ART 152: History of Western Art II |
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Course SyllabusART 152 is the second half of a two-part general introduction to the history of Western European art. It is designed for the beginning student, and assumes no previous experience in art or art history. Although ART 151 is not a prerequisite for ART 152, students are encouraged to take both courses, preferably in sequence. ART 152 acquaints students with the historical development of art and architecture, primarily in Western Europe and the United States between 1495 and the early twentieth century. ART 152 will teach you fundamental skills of visual analysis and provide you with the vocabulary and concepts for discussing works of art orally and in writing. Readings , Internet sites, and the portfolio assignments are designed to focus on how art functions in particular cultural and historical settings. Some of the Web sites offered in the course are for added interest. Below you will find all of the necessary information you need to successfully complete this course. This syllabus acts as a contract between the student and the instructor, outlining what each of us will do during the semester. You should read each section carefully, and note procedures for grading, due dates, and any other issues that pertain to your responsibilities as a student . My policies about these issues are presented here, and in taking the course you are effectively accepting them. Course ComponentsThe course consists of ten lessons and a final examination. A reproduction of every key work of art discussed can be found either in the required text or via links to Web sites provided in the lesson. Each of the ten lessons has reading assignments, Web sites to visit, and a portfolio to write and turn in for grading. It is fundamental that you pace yourself and submit your portfolios on a regular basis. The work load can become overwhelming and discouraging if you allow assignments to pile up toward the end of your nine-month period. In working through each lesson, make sure to read the comments and the full assignment before beginning. There are several tasks to complete in each lesson; reading each fully prior to beginning will give you a better framework for the whole lesson. Readings and ResourcesRequired TextThe text for this course is Stokstad, Marilyn, Art History, Vol. 2, revised second edition (2005). The Introduction, Starter Kit, and Use Notes will be invaluable to getting a good start on the course. The book includes a glossary and a bibliography for those who want to read further. The text can be obtained from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center in person, by ordering online, or by printing and mailing the book order form. Optional Useful Works
GlossariesYou will learn to use a variety of terms that have special importance for art historians. Many of these are historical ("city-state," "Pharaoh"); many of them identify materials and technical procedures ("fresco painting," "modeling," "casting"); many identify familiar artistic conventions or elements used in works of art ("perspective," "pediment"); some are borrowed from plane or solid geometry ("perpendicular," "ratio," "hemisphere"). You may need to brush up on concepts of elementary geometry (plane and solid). They are important for a grasp of basic artistic approaches to architecture, sculpture, and painting. If the glossaries in Stokstad and the other recommended books do not list a term you are not familiar with, be sure to ask me about it. Web ResourcesMany of the works of art and architecture discussed in the course are viewed on Web sites. Direct links are provided in the Lessons section below and on each lesson's page. In addition to the sites listed with each lesson, you are encouraged to explore the Web on your own and discover Web sites that complement the course. Three places you might begin your "art historical" surfing are listed below:
PortfoliosYour lesson portfolio assignment is designed to demonstrate your mastery of the material. With each lesson you will be asked to respond to several questions. Your response should be an organized, formal essay of approximately three to five double-spaced pages. I will respond to each assignment with comments, in the form of suggestions for improvement, hints about issues you may have overlooked, and questions to consider for clarifying or enriching your essays. If you pay attention to these comments and apply them to future assignments and you will improve. Please ask if anything if unclear to you. Submitting work for this courseYour portfolio assignment should be typed, double-spaced, using Microsoft Word. If you use other software, please save your work in Rich Text Format (.rtf). Use a filename that includes your name as well as the course and lesson numbers, such as "ART 152-portfolio3-Smith.doc." Submit your portfolios for grading by clicking the "Submit Assignment" button located at the bottom of each lesson page. This button opens an e-mail message that is pre-addressed to me and to Student Services with the correct subject line. Send your assignments as attachments. Add your full name to the subject line. By providing the portfolio number and your name, you make it easier for me and Student Services to track your progress and keep your work separate from that of other students. I will send you a confirmation e-mail when I receive your work. Final ExamYou should take the final exam after you have completed Lesson 10 and received your graded portfolio back. Let me know you are ready, and I will send it to you via e-mail. You have one week to complete it and return it to me, so do not request the exam until you are prepared to complete it within that length of time. The exam is, of course, open book, and designed to evaluate your mastery of the material. Material taken from books and the Internet must be properly acknowledged, and never simply copied or paraphrased. Late exams will be graded down a full grade per day (a late B will become a C). The final exam will cover work discussed in the readings and portfolio assignments. It will be a long essay question that synthesizes and expands upon what you have learned from portfolio assignments. Submitting your final exam: Send your final as an attachment to both me and Student Services (for tracking purposes). In the subject line of the e-mail message, enter "SPC ART 152 final exam" and your first and last names (example: SPC ART 152 final exam-Jane Smith). GradingGrades will be determined on the basis of a C-scale, with C's given for average work. B's will be given for above average work, and A's for excellent work. The final exam is worth 20 percent of your course grade. Each of the ten portfolios counts 8 percent, for a total of 80 percent of your course grade. CommunicationThe primary method of communication in this course is electronic. You will communicate with me and submit your assignments via e-mail. It is essential to inform me and Student Services of any change in your e-mail address. It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to your instructor via e-mail. If your instructor doesn't receive your work, you must have a copy of the e-mail with the attached file, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered. Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to your instructor, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to your instructor and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course. Other Questions
Museums to VisitIf you are able to visit an art museum or gallery in person, it will certainly enhance your course experience. Two excellent museums local to the Chapel Hill area are:
Two that are also excellent but not so local are:
And finally, you might want use the Web to visit some virtual museums:
Art at UNC-Chapel HillIf you are interested in learning more about the Department of Art at UNC-Chapel Hill, click on your area of interest:
Honor CodeRemember that as a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code: "It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity." An especially serious Honor Code violation is plagiarism. If you are uncertain about whether a source needs to be cited, please ask me. LessonsThe course schedule is up to you. You can complete the course in as few as twelve weeks or take as long as nine months. The important thing is to get a good start, then maintain your momentum. Since this course is not held in a classroom, I will probably never meet you in person. Still, I would like to know something about you so that I can associate each e-mail message from you with something more than a screen name. Therefore, your first task is to send me a Personal Information Sheet: Save this Word Document to your hard drive (or copy and paste from this Web page into your word processing program), fill it out, and attach it to an e-mail to me. This also gives us a chance to make sure our communication lines are working, and that we can send and receive attachments. Then go on to Lesson 1.
Lesson 1 |
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Course author: Dorothy Verkerk, PhD
SPC revision and current instructor: Ann Millett, PhD
© The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Last modified:
May 21, 2008
Send comments and questions to fridaycenter@unc.edu.