Spring and Fall 2000 course enactment
In the spring 2000, I piloted several revisions to the course and continued to implement the course in this way in the fall 2000. As I point out in my reflection on student learning outcomes for fall 1999, the results of student surveys, standardized instruments, and student performance on exams and other work had highlighted for me several ways in which I could enhance the interdisciplinary approach of the course. Among the most significant revisions to the course were a restructuring of the syllabus to reflect a problem-solving approach. The spring and fall 2000 syllabi contain a statement of a problem for reflection for each major topic or unit; the problem itself clearly identifies the diverse disciplines to be included in the discussion. I significantly revised the elements of art unit to include a greatly expanded unit on color in music, new units on line in music to complement the discussion of shape and line in the visual arts, and a new unit on rhythm in poetry and music. I also implemented a new module in the unit on Art as Self-Expression on Romanticism, which included a discussion of the language of emotion in the art, music, and poetry in the nineteenth century. I implemented a discussion of literature in the realism unit to complement the module on the art of Leonardo da Vinci. I also redesigned the first and second exams as well as the self-portrait assignment to incorporate the enhanced interdisciplinary perspectives of the course. The other noteworthy change in these semesters was that I further exploited the WEBCT environment. In previous semesters, I had used this package for students to access their multimedia course chapters and to take online quizzes. During these and future semesters, I assigned several bulletin board postings which were designed to require application of ideas from one discipline to another or analysis of central unit concepts. Student response to the bulletin board postings and other electronic resources was generally very positive. Dr. Roxanne Farrar of the GC&SU Art Department continued to come into my class for guest lectures and special workshops.
As my reflection on these two semesters indicates, the course was more successful at highlighting the diverse approaches of the disciplines to each topic; students produced much more in-depth self-portrait assignments which clearly reflected diverse disciplinary materials.
The materials below chronicle the enactment of the course. Many of these materials are replicated from the fall 1999 enactment discussion, however the new materials are clearly indicated as are the ways in which they were integrated into existing materials.
Chronicle of the Unfolding of the Course
A quick look at the unfolding of the course from unit to unit shows the basic design of the course and also some of the disciplinary resources used to explore the overall theme. To view the syllabus in its entirety along with hypertext links to the course chapters the participating faculty wrote, please click here. The course chapters provide documentation of our approach to teaching these topics and some insight into the interdisciplinary design of each unit. The hyperlinks below open a view of that particular unit in the syllabus; there are also links which take one directly to the multimedia chapter in question. I have tried to indicate clearly to viewers the links to course chapters, whereas the links to the syllabus units appear as simple hypertext without any explanation. Viewers will also find links to our course handouts, exams and other materials.
Course introduction | Weeks I-II: Survey of the Elements of Art | Weeks III-X: The Aesthetic of Functionalism | Week XI: The Aesthetics of Realism and Idealism | Weeks XII-XIV: The Aesthetic of Formalism | Weeks XV-XVI: The Aesthetic of Expressionism | Final Synthesis | Reflection on Spring and Fall 2000 outcomes
Course Introduction
The course begins with a "hook" or "grabber," according to Newell's terminology. On the opening day, I distribute a handout which asks students to respond to the question of "What is Art?" (in subsequent terms I required students to do a bulletin board posting on this question). I then show a 60 minutes video expose on the modern art world, "Yes, but is it Art?". This video generated tremendous controversy in the art world when it was first aired, and explores several examples of modern art and interviews some well-known critics who either support or do not support the artistic merits of these works. Included in the segment are examples such as the three urinals along a wall, basketball immersed in plastic, graffiti art, and other works which some critics and many modern laymen have trouble appreciating as art. The video raises numerous issues about what criteria delineate a work of art from a piece of junk or a simple functional object without artistic merit. Among the issues it raises are:
*Is the level of skill of the creator relevant to deciding whether something is a work of art or not?
*Is the intent of the creator relevant to whether something should be considered a work of art?
*Is the meaning of the work relevant? Are things whose symbolism complex more meritorious from an artistic point of view than those whose symbolism is simple and transparent?
*If the meaning of a work requires explication by a "critic" and does not speak to the general audience, does this affect its value as a work of art?
*Must a work of art have meaning that endures beyond the immediate context?
*What is the role of beauty in deciding whether something is or is not to be considered art?
*Is the purpose for which the work was designed and how well it fulfills that purpose relevant in determining whether it has artistic merit?
