Introduction

Welcome to ART 282: Impressionism to Symbolism. I am Mara West, a PhD student in art history at UNC-Chapel Hill. My area of specialization is nineteenth-century art, particularly Symbolism. I am very excited to be teaching this course, and I'm looking forward to sharing my interests with you and learning from your unique perspectives!

ART 282 is a survey course that considers European art from about 1850 to 1900, from Courbet to Cezanne. Although the course will focus specifically on the Impressionist and Symbolist movements, a certain amount of the realist and academic traditions will also be examined. The goal of this course is to understand the art in the context of the cultures and political climates in which it was produced. Therefore, our readings will cover the history and the social background of the period, as well as the critical or popular reception of the work. We will emphasize critical discussion of the artworks and readings covered in the lessons via our discussion forum and your response papers. Rather than following a straight historical narrative from 1850–1900, we will instead encounter a range of interpretations and re-interpretations of key moments and art works of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism. No previous knowledge of art history is required, but it is helpful if you have taken an art history survey course (ART 151 or ART 152) in order to understand the basic principles of visual analysis.

Below you will find all of the necessary information you will need to participate in and complete this course. Please read each section carefully, as you will be expected to adhere to these guidelines throughout the semester.

The course consists of

• readings for each lesson
• response papers for each lesson
• frequent participation in the discussion forum
• a final museum exhibition paper (see details below).

The “Comments” section in each lesson will help you focus on key concepts and examples as you read. Each lesson includes a number of questions to guide your reading and give you ideas for your discussion forum comments and response papers. You are not required to address these questions specifically, but you are required to think critically about the course readings and to articulate your comments, conclusions, and questions in writing.

Please don't hesitate to ask me or your classmates questions on the discussion forum. For more reading tips, see Strategies for Success below.

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Required Texts

There is one required text for this course:

• Stephen E. Eisenman, et al., Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History. 3rd edition (Thames & Hudson, 2007) (ISBN: 0500286507)

You may also wish to purchase the following books, from which we will be reading multiple chapters. The chapters will also be made available through e-reserves.

• Robert Goldwater, Symbolism (Westview Press, 1979)
• Linda Nochlin, The Politics of Vision: Essays on Nineteenth-Century Art and Society (Westview Press, 1991)
• T.J. Clark, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers (Princeton University Press, 1999)

You can order these texts from Friday Center Books & Gifts at the Friday Center either online or by using the book order form.

In addition, we will be reading a number of articles and short chapters from a range of sources. They will all be available through electronic reserves at the Undergraduate Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or JSTOR. I have indicated where to find each article on every lesson's reading list.

The course readings should challenge you, and they may shake your perceptions and beliefs. This is the point. You are not required to agree with views expressed in the readings. However, you must always respect the opinions of the authors, instructor, and other students, and you should work at evaluating each argument on its own terms. Your weekly discussion postings and your response papers are your opportunity to voice your criticisms of the readings, but you must first understand the reading in order to effectively critique it. The theoretical nature of many of the readings may seem demanding, but be patient and open-minded. You will not be tested on individual readings, but rather will be graded on how you process and synthesize information, how you apply ideas to examples that you generate, and how you compose your essays.

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Internet Resources

I have compiled several Internet resources that you will find useful, especially for viewing images that may not be reproduced in color in your textbook or readings.

• The Musee d’Orsay has a great collection of Impressionist, Neo-Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist paintings, many of which you can view online.
• Grove Art Online has thorough entries on most of the artists we will cover in this course. Supplement your readings with this resource!
• ArtSTOR is an image database that the UNC libraries subscribe to. You will find all of the images that we encounter in this course in ArtSTOR, and generally they will be of much higher quality than you will find through Google.
• Olga’s Gallery—I’ve included links to individual artists’ pages on this vast Web site with thousands of images. It is easier to use as a quick reference source than ArtSTOR because art works are arranged in chronological order under the name of each artist.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art (“The Met” in New York) has much of its collection online, as well as a useful and illustrated “Timeline of Art History,” in-depth studies of works of art and/or artists, thematic essays, and other useful resources.
• The Louvre Museum of Paris has many features similar to the Met.
• Musée de l’Orangerie—You can view Monet’s beautiful later paintings of water lilies on this Web site.

