Fall 1999 SYLLABUS
A&S 2-72
Tuesdays/Thursdays 11:00-12:15
Dr. Deborah Vess (primary instuctor)
e-mail: dvess@mail.gcsu.edu
Dr. Roxanne Farrar (workshop clinician/lecturer)
e-mail: rfarrar@mail.gcsu.edu
To navigate this file, click on any of the following topics:
Required Texts | Course Description | Course Requirements | Outline of Topics and Readings: | Course Introduction and the Elements of Art | Unit I: Functionalism | Unit II Art as Mirror of Reality Unit III Art and the Ordered Cosmos | Unit IV: Art as Self-Expression | Policies and procedures
Dr. Vess's office hours for spring semester are 9:30-10:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 10:00-11:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If it is not possible for you to see Dr. Vess during these times, please make an appointment. Her office is located in A&S 2-50A, and her phone number is x4441.
Dr. Roxanne Farrar will be visiting the class frequently and will conduct special workshops and other class sessions. Her office is located in Mayfair Hall 207. Her phone number is: x1188. 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.
*The Humanistic Tradition, volumes 1,2, and 3.
*Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh
You can find these books at the university bookstore.
We also have a multimedia textbook for this course on the Web; this material will be absolutely essential for you to read. Go to: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu:8900/; this takes you to the University's WEBCT screen. You will be assigned a password and log in name to access the online course listed under IDST 2310, the Fine and Applied Arts in Civilization. Should you lose your password, you can also access the reading materials at http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/fap/fapciv.shtml; quizzes are not accessible here.
These materials were written by Dr. Vess and your other instructors here at the University expressly for this class, and we hope you will find them helpful.
OTHER READINGS:Students will also be required to read materials on reserve at the library and on the Internet.
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 creative activities in which you will create your own self-portrait from found objects, and design and implement a Zen garden.
GRADING POLICY/COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Workshops/Creative projects:
There will be two applied art projects assigned -- a self-portrait and a Zen garden/haiku project. These projects will count together as 15 percent of your overall grade. No late projects will be accepted.
Quizzes:
There will be several quizzes on the readings and course content. These quizzes will begin during the first full week of class, and will be conducted on-line in the computer labs. Students will take the quizzes on their own time. These quizzes will consist of fill-in-the-blank, short answer, visual identification of art masterworks, and multiple choice questions. The quiz grades will be averaged, and will count as 15 percent of your grade. NO LATE QUIZZES ACCEPTED. MUST BE COMPLETED BY DUE DATES.
Discussion sessions and other class participation projects:
Students will regularly participate in discussion session on the university's discussion forum through their online course package. Discussions will concern the topics studies in the course as well as assigned readings. Participation is mandatory and there will be NO CREDIT GIVEN FOR LATE PARTICIPATION. D r. Farrar will also conduct several hands-on workshops for us this semester; participation is mandatory and there will be no make-ups allowed. These workshops will and discussion posts as well as your in-class participation will will count as 10 percent of your total grade. Students will log on and post when assigned to receive credit.
Gallery and performance critiques:
The class will attend together one gallery exhibit on campus; in addition, students will participate in the medieval festival and are required to attend The Scarlet Letter, an on-campus theatrical production. Students will write a gallery critique, in a format to be handed out later, and will have written asignments in conjunction with the other required performances. These materials will count as 15 percent of your grade.
Exams:
In addition, there will be three major exams in the course: two midterm exams and a comprehensive final. The midterm exams will count as 15 percent of your grade, and the final exam will count as 15 percent of your overall grade. The xams will be composed primarily of essay questions, with some short identifications as well.
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 13, 1999. The professor assumes no responsibility for scheduling makeups. You are responsible for scheduling your makeup exam for the makeup exam day, December 13, 1999. 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:
IDST 2310 Online Textbook: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu:8900/; this takes you to the University's WEBCT screen. You will be assigned a password and log in name to access the online course listed under IDST 2310, the Fine and Applied Arts in Civilization.
Should you lose your password, you can also access the reading materials at http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/fap/fapciv.shtml; quizzes are not accessible here.
These materials were written by Dr. Vess and your other instructors here at the University expressly for this class, and we hope you will find them helpful.
Dr. Vess's World Civilization Virtual Library (http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/dvess.shtml). If all else fails, you can reach any of my materials through this URL. 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.
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, October 15, of the course will be dropped from the roll by the instructor with a grade of "F". After midterm, October 15, 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 15, 1999.
