Course Objectives:

This is a Core Curriculum course that is organized as a combination of lecture periods and discussion sessions. Regular participation in both lectures and discussion periods will allow students to develop the critical language necessary for analyzing the themes of the course and apply them to specific examples of visual culture. Ultimately, the purpose of this course is to expand students’ ability to analyze and critique the visual world around them. To accomplish this goal, lectures, discussion periods and written assignments are designed to introduce and develop various methods of visual analysis and critical thought.

Degree Objectives:

This course relates to the following degree objectives of the Southern Illinois University BA/BFA in Art and Design, which mandate that in the process of earning a bachelor's degree, students will learn to express ideas effectively in the chosen field and present work professionally in written, oral, and/or visual form, and to define and use – in both written and oral form – specialized vocabulary, concepts, and methodologies relating to the techniques, critical theories, and historical analysis of works of art and design.

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Readings and Visual Material:

Required textbook (available for purchase at the University Bookstore):

Marilyn Stokstad, Art History, revised second edition (Prentice Hall, 2005).

If you do not take good notes, I suggest that you complete your readings before coming to class. If you do take excellent notes, you may choose to hear the lectures first and read Stokstad right after.

Recommended textbook (extremely helpful for writing papers):

Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art, 8 thEdition (Pearson/ Longman, 2005).

Visual material :

All lectures will be posted for your review on the course website; the address is http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/~gertsman/ad207b/

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Assignments and Grading:

I. Exams (60% of your grade):

You will be given three tests during the course of this semester. Each exam is non-cumulative, and each will constitute 20% of your grade. Exams must be taken at scheduled times.There are no make-ups for exams without a valid excuse (see below under Course Policies and Student Responsibilities). Your exams will consist of the following:

1. Essay questions that will include image identifications and comparisons, as well as questions relating to your readings. You will be asked to write a short essay on two images, comparing and contrasting them, and paying particular attention to their common features and relevant differences. For each image, you will need to bring up particular characteristics and their importance. In addition, you will be asked to discuss the function of the pieces and to place them into relevant social context (i.e. discuss patronage and historical circumstance if either is known).

2. Vocabularyquizzes for which you will be asked to define four terms that pertain to visual and/or social cultures we are studying (all words can be found in the glossary at the end of your textbook).

II. Discussion participation (10% of your grade)

Discussion sections, designed weekly by graduate assistants under my guidance, will provide you with the opportunity to practice specific techniques of visual analysis and hone your critical thinking skills. Comprised of small groups of students, these sections offer a forum for individual response and in-depth discussion of the images and theories presented in lecture and readings. Section grades are based on attendance, participation, and preparation for class. Your graduate assistant will advise you each week on how to prepare for the following week’s section. For section attendance policy, see the section on general course policies below.

III. Formal Analysis (30% of your grade)

The purpose of this paper is to conduct critical, visual and interpretative analysis of one particular example of visual culture. More specifically, this assignment asks you to conduct a careful visual analysis and critical interpretation of one relevant image from the University Museum, and present your findings in a short essay of 5 pages in length. In this paper, you should provide a careful visual analysis of the object, discussing its formal qualities. You will be assessed on the extent to which you provide a coherent, creative, and thorough visual analysis of your subject, and the degree to which you intelligently formulate a thesis supported by this analysis. In other words, you are expected to produce a formal, visual analysis and critical reflection of the object under consideration, which engages directly with the ideas presented in class, discussion section, and the readings.

To that end, your paper will undergo three reviews before you turn in the final analysis the week of April 9.

Review #1: peer review. The first review will take place in your discussion section during the week of February 19. You will bring your paper to be reviewed in section by a fellow student. Each student will make comments on the clarity and originality of the paper, and make suggestions for improvement. You will revise your paper accordingly. If you fail to complete this part of the assignment, your final paper grade will drop by 1/3 of a letter grade (i.e., from B to B-) . The next page of this syllabus offers evaluation criteria that you should use when commenting on your peers’ papers. These evaluations are to be turned in along with your second paper draft (see below).

Review #2: graduate assistant review . The second draft will be reviewed by your graduate assistant, who will make further comments and hand them back the following week. This aspect of the project is designed to provide feedback to you on how to revise and improve your analytical writing skills. If you fail to turn in your draft in section during the week of March 7, your final paper grade will drop by 1/3 of a letter grade.