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Grading and Assignments

Your grade will be based on

• response papers: 50 percent
• discussion forum participation: 25 percent
• museum exhibition project: 25 percent

There are no exams in this course. Each assignment and your overall participation will receive a letter grade, and these grades reflect the distribution of A=Excellent, B=Good, C=Average, and D=Poor. I will always give you comments regarding what was expected of the assignments and what you might have done differently or might have included in your work. Take these comments as a means to approach future assignments. Don't despair if your grades are not what you expect at first. Keep working diligently and follow all directions, and you (and your grades) will improve.

Response Papers (50 percent)

All response papers are due the Sunday of each week by midnight. Earlier submissions are always welcome and encouraged. For each response paper, you will use the reading assignments and other materials (such as online sources) to respond to the readings and questions included in each lesson. Your responses should be in the form of an essay. I expect these essays to be thoughtfully written and well organized, with attention to grammar, thesis statements, transitions, and topic sentences. Use evidence—visual and textual—to support your arguments, and when engaging visual examples (which you will do frequently, as this course focuses on visual representation), always point to details in those images. In other words, formal analysis of images is important and will be factored in to your grade. Improvement in your writing throughout the course is expected and rewarded, but this is hard work and requires effort and commitment.

Format: All response papers should be double-spaced, use a standard 12-point typeface (such as Times New Roman), and have one-inch margins. The length of writing assignments will vary, but a general rule is two to three pages per response. Proof your work and check for spelling errors before you submit it.

Citation: All work in this course, including participation in the discussion forum, falls under UNC's Honor Code. Please contact me if you have any questions about the use of sources. Always cite the source when you are presenting others' ideas. In this class, I prefer that you use footnotes in your written response papers. Microsoft Word allows you to make notes under the “Insert” toolbar by inserting a small number into the text and a corresponding number at the end of the page or bottom of the document, where you enter a citation. The content of a note is a citation of the article to which you are referring, including the page number when appropriate (for reference to a specific idea, a specific phrase, or a direct quote).

Your response papers will be short essays, so quotes should be used conservatively and only when you need to include exact words. Always explain how and why you are including these quotes—how are you interpreting them?

Late papers: Alert me as soon as possible if you have extenuating circumstances to prolong a response paper's due date. I will either approve and excuse your lateness or warn you of a reduction of your grade. I will be strict—leniency in this matter often fuels more instances of lateness.

See Submitting Assignments in the Course Mechanics section below for submission requirements.

Discussion Forum Participation (25 percent)

Why participate? Learning from your classmates is one of the most important and rewarding experiences of college, and our online discussion forum duplicates such in-class exchange. It is crucial that you participate in the discussion forum at least once a week, hopefully more, and always in a manner that enriches class discussions. Respond to the readings for each lesson, using the questions that I pose in the lesson. Also, you can use the discussion forum to raise new issues and questions, clarify reading assignments, and inquire about others' thoughts and opinions. Is there something you could elaborate on or question in a fellow classmate's posting? Remember that debating is very different from fighting and is far more productive! Also, please proofread your responses before you hit the submit button! Your discussion grade will reflect these requirements.

Your first participation in the discussion forum for each lesson is due by 5 pm Friday, and your second original post plus one response to another post is due by 5 pm Saturday, unless otherwise noted in the lesson. Of course, it is beneficial to the class to post early in the lesson so that others may respond to your ideas. It is important that we all check the discussion forum frequently—more than once a week—in the interest of maintaining a lively conversation. This is the fun part! I suggest that you check the discussion forum every day if you can, read all the postings from your classmates, and engage in the discussion.

Our discussion forums are on Blackboard. See Course Mechanics for details on using Blackboard.

