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Fall 1998

Dr. Deborah Vess

e-mail: dvess@mail.gac.peachnet.edu

Ms. Susan C. Wylly

e-mail: swylly@mail.gac.peachnet.edu

policies and procedures | course outline

OFFICE HOURS: Dr. Vess's office hours for fall semester are 9:30-10:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 1:00-2:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If it is not possible for you to see Dr. Vess during these times, you may make an appointment. Her office is located in A&S 2-50A, and her phone number is x4441. Ms. Wylly's office is located in 202 Blackbridge Hall. Her phone number is: x6807. Her office hours are: MWF 10:00-12:00 unless otherwise announced and TTH 9:30-11:00 unless otherwise announced We look forward to teaching you; please stop by our offices to personally introduce yourself.

PERSONAL SAFETY: In the event of a fire alarm signal students should exit the building in a quick and orderly manner through the nearest hallway exit. First and Second floor classes should exit through ground level exits; Third floor classes through nearest stairwell to a ground level exit. Do not use elevator. Third floor stairwells are areas where disabled people may communicate with rescue workers. Be familiar with the floor plan and exits of this building.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:

*The Norton Anthology of World Literature expanded edition in one volume.

*Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

*Henry Adams, Mont St. Michel and Chartres

*Shakespeare, Macbeth

You can find these books at the university bookstore.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will develop your appreciation of the fine and applied arts in the various cultures of the world. It will introduce you to representative theories of aesthetics, and to the contributions of the world=s cultures to the fine and applied arts. You will explore various works from the fine and applied arts, music, literature, and philosophy within the context of other contemporary trends within the humanities, sciences, and society. This course will develop your appreciation of the role of the arts and of the artist within the world=s societies. An important aspect of the course will be the integration of several units with on-campus events and gallery exhibits, as well as several activities in which you will experience first-hand the art of the weaver and the potter, create your own self-portrait from found objects, and design and implement a Zen garden.

GRADING POLICY/COURSE REQUIREMENTS: There will be one midterm and a final exam in the course. The midterm exam and the final will count as 25 percent of your grade. There will also be several shorter written assignments, some of them very creative, some artistic endeavors, and some assignments incorporating gallery exhibits and performances that will count as 50 percent of the overall grade. Students will be required to attend two gallery exhibits, to write a commentary on their thoughts about various pieces in the exhibit, and to relate these thoughts to the assigned readings. These two commentaries should be handed in no later than December 1st.

MAKEUPS: The TENTATIVE date for each exam is listed on the syllabus. Makeups for exams will be administered only in the most extreme circumstances and will consist entirely of essay questions. If you must miss an exam, you must contact Dr. Vess PRIOR to the exam and arrange a makeup time if you are permitted an excused absence. If you do not contact Dr. Vess, you will NOT be allowed to makeup the exam, and will receive a "zero" for that unit. In the event that you are permitted to make up the exam, the make-up will be administered on the make up exam day, December 18, 1998. The professor assumes no responsibility for scheduling makeups. You are responsible for scheduling your makeup exam for the makeup exam day, December 18, 1998. No more than one missed exam will be made up UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES; if you miss more than one exam, you will receive a zero for that grade. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE TO THIS POLICY. PLEASE DO NOT ASK THAT AN EXCEPTION BE MADE IN YOUR CASE.

ELECTRONIC/COMPUTER RESOURCES:

Dr. Vess's World Civilization Virtual Library. This is my home page for all the courses I teach; you will find a link there for this course. We will use it this semester for various assignments, and you may use it to further explore many of the topics we will discuss. It can be accessed from any terminal at the College or from your home. Included in these files are some reference materials and virtual tours for some of the topics we will study.

Dr. Vess's World Civilization Interactive Journey. This is a series of interactive computer programs especially written for Dr. Vess's courses. You will be able to access this program only in the A&S lab room 2-71. Click on the world civ icon on the Windows screen. We will be working through several of these modules during the course of the quarter, particularly in conjunction with the units on Asian culture. You will need to acquire a 3 2 floppy disk (IBM format) to record your work. Make sure your disk is formatted.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: You are responsible for all material presented in class lectures and discussions, and from films, transparencies and other media resources; please be aware that this sort of material is difficult, if not impossible, to make up. This syllabus contains only a partial listing of classroom resources which will be used. The instructors assume NO RESPONSIBILITY whatsoever for providing you with missed notes, etc. Please DO NOT call or come by and expect us to teach you the material you missed or to show you a film you missed. The syllabus provides you with information as to topics covered. If you are not present we cannot teach you, and since we will often be exchanging ideas in discussion, the class will be deprived of your input. PLEASE attend regularly. Students who accumulate more than four absences in this course prior to midterm of the course will be dropped from the roll by the instructor. After midterm, October 1, you will receive an "F" for more than five total absences during the semester. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy, regardless of the reason for the absences. If you have missed five times, you have missed over two weeks of the course. In my estimation, missing this much of the course of the course would naturally entail failure, so please abide by this policy.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any attempt to present ideas from a textbook or other source as one's own, such as copying answers during exams or using unattributed information in a paper, is considered cheating. If caught cheating, you will receive a "O" the first time and an "F" in the course and referral to the Dean of Arts and Sciences for further offenses. There will be no exceptions to this policy.