Following our discussion of the film, in these semesters I piloted a new introductory unit on the responses to this question of the various aesthetic schools we were going to study in the term. I made a clear effort in this discussion to include diverse disciplinary resources; for example, in the discussion of realism, I read passages from The Jungle and played impressionistic music; in the functionalism section, I discussed Greek tragedy, architecture, and other examples.
Following our discussion, I asked students to respond to the question again via the class handout and also on the bulletin board in WEBCT. Often their responses indicate some perplexity and a willingness now to consider almost anything as a work of art as long as someone either intends it to be art or interprets it as art. During the course of the rest of the semester, we continue to explore these issues with hopes that the students will refine their responses to this question on the first day of class. The final bulletin board posting presented students with their last opportunity to respond to this question.
The framing of the course around this question created a unity to the course which was not present in earlier iterations of the course (see fall 1998 and spring 1999). Further, the initial discussions in these semesters was much more thoroughly interdisciplinary. Another innovation of the spring and fall 2000 semesters was requiring students to respond to the question "What is an interdisciplinary class?" on the WEBCT bulletin board. This allowed me to highlight the interdisciplinary methodology of the class from the first day and to force students to begin to think about interdisciplinarity.
The integration of the various units and disciplinary resources is centered around this question throughout the course; each unit considers a different possible perspective on the question. Further, each unit is designed to build on the others, and from that point of view, fulfills Newell's demand for continuous integration of resources.
Sample course materials:
Class handout on "Yes,
but is it Art?"
Student bulletin board postings on "What is
art?" for fall 2000
Student bulletin board postings on "What
is an interdisciplinary class?" (fall 2000)
Weeks I-II: The Elements of Art
In spring and fall 2000, the "What is Art?" module was followed by a short unit on the elements of art. The syllabi for these semesters clearly stated an interdisciplinary problem and unit focus for the topic, as well as a clear statement on the interdisciplinary approach of the unit:
Problem for the Elements of Art unit: Some of the elements of art, such as color, seem to apply more to one art from than to others (for example, to art more than to music). Can there be parallels to each element of art in the visual and aural arts as well as the humanities, such as literature? Can you think of other disciplines in which we might apply these terms?
The unit on shape and line included for the first time a discussion of the musical arts, which was indicated by the unit header on the syllabus:
An interdisciplinary survey of psychological theories of the symbolism of shapes and lines and their expressions in the visual arts and music
The unit also included earlier discussions of cross-cultural color aesthetics. Students explored Yoruba color chromatics with Dr. Farrar and the medieval illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen with Dr. Vess. A major aspect of the course is its global dimension, and in these introductory units, African, western medieval, Asian (in the shape and line discussion), and many other perspectives were introduced. Further, students were exposed to medieval and early modern perspectives in the unit on color. The use of multiple perspectives generated several conflicting interpretations, which we continued to explore throughout the rest of the semester. The interdisciplinary focus of the unit was made clear in the header on the syllabus:
An interdisciplinary survey of color aesthetics in the medieval illuminations (art) of Hildegard von Bingen, and color analogues in music (chant of Hildegard and other examples) and literature
For the first time, this unit included a discussion of rhythm in music, with a guest lecture from Dr. Patti Tolbert, percussionist in the GC&SU department of music and theater, and a comparison to rhythm in poetry.
In this unit students again completed a preferential shapes assignment, in which they were required to order their preference of the circle, square, spiral, triangle, and equidistant cross. Students were to then design a mobile which clearly displayed their order of preference. Students also completed a active learning workshop, in which they created a self-portrait in the form of a ring using Yoruba color chromatics. The bulletin board assignment on color, line, and shape required synthesis of materials from the visual arts and poetry and reasoning from one discipline by analogy to another.
Sample Course Materials:
Class handout on
shapes and lines in the visual and musical arts
Class handout on
color in music
Class handout on
rhythm in the arts
Class handout on
Hildegard and multimedia
course chapter
Multimedia
course chapter on the elements of art
Class Handout on
Yoruba Color Chromatics (Dr. Farrar) and multimedia
course chapter
Student responses to the bulletin board posting
assignment on color, line and shape
for spring 2000 and "A
Poetic Journey Through the Elements of Art" for fall 2000
Student responses to the Yoruba
ring project discussion on the bulletin board
Weeks III-X Functionalism
Following these introductory discussions, students enter a major unit on Functionalism, a theory of art widely held in antiquity and the Middle Ages. We begin this unit by discussing the aesthetic of functionalism. Students then explore various examples of art which would be interpreted according to this framework, including Paleolithic Cave Art, a unit on Houses of Prayer (see the chapters from the multimedia text on Pyramids, Mosques, Medieval Cathedrals), and a unit on Art and the State (see the chapters from the multimedia text on West African Art of Benin, art and architecture of imperial China, and the art, music, and philosophy of the French Revolution).
