ARTS 121 Art History
Classic Themes
in Western Art
Spring 2021, SyllabusSheehy-Farmer Student Center 303Fitzgerald
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12:30-1:45 pm
Prof. Pavlac
ARTS 121 Art History
Spring 2021, Syllabus |
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Prof. Pavlac
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Description | Objectives | Course Requirements | Class Schedule | Moodle
This Core course surveys basic themes of art within Western Civilization. Artists through the ages have portrayed basic stories, drawn from myth, religion, and history, that show people's realities and fantasies, fears and hopes. These stories reflect the concerns of the past, while they often resonate with us today, and provide a foundation of a common culture. Students will read key stories from our heritage (especially from the Bible and Greek Mythology), look at and interpret art about them, and analyze their impact on our culture. We will draw especially on the Græco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions to provide a basis for appreciating art, its changing styles and techniques, and ourselves. Caution: some subjects include questionable morality, nudity, sexual situations, and emotional, physical and sexual violence.
Communication and Creative Expression Pathway
Categories in this pathway—Writing, Oral Communication, Literature, and Arts—are designed to cultivate a student’s capacity to appreciate, analyze, and engage the human experience in its diverse creative forms. In some courses, students will develop their capacities to move, educate, convince, and entertain audiences; tell their own stories; reflect on their learning; discover and reveal attitudes and feelings; defend beliefs, opinions, and interpretations; and contribute in diverse, creative, and meaningful ways to the lives of those with whom they live and work. Other classes will develop students’ abilities to identify and analyze the formal and thematic features of a variety of artistic and literary works and to explain how the creation and reception of those works was influenced by aesthetic, cultural, historical, and social factors. All of the courses in this category will develop students’ ability to use methods of human expression—to invent, design, write, speak, and perform—in creative and effective ways. In short, the courses in this cluster will help students probe for deeper understanding and meaning in the cultural works they encounter and to create meaning through their own artistic works and their written and spoken communication.
Goals and Outcomes
Courses taught in the Arts address Goal 4: to cultivate students’ capacity to appreciate, analyze, and engage the human experience in its many creative forms And the following outcomes:
Review the academic honesty policy concerning cheating and plagiarism, differing levels of violations, and your moral, ethical, and legal obligation, that assignments "submitted for credit as a part of a course in fulfillment of a college requirement are the original works of the student." (click here for more information from the Student Handbook).
Before class, consult the schedule, below and/or the Moodle listing for what is to be covered on any particular week or day. Regularly consult the sechdule to plan for assignments due. Every class as noted, you must bring the appropriate book to class and/or print out the READING ASSIGNMENT as directed. Although this syllabus present the basic content and requirements of the course, the professor reserves the right to change anything (e.g. assignments, point values, topics, due dates, grading policy, etc.), at any time, at his discretion.
The readings are intended to provide you with important factual and
background information before class, a basis for discussion during class, and to
be used as review and reference works afterwards.
1. Obtain the
following required textbooks in paper (not digital/electronic), preferably clean, unmarked-up copies (whether new, used, or rented), which are to be brought to each class:
If you have a used Dictionary textbook that has been already marked up, or an electronic version of that textbook, see the instructor within the first two weeks of classes so that solutions can be found for your use of the textbook and subsequent evaluation.
2. The READINGS (mostly from Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Bible) are intended both to provide you with important factual and background information before class, used for discusson and reference during class, and to be used as review and reference works afterwards. Before each class, you will print out and read the chapters or pages assigned under the READING ASSIGNMENTS column on the class schedule of this syllabus or after "PRINT and READ" on Moodle.
In the second and third week are from A
Concise Survey of Art in Western Civilization on the website
ConciseWesternCiv.com
.
PRINT OUT the relevant web sources (although for some it would be more efficent to copy and paste the relevant stories into a word processing document) ahead of class, study them as below, and bring them to the appropriate class sessions.
In all
of your classes in college, you should prudently mark up, underline, highlight, and
otherwise annotate your texts as you study. For this class, you are required to
do so.