The outline which follows is a TENTATIVE outline only. We may at times, move ahead or fall behind our schedule. For this reason, it is crucial that you attend regularly. It is YOUR responsibility to know where we are in the course. Regular attendance and participation in the discussions, lectures and completing the readings are a must for success in this course.

THE LAST DAY TO DROP THE COURSE WITHOUT ACADEMIC PENALTY IS OCTOBER , 1998.

COURSE OUTLINE

August 20: First day of class. Course introduction by Ms. Wylly: What is art?

UNIT I: THE ARTIST AS CRAFTSPERSON: ART AND ITS FUNCTIONS

August 25/Tuesday: Topic I: "Threads of Life: The Art of the Weaver and weaving motifs in literature, art, music, science, and mythology"

*Continue discussion of "what is art?"

*students will learn some techniques of weaving and will complete a piece for a class project.

Assignment: Complete your piece of weaving and write a myth which interprets their piece of weaving and will share it with the class (due on September 3)

Readings:

Class handouts: myths from China and the Hopi Indians

August 27/Thursday: Continue weaving projects with Ms. Wylly

September 1/Tuesday: Lecture/discussion of weaving motifs in language, literature, art, music, science, and mythology

Readings: Two myths as assigned

September 3/Thursday: Complete unit on Threads of Life. Students will share with the class the myths they have created along with their weaving projects.

Begin unit on Cave Art: The World of Being and Becoming

Explore Cave Art of Lascaux and other pre-historic caves on the Internet. See Dr. Vess's World Civilization Virtual Library (address above), follow the link for your course.

Readings: Plato's Allegory of the Cave to be distributed to the class; excerpts from Joseph Campbell's The Faces God on reserve at the library .

September 8/Tuesday

Continue unit on "The World of Being and Becoming: Cave Art"

*Buddhist art on the Chinese Frontiers

*catacombs

*Mesa Verde

September 10/Thursday: Houses of Prayer

The Pyramids

Readings:

Egyptian poetry in the Norton Anthology, 42-48

Handout from the Book of the Dead

Assignment: Students will write an "autobiography" of an Egyptian in the first person based on the primary sources we have read, and will share them with the class.

September 15/Tuesday: Houses of Prayer: The Acropolis

The three orders of Greek architecture; Greek mythology

Readings:

To be distributed; excerpts from Plato on the role of the arts and of artists in society

September 17/Thursday Houses of Prayer: The Mosque

Discussion of the major tenets of Islam as they are expressed in mosques throughout the Islamic world and in Islamic Art

Readings:

The Qur'an, p. 868-888 in the Norton Anthology

September 22/Tuesday, September 24/Thursday: Houses of Prayer: The medieval cathedral

Readings:

Henry Adams, Mont St. Michel and Chartres

Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, p. 1165-1217 Norton Anthology

Assignment: Students will write an account of a pilgrimage in diary fashion to be shared with the class. Due on September 24th

September 29/Tuesday/, October 1/Thursday, October 6/Tuesday and October 8/Thursday: Vessels of Culture: Pottery

The class will divide in half. Group A will go with Professor Wylly the first week and study the art of the potter, while the Group B will remain in class for lecture/discussion. The following week, the roles will be reversed. You will be graded on your participation in the activity.

Readings:

Creation Myths TBA

Popul Vuh, Norton Anthology, p. 1742ff

Hindu Texts: Norton Anthology, p. 1419-1431

Assignment: Students will write a creation myth in the form of an "epic" poem, expressing what they did with the pottery

October 12/Tuesday: Art and the State

African Art: The Art of Benin

Readings:

Deborah Vess, "The Mudfish and the European: An African Account of the Age of Discovery" on reserve at the library

Art discussed in class may be reviewed through Dr. Vess's Home Page; follow the link on your course page.

October 15/Thursday: Art and the State

China: The Forbidden City

October 20/Tuesday: Art and the State

The Buddhist Empire of Ashoka

Readings:

Sermon at Benares, to be distributed

October 22/Thursday: Art and the State

The French revolution: The Art of David and Music of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky

Readings:

Excerpts from Schindler's Beethoven as I Knew Him