Museum Exhibition Paper (25 percent)

There are several parts to the museum exhibition paper, so be sure to read this section carefully.

For this project you will assume that you work in a museum and have been asked to plan an exhibit. You will select a topic or theme for your exhibit and pick eight to ten works of art to display. You will develop a catalogue of the art works as well as an explanatory essay. Your paper will be comprised of the catalogue entries with a bibliography for each entry, and your explanatory (exhibition) essay. Your essay (five to six pages) will provide a general introduction to your topic, an explanation of why this topic is interesting and/or deepens or expands our knowledge, and what major conceptual ideas will come into play. Your essay will be followed by your catalogue entries (one for each art work you’ve chosen).

You will submit a rough draft by November 2—this draft should include a list of at least six of the works in your exhibit, one sample catalogue entry, and the first draft of your exhibition essay. Final exhibition projects must be submitted by December 7. Anticipate problems and allow time to resolve them. Late papers will be graded down a half-grade for each day they are late (for example, an A becomes an A-).

Your exhibition essay should be five to six pages in length. It must be double-spaced, with one-inch margins and 12-point font size.

Choosing an exhibition topic: Use our class readings as a guide to choosing your topic. There are several different types of organizing principles for you to choose from. A “thematic” exhibition would include works by different artists, organized around a theme—for example, “The Paris Opera in Impressionist paintings.” Your exhibition could also focus on an aspect of one artist’s work. An exhibit on “Motherhood in the Work of Mary Cassatt,” for example, could include paintings by Cassatt, but could also include Morisot, Renoir, Degas or other artists for comparison. Try to pick a topic that has a manageable focus. A bad idea for an exhibition would be “Degas: Impressionist Painter” because there’s no rationale for your selection of eight to ten works from a life’s work of hundreds of paintings. You may also choose to include other non-Impressionist works in your exhibition—such as popular prints or sculptures—in order to help contextualize your topic.

Some exhibition ideas:

• workers in the paintings of Pissarro
• street views of Paris
• Manet’s representations of women
• self-portraiture in Impressionism (or Symbolism)
• Edvard Munch and landscape
• religious themes in Symbolist works
• classical mythology in Symbolist works
• hair and the devil in Symbolist paintings
• Caillebotte’s realism
  

A good exhibit will include:

• A convincing thesis—Try to come up with an exhibition topic that will add to our knowledge of the art movements covered in this course. Make connections between works or artists. Interpret a painting in a new way. Use your readings for inspiration, but come up with your own ideas!
• A selection of art that will best represent your ideas. Here you are fortunate that you do not have to pay insurance premiums, mollify directors of museums (with the exception of the director of our virtual museum—me!), or arrange for transportation.
• Comparanda—You may need supporting maps, diagrams, drawings, or supplementary works of art to make your exhibition more interesting and informative.

Catalogue Entries

Each of the eight to ten you select for your exhibition will have a separate catalogue entry of about one page in length. The catalogue entry should begin with the following items at the top of the page:

1. title
2. current location (the name of the museum or private collection)
3. date it was made
4. medium (usually “oil on canvas”)
5. dimensions (metric)
6. bibliography listing major exhibitions, books, and articles where this piece has been published (you don’t need to read all of it, but instead, just show that you’ve done literary research and have indicated the major lines of scholarship on the painting). If your work has been featured in a previous exhibition, check out the catalogue. Exhibition catalogues will be very helpful at this point as they will always provide a bibliography of each object. The bibliography should be in chronological order, oldest to most recent. For example:

   T.J. Clark, “A Bar at the Folies-Bèrgere”, Painting of Modern Life (New York, 1985); Ruth E. Iskin, “Selling, Seduction, and Soliciting the Eye: Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère” Art Bulletin, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), pp. 25–44; (and so on...)

The body of the catalogue entry will include the following:

1. a visual analysis of the piece
2. a description of how the particular piece fits into the exhibition and how it illustrates your thesis
3. a discussion of any controversies in scholarship about this object and the different ways this object has been interpreted.