While you are reading,
use one or more highlighters or pens to mark up portions of the text of A
Concise Survey of Art in Western Civilization, Dictionary, and other printed out READING ASSIGNMENTS from the Bible and Ovid, etc. You might
use marks similar to those used by the professor in his assessment of your own
assignments, found here.
You might consider different colors to highlight or underline (a) facts, characters, terms, actions, (b)
important points or details, or (c) key explanatory phrases and sentences (d)
significant quotes or lines. You might write comments
in the margins about key ideas, reactions, or connections to other knowledge and classes.
Carefully reading and
noting texts is so important that the instructor applies two methods of
evaluation:
First, quizzes may be given. Quizzes are open book, so you may
copy your answers from your notes onto the quiz sheet. Use your own
words: language similar to the text may be plagiarism.
Second, you are
required to turn in or show your Dictionary textbook at each exam; then the instructor will
evaluate how well you have marked it up. The instructor will also ask you in class to hold up books and print-outs (and may even ask you to turn in the latter for quiz grades).
BRING the reading assignments (always the Mona Lisa and Dictionary textbooks, as necessary relevant handouts of the READING ASSIGNMENTS) as scheduled to each class. Be prepared to DISCUSS them. After each class, you should review your class notes and readings. We may not thoroughly cover all topics, but you are still responsible for them on quizzes and exams.
3. Links marked USEFUL LINKS on this syllabus; and "CONSULT" on Moodle are recommended for you to read and learn. They are optional, but they will help you to do better in class, since they would provide you with more information.
1. Traditional in-person classes: Participation and attendance are necessary because lecture and discussion provide the essentials for achieving class goals and objectives. Thus a portion of your grade (about 20%) will depend on your in-class performance, aside from graded quizzes, exams, and papers. You are required to attend each scheduled class meeting, arrive on time, remain attentive, maintain proper classroom decorum, respond to questions, and participate in discussion and small-group activities.
If you are using a personal computer, you are not to use any other apps or programs other than necessary to take notes or access study materials. During class electronic devices may only be used for tasks and information relevant to the classroom activity and may not distract you or other students. Only with the instructor's permission may class be recorded, only to be used for your own study, and the recordings must be erased after the final exam.
You are encouraged to take notes and ask questions. Since mature engagement with our society's past and present problems and controversies requires knowledge of current events, students are expected to be informed about significant current events.
Disabilities, Accessibility, and Inclusive Learning: King’s College is committed to ensuring that all students can participate fully in the King’s experience, and therefore to creating an inclusive learning environment for all students. King’s views disability as an aspect of human diversity, and continually works with students, faculty, and staff to identify environmental and attitudinal barriers and to improve accessibility on campus and in our online platforms. Therefore, if you have physical, sensory, psychological, or learning disabilities, we would like to support your access to course materials through reasonable accommodations. Please contact the Disability Services Coordinator, in the Academic Skills Center, at the beginning of the semester regarding King’s policies and procedures for documenting and accommodating differing abilities (see Services for Student with Disabilities in the Student Handbook or the King’s College Academic Skills Center website, <https://www.kings.edu/academics/support/skills_center>, for more information). King’s respects your right to keep disabilities confidential and requires faculty to maintain confidentiality while they work with you and other offices to ensure these accommodations.
Any student who has any possible impediment to class participation and requirements should meet with the instructor within the first two weeks of classes to establish available accommodations.
If, at some point during the semester, you must discontinue the course, whether due to poor performance, illness, or some other cause, be sure to follow proper procedures for withdrawal through the Registrar.
2. Zoom classes: If necessary, the college or instructor may switch to all online format, or each individual student may request to attend class virtually. Participation and attendance All of the above expectations still apply with the following changes: use your computer from a quiet, stable, distraction-free space; leave your camera on; mute your microphone unless requested to unmute by the instructor or you have a question. Connection information for Zoom will be provided when necessary on Moodle.
Since participation and class attendance are necessary, if you miss a class
you must complete an Absentee
Assignment (see below) so that the instructor may evaluate
whether some learning has taken place (see below).
If you arrive at class
late, after attendance is taken, you must personally request that the absence be
turned into a tardy mark; otherwise an Absentee
Assignment (see below) may be
required. Students who need to leave a class early, except for an emergency,
should notify the instructor before class begins.