In each of these units, diverse disciplinary resources are employed and I modified the syllabus to include clear statements of the interdisciplinary focus of each module and a problem for each topic.
In the cave art unit, we considered the following problem:
Problem: Consider the historian's definition of a primary source and history's reliance on the written record. In what ways can art be used as a "primary source"? What do the cave paintings of Lascaux as well as the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, and mythology reveal to us about Paleolithic culture and about their possible use?
An interdisciplinary survey of prehistoric artifacts and fossils, including archaeological resources and Paleolithic cave art. What possible functions might Paleolithic cave art have served? What is the various evidence we have and what does it suggest to us about the uses of these paintings?
In the module on pyramids,resources from Egyptian mythology, archaeology, historical accounts, and even geology are examined in an effort to examine the function of the pyramids and to what extent they can be considered art (see course chapter).
Problem: What do history, archaeology, astronomy, science, art history, and anthropology tell us about the reasons why the pyramids were built (their function)? If there are conflicting views between the disciplines, what are the reasons?
*An interdisciplinary journey through the history, religion, social structure, archaeology, science, technology, and art of ancient Egypt in an attempt to understand the functions and uses of the Egyptian pyramids.
In the module on the Acropolis, the theme was "Shadows of the Eternal" and the following questions and resources were included:
Questions: Are there examples of art works considered beautiful by the standards of Greek aesthetics which might not be considered beautiful or even works of art by other standards? Why or why not? Do you find Greek aesthetics a satisfactory approach the question of "What is Art?"
*An interdisciplinary study of the history, social structure, mythology, religion, drama, philosophy, architecture, art, sculpture, and aesthetics of ancient Greece in an attempt to understand the functions of the Acropolis.
In the module on mosques, historical, theological, architectural resources are examined, as well as materials from the applied arts. This material is integrated in a discussion of the role and function of art in Islam (see course chapter).
"Pillars of Faith"
Problem: European cathedrals have been called "frozen chant." In what ways can a mosque be said to be an expression of musical ideals of silence and sound? In what ways can a mosque and other Islamic art forms such as chant, prayer rugs, iron work, and illuminations be said to be a "book" which presents the teachings of the Qur'an?
*An interdisciplinary discussion of the major tenets of Islam and the ways in which they are expressed in mosques, chant, illuminations, ironwork, calligraphy, and the textile arts.
In the module on cathedrals, resources from numerology, theology, color aesthetics, architecture, and history are integrated in an attempt to understand the role of art in medieval society (see course chapter).
"Windows to Eternity"
Problem: What do numerology, history, theology, literature, and other disciplines tell us was the function of a medieval cathedral? Is pilgrimage always a movement physically? In what ways could one stand in the nave of Chartres and "take a pilgrimage"?
*An interdisciplinary discussion of the medieval custom of pilgrimage in history, hagiography, and literature, the medieval cathedral as a center for pilgrimage, and the medieval theological expression of cosmic order in numerology, symbolism, colors.
A similar pattern is evident in the unit on Art and the State: The module on the west African art of Benin explores African mythology, European historical records, and African art as an Afro-centric historical record of the Age of Exploration (see the course chapter).
"The Mudfish and the European"
*Problem: In what ways can the visual arts in Benin be considered a historic record of the mythology and political and social structure of a society, and in what ways does the art of Benin revise European historic accounts of the Age of Discovery?
*An interdisciplinary journey through the medieval history and mythology of Benin, European records of the voyages of discovery, and the African art of Benin. We will compare African and European accounts of the Age of Discovery and consider art as a primary source African-centered record of the Age of Discovery.
The module on China explores Chinese philosophy, architecture, art, historic records, and numismatics in an effort to elucidate the ways in which art contributed to the image of emperor and empire (see the course chapter):
"Tombs, Temples, and Forbidden Cities"
*Problem: What do numismatics, philosophy, law, history, calligraphy, ethnography, and other disciplines tell us was the purpose of the art of the reign of Shi Huang Ti and what was his legacy? How do the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City make use of color, direction, shape, texture, and other elements of art to portray the power of the emperor?