You are expected to adhere to the University of North Carolina's Honor Code in all of your work.

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Strategies for Success

Reading: Look at my introductory comments at the beginning of each lesson. What themes do I highlight from the readings? As you read, what concepts are the reading assignments raising that you might compare to previous readings? What is the subject of the essay? The audience? The author's agenda? What is the author arguing? What is s/he using as evidence? What examples are used and how? Do you agree with the arguments and the method of analysis?

Writing: Decide what information in the readings is targeted towards my questions and comments; in other words, what aspects or themes should you focus on when answering questions, and what new ideas and examples is the assignment asking you to generate? How can you apply comments and suggestions I have given you on previous essays to this assignment? What kinds of things do I ask you to do differently or to expand upon? Are you clear about what you are arguing? Be clear, be creative, and support your arguments.

Explore the links provided and get a feel for the way that information is presented. Study the images that are reproduced in your readings and in the lessons, and use them in your written responses. Include questions you have from the lesson that you feel have not yet been addressed. Do recent conversations evolve or diverge from earlier ones?

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Course Mechanics

Blackboard

Some of your class components (discussion forums and links to essay exams) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to log in to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.

If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen. If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), you will find help on the Onyen Web site.

Use your Onyen to log in to Blackboard, then click on the “ART 282 CCO” link. You will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the Discussion Forums, E-mail Communication, and so on.

If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:

• If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen.
• If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), you will find help on go to the Onyen Web site.
• If you have your Onyen but can't log in to Blackboard, contact Janice Durham or Donnyell Batts at the Friday Center.
• If you can log in to Blackboard but can't find this course listed, contact Janice Durham or Donnyell Batts at the Friday Center.
• If you can't locate an exam or discussion forum in Blackboard, contact the Instructional Designer.
• If you have other technical problems while using Blackboard, contact Blackboard Help (use the Help button in Blackboard, or call 919-962-HELP).

Library Services and Resources (including e-reserves)

Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online have access to the UNC Library System. Visit Distance Education Library Services to access a wide array of online services and resources including e-reserves, online databases, online journals, online books, and live help with research and library access.

Most online resources require you to log in with your Onyen and password. If you have any trouble finding the resource that you need or logging in to a resource, you can contact the library through the contact information at Distance Education Library Services. You can chat live about your problem, or send an e-mail to request assistance.

E-mail

All communication from your instructor will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail using Webmail. You can have your e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward e-mail” at the Onyen Web site.

If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff. Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses “blind carbon copy” to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than forwarding to Hotmail for this course.

Submitting Assignments

I require two methods of delivery, to ensure that I receive your assignments on time and in readable form:

1. Submit them to the “Digital Dropbox” in Blackboard. Make sure to hit “Send File,” not just “Add File” so that Blackboard makes it available to me. “Adding” the file just saves it to your page and you will be the only one who can access it.
2. E-mail your essays to me by attaching them as Microsoft Word documents. If you do not have Word, save your files as rich-text format (.rtf). I will send you a brief notification that I received your assignment, usually along the lines of: “Got it, thanks!” If you do not receive this confirmation within a day, please contact me.

The subject line of your e-mail should always include your last name, course number, assignment number, or some reference to the content of the e-mail (the material or subject about which you are inquiring). Assignments should have a subject line similar to “lesson1 art282 jones.”

It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send via e-mail. If I don't receive your message, you must have a copy of the e-mail with the attached file, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails as well as the attached files, 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—Contact Information

Contact me with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. There is an e-mail link to your instructor at the top of every lesson page. Please include “CCO ART 282,” your name, and a word or two about the content of your message in the subject line of your e-mail.

Contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center about problems with the course Web site, including bad links.

If you have any logistical questions as you work through the course (enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on), contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669).

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Course Schedule

Our weeks begin on Monday morning and end Sunday at midnight. Your two (minimum!) discussion forum postings are due on Friday and Saturday, by 5 pm both days, and your response paper is due on Sunday by midnight.

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Lesson 1