Review #3: Writing Center review. After you re-write the paper according to your graduate assistant’s suggestions, you will bring your paper to the campus Writing Center , which offers free tutoring services (http://www.siu.edu/~write/). Please note that the Writing Center is overbooked during the last two weeks of each semester. A note from the Writing Center , confirming your visit, will form an integral part of your grade, which will go down 1/3 of a letter grade if we do not receive the confirmation. Make sure you provide the tutor with my name as well as the name of your graduate assistant when you go to the Center.

Please provide proper citation of any research. Parenthetical references are acceptable in conjunction with a full bibliography. Footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography should follow MLA or Chicago Manual of Style guidelines. Use websites and e-dictionaries sparingly and always consider the reputation and reliability of these sources. Evidence of plagiarism – the unacknowledged borrowing of the content or ideas of any other person or institution’s work in any way – will result in no credit for the assignment and may be reported to the university for disciplinary action.

Late papers will be graded down by 1/3 of a letter grade each day they are late. No papers will be accepted three days after the deadline, or by e-mail.  

You may schedule an appointment with me at ANY TIME, and I will do my best to help you with your papers.

Formal Analysis Grading Criteria

After you have read your colleague’s paper, answer the following questions, and rate the extent to which the paper fulfills each criteria, from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

Does the essay have a clear topic? What is the topic? 1 2 3 4 5

Does the essay have a main argument (a clear thesis)? What is it? 1 2 3 4 5

Does the author support his/her thesis with specific visual analysis? 1 2 3 4 5

How could this author improve his/her essay?

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Course Policies

Course attendance policies:

This is a large class, and I will not endeavor to take your attendance during lectures. You must therefore decide whether you would like to regularly attend them. I strongly advise you to do so, since your exams will be based on lectures rather than the book, which provides no more than a reinforcement of lecture materials. If you decide, however, to attend the lectures, you must take note of the following basic rules:

1. You may not be late to the lectures . After the first week of classes, we will lock the doors precisely at 3, and those who come late will not be allowed in. This is to spare your peers and your instructor various distractions (light from opening doors, noise, etc) caused by late arrivals.

2. If you have a legitimate reason to come in late and/or leave early, you must notify me and your graduate assistant in advance . In this case, please sit by the door so as not to disturb your classmates when you enter or leave.

3. You must turn off your cell phone before you enter the classroom. If you forget to do so, and your phone rings or vibrates during the class, turn it off immediately and discreetly (this includes not checking to see who called first, and not sneaking a peak at a text message).

4. If you have a question, please raise your hand, and ask me instead of asking your neighbor. It is likely that others have this very same question.

5. Please do not eat in class : it is distracting and disrespectful (drink as much coffee or water as your heart desires).

6. If you need to discuss your progress, your grade, or your paper, please do so during our office hours and not during or right before class .

The lectures are designed to appeal to those genuinely interested in art history. If you would rather read a book, study a newspaper or listen to music during lecture hours, you will do so outside the classroom.

Section attendance policies :

If you must miss a section for what you believe is a legitimate reason, you have to discuss it with your graduate assistant in advance. If you fail to come to class without a prior granted excuse, and unless you provide relevant documentation from your physician, mechanic, attorney, or spiritual adviser that would explain the unforeseen circumstances that caused you not to come in, each missed class, after the second absence, will bring your final grade down by 1/3 of a letter grade. You are therefore allowed only two unexcused absences during the course of the semester without receiving a penalty. Three late arrivals will be counted as one absence. If you miss (or know you are going to miss) a discussion section, you should consult your GA immediately to see if it is possible to attend an alternate section.

Lateness and exams:

You may not be late for the exams; the door will be locked precisely at 3 p.m. , and you will not be allowed in at any time after 3. If your cell phone rings during the exam, you will be asked to leave the classroom, thereby failing the test.

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Academic Honesty

The Student Conduct Code:

Students are expected to act in accordance with SIUC’s Student Conduct Code (SCC), available online at www.siu.edu/~docedit/policies/conduct.html. The SCC defines acts of academic dishonesty as “plagiarism, representing the work of another as one’s own work; preparing work for another that is to be used as that person’s own work; cheating by any method or means; knowingly and willfully falsifying or manufacturing scientific or educational data and representing the same to be the result of scientific or scholarly experiment or research; knowingly furnishing false information to a university official relative to academic matters; and soliciting, aiding, abetting, concealing, or attempting acts of academic dishonesty.”