Missing a class falls
into two categories, excused or unexcused, either of which requires submission
of an Absentee
Assignment (see below).
1. Excused absences are due to
college activities, an emergency, or extended illness. They require a
notification by the appropriate College official (coach, director, etc.). If you
know in advance, you should consult with the instructor about making up/turning
in missed work or attending via Zoom; otherwise contact the instructor as soon as possible after your
return. They should have no negative impact upon your grade.
2. All
other absences, for whatever reasons, are unexcused, but do not require any
written documentation. If you are sick or potentially contagious definitely do not attend class in person.
After any absence, you are also responsible for
requesting any hand-outs and already-returned assignments from the instructor,
or borrowing notes from other students.
If you miss an exam, you do not need to complete an
Absentee Assignment, but contact the instructor as soon as possible to schedule
a make-up for the exam. You may take a missed exam only at the discretion of the
instructor.
If you turn in Absentee Assignments, absences or a make-up exam should not significantly affect your grade. Always, your health is your first priority. If you are sick, stay away from class, and seek proper treatment and rest before returning to class.
For an Absentee Assignment, you
are to write one paragraph of between 200 and 325 words, discussing the topic of the day covering that day's reading or discussion topics.
Write the paragraph in a Microsoft Word document using
proper presentation format. At the top of the page put your name and the date of the class missed. Send the document as an attachment by e-mail to the instructor (bapavlac@kings.edu), using "Absentee Assignment" as your subject line.
These papers are ungraded, without points, and not returned; yet failure to
complete Absentee Assignments will significantly lower your grade, perhaps
resulting in failure of the course. You must write the Absentee Assignment in addition to any assigned quiz or project of the day, but if you miss that assignment, a submitted Absentee Assignment will qualify for a grade of the average of other students completing the assignment.
Deadlines: The assignment(s) should be
turned in to the instructor at the beginning of the next class after you return.
G. Regular Quizzes and In-class projects
The instructor may assign on Moodle quizzes of brief written assignments to test your reading and comprehension and to review (worth between 5 and 20 points). The quizzes will be open book/note and will usually be about re-telling one of the stories or analyzing an artwork. Some assignments will use this form for art evaluation.
You may take the quizzes on Moodle any time after they become active, before their respective due dates and times (before 11 am). If you miss taking one, you cannot take a replacement. For help with computer issues on Moodle, contact Ms. Bonnie Scutch at (570) 208-5900, telephone extension 6036, or email at moodle@kings.edu.
We may through the term have in-class discussions and projects. You are required to have read before class the appropriate material (as listed on the class schedule , or otherwise assigned by the instructor) and be prepared to discuss and write about it with the instructor or in small groups.
You will take one mid-term exam (100 points) on the assigned date in the class schedule and one final exam (150 points) to be scheduled during finals week. The final exam is comprehensive, covering material since the beginning of the course.
Both exams will consist of short identifications quizzing knowledge of detail and significance, and essays testing your understanding of the course material through logical presentation of stories, identification and description of art, and explanation of historical, cultural and artistic trends. For part of each exam you will be able use your textbook Dictionary of Subject and Symbols in Art by James Hall and any written notes therein.
To study for the exams you should regularly (at least once a week), review your class notes, especially for identifications drawn from the overhead outline. You should also compare and contrast these notes with your textbooks and other readings.
The story of a story
You are to write an essay in
proper presentation format of five to six (5-6) pages of text (not counting
cover page, bibliography, and pictures) in which you critically research and
analyze the historical development of a basic Western story. (150 points).
Purpose:
This course focuses on basic stories of Western Civilization. This paper provides you the opportunity to study in greater detail one of the artistic themes and how it develops over time. In this exercise you will watch closely, analyze images, read carefully, assess opinions, organize your thoughts, present them in a clear written form, and so better understand a cultural theme.
Procedure:
[Optional art alternative: instead of writing the above essay, you may create a set of artworks in a similar style, one each covering three stories from different cultural sets (e.g. Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman, Historical), accompanied by a two-three-page analysis of your artistic choices. You must get written permission from the instructor by the due date of the Story Selection.]