*An interdisciplinary study of Chinese history, philosophy, calligraphy, numismatics, art, and architecture. We will explore the use of art as propaganda to express the power of the state/emperor.
The module on the French Revolution incorporates painting, architecture, philosophical and political texts, music, and film in an attempt to explore how art expressed the ideals of the French Revolution (see the course chapter):
"Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity!"
*Problem: How were the ideals of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and of the 18th century philosophes presented through the visual arts, music, and film?
*An interdisciplinary journey through the history of the French Revolution, the works of the eighteenth-century philosophes, and the mottos of the revolution as expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the career of Napoleon, the art of David, Delacroix, Goya, music of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and film of Abel Gance.
Students in this term also explored a module entitled, "Threads of Life: The Textile Arts" (see course chapter); the module included cross-cultural discussion of the textile arts and the use of metaphors from the textile arts in literature and mythology:
Problem: In what ways does weaving function as a powerful metaphor in other disciplines, such as mythology, music, and literature?
*An interdisciplinary study of the textile arts in various cultures, the significance of weaving in history and languages, and weaving motifs in literature, music, mythology, and world cultures.
In this unit, students completed an active learning workshop on Venus goddesses of the Paleolithic era, a Qur'an word search on "images" and "idols" to determine the impact of Islamic theology on Islamic art, and also attended a Gallery exhibit on campus, "Pressed and Pulled," which explored various elements of printmaking. Students also completed discussion board postings on reading cave art as a primary source "text," the ideal of beauty as purposeful/functional and art as techne in Greek aesthetics, and on the use of art as propaganda.
I revised the first midterm exam to include several (10-20) multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank questions which required application of course ideas to new contexts, or reasoning by analogy from one discipline to another. Further, I included questions on interdisciplinary ideas of color, line, and shape (visual arts, music, and other art forms) and rhythm. This midterm exam in effect required students to synthesize very diverse disciplinary materials and to create a definition of color, rhythm, or line which transcended a single disciplinary focus, such as that of the visual arts, and incorporated ideas of other disciplines such as music and poetry. In so doing, my course more fully met one of the more important of William Newel's critieria of integration -- to create new concepts from the synthesis of diverse disciplinary materials. My unit on functionalism, however, did not fully meet these criteria, I believe, before the spring and summer 2001 iterations.
Sample course materials:
Class handout on cave
art and course
chapter
Student responses to the cave
art bulletin board posting assignment in spring 2000 and to "journal
of a spelunker" posting in fall 2000
Class Handout on the
pyramids and multimedia
course chapter
Class Handout on
the Acropolis and multimedia
course chapter
Student responses to Greek Aesthetics discussion
board posting in fall 2000
Class handout on
mosques and multimedia
course chapter
Class handout
on Chartres cathedral and multimedia
course chapter
Class handout on
the art of Benin and multimedia
course chapter on Benin
Class handout on
Art and the State: China and multimedia
course chapters
Class handout
on the French Revolution and multimedia
course chapter
Midterm
Exam I: covers course materials through Art and the State
Student responses to bulletin board posting assignment
on art as propaganda in spring 2000.
Sample student responses
to Exam I in the spring 2000 and fall
2000
Gallery Exhibit
writing assignment in spring 2000 and fall
2000
Hmong Exhibit
assignment, spring 2000
Sample student
responses to the Gallery assignment in the spring 2000 and fall
2000
Week XI: Art as Mirror of Reality
In this unit, we explore the aesthetics of realism and idealism. In the realism module, the focus in spring and fall 2000 was on the paintings and notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci and a new module on the literature of Rebeccan Harding Davis. I clarified the syllabi in these semesters by adding the following materials to the list of assignments:
*Problem: What are the analogues to realism in art in disciplines such as music and literature? In what ways does realism as an aesthetic theory conflict with functionalism? In what ways does it support it?
*an interdisciplinary survey of realism in art, and the philosophical, theological, and historical events which motivated the change from medieval to Renaissance aesthetics.
In the idealism module, the focus was on Michelangelo. This module incorporated a discussion of Neoplatonism in the context of the painting and statuary of Michelangelo (see the course chapter and slides). I clarified the syllabi in these semesters by adding the following materials to the list of assignments:
"Michelangelo: Forms, Mind, and Marble"
*Problem: Michelangelo's techniques were in many ways much more realistic than art of the previous Middle Ages, yet they are considered expressions of idealism in art. In what ways did Michelangelo's art suggest a world beyond the one we see and in what ways did he implant philosophy in stone? In what ways does idealism as an aesthetic theory conflict with functionalism? In what ways does it support it?