Plagiarism

You will certainly – and at the very least – fail my class if I catch you plagiarizing. Plagiarism is a very serious offense, and discipline may involve suspension or dismissal from the university. Plagiarism is taking credit for the work, research, or writing of another; it is not only an academic offense, but also a form of intellectual theft. In your paper you will use the work of others and it is essential that you do so properly and legitimately, giving authors appropriate credit. Remember, too, that the professor is usually familiar with any source you might use. Most of the information cited in the paper should be paraphrased (with a reference), but on occasion if you use the author's exact words they must be enclosed in quotation marks, as well as followed by a reference. Direct use of an author's words without quotation marks is plagiarism in its most common form, but the simple appropriation of someone’s ideas also constitutes a case of plagiarism – that is, if you haven’t given this person (a book author, your classmate, your instructor, etc) the proper credit. Most plagiarism occurs as a result of ignorance of the rules, or because students are in too much of a hurry to take proper reading notes or to finish their papers. Don’t make this mistake! If you have questions on how to cite a source properly (how to quote or paraphrase something from a book, how to indicate your peer’s ideas or lecture notes, etc.), ask your instructor or consult The Chicago Manual of Style.

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Students with Special Instructional Needs:

Students who have disabilities documented by the staff at SIUC’s Disability Support Services or Achieve Program, and who need any special arrangements, should provide the instructor with documentation of their needs before or during the first week of class. The phone number for the Disability Support Services is 453-5738.

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Course Schedule:

Wednesday, January 17: Introduction to the course. – Expectations. – Lectures and

sections.

NOTE: ** There are no section meetings this week. **

Monday, January 22 and Wednesday, January 24: Chinese art before 1280.

Neolithic cultures. – Shang and Zhou Dynasties. – The Chinese Empire: Qin
Dynasty. – Han Dynastiy. – Six Dynasties. – Sui and Tang Dynasties. – Song
Dynasty.
Reading: Stokstad, 359-383.

Monday, January 29 and Wednesday, January 31: Japanese art before 1392.

Prehistoric Japan. – Asuka Period. – Nara Period. – Heian Period. – Kamakura
Period.
Reading: Stokstad, 385-403.

Monday, February 5 and Wednesday, February7: Art of the Americas Before 1300.

Mesoamerica. The Olmec. Teotihiacan. The Maya. – Central America. – South
America and the Central Andes. – North America.
Reading: Stokstad, 405-425.

Monday, February 12: First exam.

Wednesday 14: Explanation of the formal analysis assignment (the class meeting led by teaching assistants).

Monday, February 19 and Wednesday, February 21: Early Medieval Art in Europe.

The British Isles and Scandinavia. – Christian Spain. – Langobard Italy. –
Carolingian Europe. – Ottonian Europe.
Reading: Stokstad, 441-469

** First draft of the paper due in discussion section **

Monday, February 26, Wednesday, February 28 and Monday, March 5: Romanesque Art.

Romanesque Culture. – France. – Northern Spain. – The North Sea Kingdoms. –
The Holy Roman Empire. – Italy.
Reading: Stokstad, 471-511.

Wednesday, March 7: Early Gothic Art in France.

The Gothic Style. – Saint-Denis. –Early Chartres.
Reading, Stokstad, 513-528.

** Second draft of the paper due in discussion section **

March 12 and 14: Spring break

Monday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 21: Gothic Art in France and Beyond.

High Gothic in France. – England. – Spain. – Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.
Reading: Stokstad, 528-558

Monday, March 26: Gothic Art in Italy.

Reading: Stokstad, 558-575

Wednesday, March 28: Second exam.

Monday, April 2, Wednesday, April 4, and Monday, April 9: Early Renaissance Art
The Renaissance and Humanism. – The French Ducal Courts. – Flanders. – Flemish
Style. – The Graphic Arts. – Italy.
Reading: Stokstad, 577-643.

** Paper due in discussion section on the week of April 9 **

Wednesday, April 11, Monday, April 16 and Wednesday, April 18: Renaissance Art

Europe in the Sixteenth Century. – The Classical Phase in Italy. – Germany and the
Reformation. – Late Renaissance in Italy. – France. – Spain. – Netherlands. –
England.
Reading: Stokstad, 645-717.

Monday, April 23, Wednesday, April 25 and Monday, April 30: Baroque Art

Italy. – France. – Habsburg Germany and Austria. – Habsburg Spain. – Spanish
Colonies in the Americas. – The Southern Netherlands ( Flanders). – The Northern
Netherlands (United Dutch Republic). – England.
Reading: Stokstad, 719-785.

Wednesday, May 2: Third test

Friday, May 11 th: Individual appointments with graduate assistants between 10:10 and

12:10; discussion of performance.