August 19: First day of class. Course introduction.
UNIT I: What is Art and the Elements of Art?
Presentation by Drs. Vess and Farrar: What is art?
August 24th: Introduction to Art: What is Art? and the Elements of Art:
The use of shape and line
*workshop on preferential shapes
Dr. Vess/Dr. Farrar
August 26th: Introduction to the Elements of Art: Color Aesthetics
*students will present their preferential shapes project;
*lecture/discussion of medieval color aesthetics in the illuminations of Hildegard von Bingen (Dr. Vess)
Readings: Dr. Vess's chapter on Hildegard in the online course package.
August 31: Introduction to the Elements of Art: Yoruba Color Aesthetics
lecture/discussion by Dr. Farrar
workshop on Yoruba bead-making
Readings: Dr. Farrar's chapter on Yoruba color aesthetics in the online course package.
September 2: Begin Unit II: THE ARTIST AS CRAFTSPERSON: ART AND ITS FUNCTIONS
This unit will explore functionalism, the idea that the worth or success of a work of art is to be evaluated and appreciated in terms of its fullfilment of the function for which it was designed. This view of art was widely held during ancient Greece.
Cave Art: The World of Being and Becoming
Explore Cave Art of Lascaux and other pre-historic caves on the Internet. See your online course package chapter on Cave art for links .
Readings: Prehistory and the birth of civilization, in the Humanistic Tradition, volume 1, p. 1-11.
September 7: Threads of Life: The Textile Arts" (Dr. Farrar)
Readings: consult the online course package for myths from China, Africa, and Greece
The Pyramids (read course chapter)
Readings: "Ancient Civilizations," Hum. Trad, vol. I, to p. 30.
Handout from the Book of the Dead
Assignment: Take the web quiz over the pyramids, Egypt and cave art by the next class period.
September 14: Houses of Prayer: The Acropolis
lecture/discussion by Dr. Farrar
The three orders of Greek architecture; Greek mythology
Readings: "The Classical Style," p. 102-124.
Dr. Vess's chapter on the Acropolis and Greek Aesthetics in your online course package.
September 16: Houses of Prayer: Hindu Temples
Lecture by Dr. Farrar
Readings: chapter 14 to p. 151 in Hum. Trad. Vol. II.
September 21: African Religious Architecture/Rituals
lecture and workshop by Dr. Farrar
September 23: Trip to Gallery to view Pressed and Pulled exhibit. Write-ups due by October 5.
Dr. Vess
Discussion of the major tenets of Islam as they are expressed in mosques throughout the Islamic world and in Islamic Art
Readings: The Islamic World, in Hum. Trad. Vol. 2, 43-63.
Dr. Vess's chapter on mosques in your online course package.
Architecture of Isfahan, Internet site accessed through class web site.
*Workshop: Hands of Fatima (Dr. Farrar)
*Assignment: take the web quiz over Mosques and Islam by the next class period.
*Assignment: acess the Qur'an search engine through your online course package page on mosques.Search for the words "idol" and "image," list at least five passages which discuss these terms, and explaint the teachings of the Qur'an on idols as seen in these passages. Search results due TODAY.
September 30: EXAM I
October 5th: Anglo-Saxon and Celtic Art forms
Beowulf
Readings: chapter 11 to p. 71 in Hum. Trad, vol. II
Beowulf (on reserve)
Special note: there will be a medieval symposium on campus during this week; students are required to attend the performance of Chris Vinsonhaler of Beowulf on October 6th at 7:00. In addition, students should attend at least one other event scheduled for the symposium.
October 7th: Special guest appearance by Ms. Vinsonhaler on Beowulf
October 12th: Houses of Prayer: The medieval cathedral
lecture/discussion by Dr. Vess
Readings: Chapters 12 and 13 in vol. II, Hum. Trad.
*Optional readings on reserve:
Henry Adams, Mont St. Michel and Chartres, "The 12th- Century Windows" on reserve
Assignment: Take the Web quiz over Chartres by next class period.
October 14th: Art and the State
(Dr. Vess)
African Art: The Art of Benin
Readings: Dr. Farrar's chapter on the political and social dimensions of art in your online course package.
Deborah Vess, "The Mudfish and the European: An African Account of the Age of Discovery" in your online course package.
Hum. Trd., vol. 3, p. Chapter 19 to p. 153.
*Assignment: post response on your Discussion board for this unit by class today
*Assignment: take the Web quiz by next class period
October 15th: Last day to drop with a "W.