*An interdisciplinary survey of the philosophical school of Neoplatonism and its expression in the painting, sculpture, and poetry of Michelangelo.
We attempt to compare and contrast the aesthetics of realism and idealism with functionalism and to determine the best arguments for each, as well as things which we might want to consider art but which cannot be subsumed under any of these aesthetic schools. In this unit for the first time, I incorporated materials from literature. Dr. Jane Rose of the GC&SU Department of English, Speech, and Journalism wrote a course chapter and lectured on the literature of Rebecca Harding Davis in the realism unit. In the fall 2000, I did the Harding material myself and also incorporated a discussion of Emile Zola's Germinal through film in this unit. I redesigned the second midterm exam to include not only a comparison of the aesthetics of functionalism and realism, but to include synthesis of the enhanced interdisciplinary discussion of literary and artistic materials on realism.
Viewers may want to explore the following course materials:
Film guide on the
A&E biography: da Vinci
Class handout on Michelangelo
and multimedia
course chapter
Dr.
Rose's chapter on the aesthetic of realism in literature and art
Midterm
Exam II: covers Art and the State, realism and idealism
Sample student work on midterm II: responses of
student 26 | student
22 | student 6
Weeks XII-XIV: Art and the Ordered Cosmos
In this unit, we explore the ways in which art reflects a particular culture's view of the cosmos, and especially the way art portrays nature. In the unit we explore the aesthetic of formalism, compare and contrast it with previously studies aesthetic schools, and attempt to determine the best arguments for each as well as whether any of these schools adequately explains all our various notions of what might be called art. The unit includes modules on China, Japan, and European culture in the 18th century. Each module incorporates an array of disciplinary resources.
*The module on China begins with an exploration of Taoism (see the course chapter). In addition to the primary source texts from antiquity, students read the Tao of Pooh and then study Taoism in poetry and Chinese landscape art (see the course chapter). I clarified the syllabi in these semesters by adding the following materials to the list of assignments:
"The Tao"
*Problem: How does the Chinese vision of the ordered cosmos differ from that of Christianity as seen in Chartres or Islam as seen in the mosque? How would Taoism mold Chinese artistic expressions?
*An interdisciplinary study of the philosophical and "religious" school of Taoism, and its expression in landscape art and literature.
*The module on Japan explores Japanese concepts of the ordered universe, and includes a study of Zen Buddhism, Shinto, the Samurai code of Bushido, the making of the Samurai sword, Japanese architecture, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (The Peach Orchard; see handout), and Japanese landscape art, especially Hokusai's View of Mount Fuji (see the course chapter). I clarified the syllabi in these semesters by adding the following materials to the list of assignments:
"Transience, Beauty, and Nature"
*Problem: How do the Japanese views of the ordered cosmos differ from those of the Chinese? How can eternity be captured in a transient moment? Explain your answer through at least three art forms from different disciplines.
*An interdisciplinary survey of Japanese views of nature through the perspectives of Shinto, Zen Buddhism, Haiku, Zen Gardens, The Tea Ceremony, and Japanese film (Kurosawa's Dreams).
*The module on The European Mechanistic Universe includes a discussion of rationalism in the eighteenth century in Europe, and discusses the scientific revolution, the Newtonian universe, the philosophy of Descartes and others, the political philosophy of John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau, and new views of nature as reflected in the works of Alexander Pope, eighteenth-century landscape gardens, and the music of Mozart and others (see the course chapter). I clarified the syllabi in these semesters by adding the following materials to the list of assignments:
"Reason and the Ordering of Unruly Nature"
*How did Newtonian Mechanics influence philosophy, art, music, literature, and landscape design?
*An interdisciplinary survey of the Newtonian Revolution, eighteenth-century rationalism in philosophy, literature, the landscape garden, and the classical music.
In this unit, students completed an interactive module on Taoism written by me for the course, an active learning workshop on Zen gardens and Haiku, and a written assignment in which they explained how their gardens and Haiku exemplified the tenets of Zen Buddhism. They also participated in bulletin board posting assignments in which they assumed the role of Pooh and taught an artist to paint a Taoist landscape. The fall 1999 surveys highlighted the efficacy of active learning, and I designed an assignment in which students wrote and performed skits on the Tao of Pooh.
In addition to the links to the multimedia chapters above, viewers may want to explore the following course materials:
Class handout
on Asian Views of Nature: China and multimedia
course chapter
Dr.
