitimate, academic journal and other, less rigorously prepared sites. Many websites are excellent (Web Gallery of Art, Met Museum of Art), while many are questionable (Wikipedia, blogs). If there is any doubt, please consult me. Students will find a number of useful links on the class blog.

Exams: Exams will consist of a combination of fact-based (dates/terminology/identification) questions, slide identifications, slide discussions, and/or compare/contrasts and essays. The distribution of these segments is at my discretion and may be changed at any point during the semester. Students will be notified of exam formats in advance of the exam. Exams WILL NOT be cumulative. There will be no make-up exams. You will be responsible for purchasing and bringing blue books to the exams. These can be bought in the MCA Supply Store.

Papers:
This class will have three writing assignments.

1. Due Tuesday February 21. Students will write a double-spaced, two-page review of an exhibition in Memphis. This review should assess the work in the exhibition, its curatorial elements, and raise questions related to the content or thematic elements of the exhibition.
2. Due Tuesday March 20. Students will select a single object from the collection of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art or the Art Museum at the University of Memphis and write a double-spaced, two-page formal analysis of this work. This object must fit within the temporal constraints of this course, but may come from any geographical location.
3. Due Thursday April 19. About this same object, students will write a double-spaced, three page research paper, to situate the work within its geographical, stylistic, iconographic, cultural, and artistic contexts.

All papers will use appropriate citation and bibliographic protocol, following the Chicago Manual of Style. Incorrectly or insufficiently cited papers will be returned for correction.

Papers are to be e-mailed to Duran as either MSWord or Apple Pages documents. No other format will be accepted.

Late papers will be penalized 1 full letter grade for each day they are late.

Plagiarism: MCA policy on plagiarism can be found in the student handbook. Students under suspicion of plagiarism will be given one opportunity to prove their conduct as other than plagiarism. The burden of proof is on the student. If the state of plagiarism cannot be disproved, the student will be given a grade of F for the course and administrative action will be taken.

Grading: My grading system works as follows. Please consider these numbers indisputable.

A 93 and above
A- 90-92
B+ 88-89
B 83-87
B- 80-82
C+ 78-79
C 73-77
C- 70-72
D 65-69
F Below 65

Grade Breakdown:
Exam 1: 15%
Exam 2: 15%
Exam 3: 15%
Exam 4: 15%
Paper 1: 10%
Paper 2: 10%
Paper 3: 20%
n.b.: attendance and lateness will be factored into the final grade

Readings: Please complete ALL readings prior to class. They will provide important background and often will be directly addressed in class. If you have any questions regarding these texts or wish to explore further, I am more than happy to help you find bibliography.

Your textbook is Marilyn Stokstad. Art History. Fourth Edition, Volume One. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011, and can be purchased at the MCA Business Office, the Christian Brothers University bookstore, or online. DO NOT DELAY IN ACQUIRING THIS TEXT. PLEASE DO NOT PURCHASE EARLIER EDITIONS.

Safety: This class will follow the standards detailed in the "EPA Material Handling Protocols - September 2007," as issued by MCA.

Classroom Conduct: Students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. Anything otherwise is disrespectful to yourselves, your peers, your faculty, and the educational endeavor.
1. Sleeping and/or conversing are unacceptable. It is both distracting to those seated nearby and disruptive to the professor. You will be warned. You will then be asked to leave. If you are asked to leave, you will be marked as absent and penalized accordingly.
2. Cell phone/PDA/PSP/DS/etc. use is prohibited. Claiming the cell phone as your only personal timepiece is not substantial. Texting is forbidden. If your phone rings, the professor reserves the right to answer the call, take the phone, or any other measures deemed appropriate by the professor. Those who do not abide will be warned, then asked to leave, with the aforementioned attendance penalty.
3. Those who take notes on computers are expected to be taking notes, not surfing the internet or any other activities than those immediately associated with the course. Those who are caught doing otherwise will be warned, then asked to leave, with the aforementioned attendance penalty.
4. Eating in class is forbidden. Drinking is acceptable, though only if students consider such as a privilege. Policing your own area and disposing of your own trash is expected. If litter and/or filth become a problem, drinking will be forbidden.
5. Students may make audio recordings of class lectures for study use only, but only with prior approval by the professor. Any recordings made are to be used for the purposes of class members only. Other uses are forbidden, and will be met with disciplinary action.
6. Drawing in class is offensive. Your purpose is to listen and take notes, not sketch or plan projects for other classes. Making sketches of the works discussed in class for study purposes is understandable, though course ppts are available on the server.
7. Please do not get up and leave class except when absolutely necessary. Absolutely necessary constitutes emergencies and use of the facilities. Garbage and/or other incidental needs should be held until the end of class. There is no need to ask permission to leave.

Class Schedule:

Week 1
Tuesday January 17: Introduction

Thursday January 19: Meet at entrance rotunda of Brooks Museum of Art. Bring your MCA Student ID.


Week 2
Monday January 23: Last Day to Add a Class

Tuesday January 24: Prehistoric Art
Reading: Stokstad Introduction; Chapter 1

Thursday January 26: Art of the Ancient Near East
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 2


Week 3
Monday January 30: Last Day to Drop a Class without a ‘W’

Tuesday January 31: Art of Ancient Egypt
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 3

Thursday February 2: Art of Ancient Egypt cot’d


Week 4
Tuesday February 7: EXAM #1

Thursday February 9: Art of the Ancient Aegean
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 4


Week 5
Tuesday February 14: Art of Ancient Greece
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 5

Thursday February 16: Art of Ancient Greece cot’d


Week 6
Tuesday February 21: Etruscan and Roman Art PAPER #1 DUE
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 6

Thursday February 23: Etruscan and Roman Art cot’d


Week 7
Tuesday February 28: Etruscan and Roman Art cot’d

Thursday March 1: Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine Art
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 7


Week 8
Tuesday March 6: Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine Art cot’d

Thursday March 8: EXAM #2


Week 9
Tuesday March 13: NO CLASS—SPRING BREAK

Thursday March 15: NO CLASS—SPRING BREAK


Week 10
Tuesday March 20: Islamic Art PAPER #2
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 8

Thursday March 22: NO CLASS—SPE

Friday March 23: Advising Day


Week 11
Tuesday March 27: Art of South and Southeast Asia Before 1200
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 9

Thursday March 29: Chinese and Korean Art Before 1279
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 10

Friday March 30: Last Day to Withdraw from a Class

Week 12
Tuesday April 3: Japanese Art Before 1333
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 11

Thursday April 5: Art of the Americas Before 1300
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 12


Week 13
Tuesday April 10: Early African Art
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 13

Thursday April 12: EXAM #3


Week 14
Tuesday April 17: Early Medieval Art in Europe
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 14

Thursday April 19: Romanesque Art PAPER #3 DUE
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 15


Week 15
Tuesday April 24: Romanesque Art cot’d

Thursday April 26: Gothic Art of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
Reading: Stokstad Chapter 16


Week 16
Tuesday May 1: Gothic Art cot’d/Evals

Thursday May 3: EXAM #4


Week 17
Thursday May 10/Friday May 11: Review Committees