October 19th: Art and the State
(Dr. Vess)
China: The Tomb of Shi Huang Ti, The Temple of Heaven, and the Forbidden City
Readings: Dr. Vess's chapters on China in your web course package; Hum. Trd., vol. 1, p. 157-167.
(Dr. Vess)
The French Revolution: The Art of D avid and Music of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky
Readings: Dr. Vess's chapter on the French Revolution in your online course package.
Excerpts from Schindler's Beethoven as I Knew Him on reserve
* Assignment: Take the Web Quiz by the next class period over the French Revolution in your online course package.
October 26
UNIT II: UT PICTURA POESIS: ART AS MIRROR OF REALITY
In this unit, we will explore Realism and Idealism. Realism is a style of art which attempts to produce reality as it truly is. Idealism is realted to realism in that it attempts to produce the world, but the world as it ideally ought to be, or as it is thought to be.
Art as Mirror of Reality: Realism
The Renaissance and Leonardo DaVinci
Readings: "Classical Humanism" chp. 16 in Hum. Trad. Vol. 3, and "Renaissance Artists" chapter 17 through p. 60 in Hum. Trad., vol. 3.
October 26/28: Art as Mirror of Reality: Idealism
Michelangelo
Readings: Dr. Vess's chapter on Michelangelo in your online course textbook.
Chapter 17 in Hum. Trad, vol. 3, p. 64-69.
November 2: EXAM II
A portion of this exam will be taken on the Web through your online course package; you should take the web quiz by the date of the exam. No late entries accepted.
UNIT III: ART AND THE ORDERED COSMOS
In this unit, we will study differing views of the nature of the cosmos, and of its structure.
November 4: The Tao of Nature: Asia
China: Taoism
Readings: Hum. Trad. Vol I, p. 57-59.
The Tao of Pooh
Assignment: complete the interactive unit on Taoism in your web course package. You will need a formatted 31/2 floppy disk IBM format to record your answers. Please turn this in today.
November 6: Chinese landscape art
Readings: Web chapter in class web site (by Drs. Farrar and Vess)
Medieval Period in China, from Hum. Trad., vol. 2, p. 151-162.
November 11/16: The Tao of Nature: Asia
Japan: Haiku and Zen Gardens, The Tea Ceremony and Kirusawa's Dreams.
Readings: Medieval period in Japan, Hum. Trad., vol. 2, p. 162-169.
Haiku of Basho to be distributed in class.
Assignment: students will write a haiku poem, design a Zen garden, and write a commentary which explains the design of the Zen garden and how the haiku poem captures Japanese cultural ideals. Due on November 16th. To be shared with the class. Post on class discussion board.
There will be a recital this evening by Dr. Greg Pepetone, which will be required of all students in the class.
November 18: Art and the Ordered Cosmos: The European Mechanistic Universe
Study of classical music of Mozart, Haydn and early Beethoven; guest lecture by Dr. Pepetone
November 23: Art and the Ordered Cosmos: The European Mechanistic Universe
Europeam Rationalism and European Gardens of the 18th century
Readings:
Alexander Pope, Essay on Man on reserve
*on reserve: "The Promise of Reason" from the Humanistic Tradition.
UNIT IV: ART AS SELF-EXPRESSION
In this unit we will explore art as a form of self-expression. We will study various concepts of the self from Asia and the western traditions, along with representative examples of art. We will also look at the ways in which socieites have used art to express their notions of self.
November 30: What is the Self? The Self in Literature and in art
The Self-Portraits: use of color, line, and other design elements in self-expression
Self-portraits of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Durer, Van Gogh, Picasso and other artists
*Assignment: students will begin work on self-portrait project. Students should write a brief commentary on the portrait, making use of ideas and materials from the readings. Due on December 9th.
December 2: What is the Self? The Self in Literature and in art
Readings:
Web chapter in your course package by Dr. Gillis
Rilke, "Faces," to be distributed
*Participate in course discussion board. Due before class.
December 7:
What is the Self? The Self in art and literature:
Hindu and Buddhist views of the Self and the impact on art
Readings: Hum. Trd, vol. I, p. 41-43, vol. III, p.143- 151.
*Assignment: complete the interactive materials on the Hindu texts; you will need to bring a formatted 3 1/2 inch floppy disk to the lab. Turn it in today. No late discs accepted.
December 9th: Presentation of Self-portraits.
FINAL EXAM: 11:00-1:45 Thursday, December 16th.
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