Vess's interactive module on Chinese philosophy requires Shockwave
or Authorware web player
Class handout on Asian
Views of Nature: Japan and course chapter
Class handout on the
European Mechanistic Universe and multimedia
course chapter
Multimedia
course chapters by Dr. Greg Pepetone on the classical style in music
Dr.
Vess's performance of the Mozart D Minor concerto
K. 466
Sample student
responses to Haiku/garden assignment in spring 2000 and fall
2000
Student responses to the "A Lesson with Pooh
on Art" bulletin board posting in spring
2000 and fall 2000
Weeks XV-XVI: Art as Self-Expression
This is the final unit in the course, and explores the aesthetic of expressionism; the notion of the self in psychology, literature and religious traditions; and the self-portrait in art (see the course chapter). The unit culminates with the creation of the students' own self-portraits. I incorporated an interdisciplinary module on Romanticism for the first time in spring 2000, and added the following clarifying remarks to the syllabus:
*Problem: find the analogues to the Romantic use of color, line, shape, and other design in at least three disciplines. How does the sense of the ordered cosmos in romanticism differ from that of the medieval cathedral and the Chinese and Japanese views of nature? How does the aesthetic theory of expressionism conflict with and present problems for the functionalist view of art?
*An interdisciplinary study of self-expression and Romanticism in the visual arts and music; discussion of the use of color, line, and other design elements in self-expression
We then studied psychological theories of the self, and I clarified the module focus as follows:
*Problem: Find applications of Freudian Psychology in the arts and in literature. In what ways do Freud and Jung conflict on their view of the self? How is the approach of psychology different from that of the visual and aural arts and the humanities?
*An interdisciplinary survey of psychological theories of the self and their expression in surrealistic art of Dali and the literature of Rilke
This unit included a discussion of codified expressions of the self in Asian drama:
*Problem: Which aspect of the Freudian self would most be captured by the codified forms of expression in drama? Which aspects neglected?
*An interdisciplinary exploration of social constructs of self-expression and non-verbal forms of communication in Japanese Kabuki and Bunraku and other cultural contexts
We also discussed other Asian views of the self, particularly Hindu views:
"The Self as the Cosmos"
*Problem: In what ways does Hinduism present a similar view of the self to that of the psychologists studied? In what ways does the approach of a spiritual tradition differ from that of psychology? The arts?
*An interdisciplinary survey of Hindu and Buddhist views of the Self as seen through primary source texts and their expression in art
In addition to the links to the multimedia chapters above, viewers may want to explore the following course materials:
Multimedia
chapter by Dr. Greg Pepetone on Romanticism in music
Dr.
Vess's digitized performances of the Chopin F Minor Concerto
and Brahms op. 76 selections
Dr. Farrar's
handout on Romanticism in the visual arts (spring 2000)
Dr. Vess's handout
on Romanticism in music and the visual arts (fall 2000)
Dr. Farrar's Class
handout on self-portraits
Dr.
Vess's interactive module on the Hindu vedas (requires Shockwave or
Authorware web player)
Multimedia
course chapter on Jung
Student responses to the bulletin board posting
assignments on Freud, Jung, and
Rilke in spring 2000.
Sample student
self-portraits for spring 2000 and fall
2000
The End-of-the-course: Final Synthesis
Starting in the spring and fall 2000, the self-portrait assignment functioned as the final exam. However, I did require students to respond for a final time to the questions "What is Art," in the WEBCT bulletin board area.
Student final responses to "What is Art?"
in the fall 2000
Reflection on Course Outcomes
The various enhancements significantly improved student awareness of disciplinary methodology, perspectives, and materials in exams and the self-portrait project. Student performance on the first exam reflected awareness of musical as well as artistic interpretations of color, line, and shape; the self-portrait projects were considerably improved not only by the revision of the assignment to include a formal written essay integrating various disciplinary notions of the self, but also through the introduction of more diverse disciplinary resources to the unit itself. I again administered the Jackson Personality Inventory, the Measure of Epistemological Reflection, and my own course surveys. To explore the data from standardized instruments and my course surveys this semester, click on any of the following links:
Jackson Personality Inventory for spring
2000 and fall
2000
Measure of Epistemological Reflection for spring
2000 and fall
2000
Course
survey for spring 2000 and student responses
Course
survey for fall 2000 and student responses
To further explore student learning outcomes, please proceed to my reflection on the spring and fall 2000 iterations of the course.