You earn your grade through work done for this course.Your are responsible to understand why you have achieved a certain grade and what steps you can take to maintain or improve your grade. You are encouraged to consult with the professor during office hours or by appointment both before and after exams and written assignments. Click here for essential information about evaluation and grading. For more information see your Student Handbook and the college catalog.
For your protection, in case of errors in recording, you should keep copies of all exams and assignments until you have received official notice of your final grade. Any and all materials done for this course may become the property of the instructor, who may use them for assessment, evaluative, scholarly, or research purposes.
Your final grade will be based on a percentage (above 90%=A, 80-90%=B, etc., with borderline grades earning "+" or "-") of the sum of the assignments. Different assignments will be worth certain point values.
Completing assignments on time is an important aspect of your course
work. You yourself must hand in each
written assignment at the beginning of class on the
dates as listed in the schedule, or, if directed, submit the assignment electronically in Moodle.
If you have not submitted the assignment on time, do so as soon as possible. The grade of any assignment you turn in late will lose at least 10% after the beginning of
the first class, 20% after the second, and 35% after the third. No late
assignments will be
accepted after the last day of classes.
Most important, this course and your entire education should be about learning to be a better human being, not merely earning grades and fulfilling requirements. The grades and requirements, however, are imperfect means toward that noble end. Please consult with the professor about how you can succeed.
The schedule below or on Moodle inform you of work expected to be done for this course. Should the College cancel classes, still do work according to the schedule, until otherwise instructed by the
professor. If classes are online they meet according to the regular schedule.
Should the College have a compressed or half-day schedule as announced by the college, still do the work according to
the schedule below, including turning any required work in at the next class, until otherwise instructed by the professor. Compressed class time is 1:00-1:50pm
| DATES | TOPIC | READING ASSIGNMENTS | USEFUL LINKS | WORK and EXAMS |
Week 1 |
Introduction and Looking at Art |
The Annotated Mona Lisa, pp. x-1; Dictionary, pp. vii-xiii |
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| Week 2 Feb 9, 11 |
A Concise Survey of the Art in Western Civilization: up to 1500 |
The linked chapters 1-8; The Annotated Mona Lisa, pp. 2-19, 24-29 |
List of Art
Museums on the Web;
List of Art History Websites; |
Syllabus Quiz Due by 12;15 FEB 9 on Moodle |
| Week 3 Feb 16, 18 |
A Concise Survey of the Art in Western Civilization: 1500 to today |
The linked chapters 9-15; The Annotated Mona Lisa, pp. 30-127 |
10 famous paintings |
Writing/Citation Quiz Due by 12:15 FEB 18 on Moodle |
| Week 4 Feb 23, 25 |
The Hebrew Scriptures: Creation; Adam and Eve; Abraham; Samson |
Creation/Adam & Eve:
Genesis 1-3; Abraham: Genesis 22; Samson: Judges 16; Dictionary: Creation, God the Father, Trinity, compasses, wings, angel, nudity, seraph, cherub, putto, Garden, night, sun, moon, rose, lily, dandelion, palm, tree, nut, fruit, apple, fig, orange, peach, pomegranate, animals, snake, wolf, dog, hare, dove, lamb, lion, ape, Adam and Eve, blood, hand, skull, death, four seasons, twelve months, crown, Satan, demon; Abraham, Lot, knife, flame, fire, torch, candle; donor; Samson, shears, pillar |
Art and
the Bible; |
Picture Quiz Due by 12:15 FEB 23 on Moodle |
| Week 5 Mar 2, 4 |
The Hebrew Scriptures: David; Susanna; Judith |
David: (and Goliath) I Samuel 17-18;
(and Bathsheba) II Samuel 11-12;
Judith 7-15; Susanna [or Daniel, Chapter 13]; Dictionary: Daniel, David, humility, Judith; mirror, Susanna, viol; warrior, weapons; love; lovers; |
Celebrating Male nudity;
Ranked: 10 Paintings of Judith; |
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| Week 6 Mar 9, 11 |
The New Testament: Annunciation; Mary; Holy Family; John the Baptist and Salome; Crucifixion |
Gospel of Luke,
Chapters 1-3,
22-24 (the rest of Luke and Matthew, Mark, John are optional); Salome: Mark 6: 14-30; Dictionary: Annuciation, Virgin Mary, Visitation, John the Baptist, Nativity, Gabriel, book, Book of Hours, Adoration of the Magi, Holy Family, Flight into Egypt, Christ etc., Baptism, Trinity, pyx, bread, vine, grape, wine and bread, chalice, cross, crown, shepherd, coins, key, hand, foot, breast, Sermon on the Mount, Last Supper, Agony in the Garden, lamb, anchor, Cleansing of the Temple, Crucifixion, betrayal, Judas Iscariot, Trial of Christ, flagellation, Mockery of Christ, Ecce Homo, man of sorrows, Crowning with the Thorns, Road to Calvary, stations of the cross, nails, Bearing the Body of Christ, Pieta, tomb, sepulchre, Resurrection, Ascension, Death of the Virgin, assumption, Coronation of the Virgin, bishop, crozier, monk, religious dress |
Maria Lactans; 31 beautiful paintings; 11 sublime of Salome; Moreau, Symbolism: Salome; Dancing Seductress; depictions; |
Practice QUIZ for Midterm Exam |
| Week 7 Mar 16, 18 |
Midterm EXAM |
18 Styles; 25 Artists; 25 Works of Art |
Midterm EXAM | |
| Week 8 Mar 23, 25 |
The New Testament: Last Judgment; Mary Magdalene; Saul/Paul |
Mary Magdalene:
John 20:1-18;
and from the
Golden Legend, relevant entries or
here, copy, print, mark-up, and bring to class only the story on Mary Magdalene; Paul: Acts of the Apostles 9:3-9, 22:6-11, 26:12-18; Dictionary: Apocalypse, mandorla, Michael; Mary Magdalene, flag, Mary of Egypt, hair, crucifix, Seven Sacraments, Assumption, Holy Women at the Sepulchre; Paul, sword, book, scroll, Peter, pride |
Who was Mary Magdalene?; Three accounts of Paul; |
Library Session |
| Week 9 Mar 29, Apr 1 |
Saints and Martyrs: Agatha; Anthony; George; Jerome; Margaret; Sebastian |
And from the
Golden Legend, relevant entries or
here copy, print, mark-up, and bring to class only those stories on Agatha, Anthony, George, Jerome, Margaret, and Sebastian; Dictionary: Agatha; Antony the Great; George; Jerome, hour glass, hat; Margaret of Antioch, dragon; Sebastian |
Patron Saints Index; Saint George as Icon; |
STORY of STORY SELECTION by 12:15 pm by e-mail |
| Week 10 Apr 6, 8 |
Græco-Roman Mythology: |
WebOvid, Metamorphoses: |
Larry A. Brown, Ovid's Metamorphoses;
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| Week 11 Apr 13, 15 |
Græco-Roman Mythology: More Olympian Gods: 1. Apollo Phoebus and Daphne; 2. Diana and Actaeon; 3. Venus & Mars & Vulcan; 4. Pluto & Proserpine; 5. Cupid & Psyche |
WebOvid, Metamorphoses: |
The Perseus Project;
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change>> STORY of STORY DUE pre-bibliography by 12:15 April 15 via Turnitin on Moodle Assignments on Proserpine and Psyche on Moodle |
| Week 12 Apr 20, 22 |
Græco-Roman Mythology: Heroes/Heroines: 1. Pygmalion; 2. Theseus; 3. Perseus & Andromeda; |
WebOvid, Metamorphoses: Pygmalion: WebOvid X: 247-297. Theseus: WebOvid VIII: 152-182. Perseus: WebOvid IV: 604-803. Dictionary: Pygmalion; Theseus, centaurs; Perseus; |
change>> STORY of STORY ART FORMS DUE by 12:15 Thursday April 22 via Turnitin on Moodle |
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| Week 13
Apr 27, no class on the 29th |
4. Judgement of Paris;
5. Hercules Græco-Roman History: 1. Socrates; |
Judgment of Paris: Lucian; Plato, Phaedo, Socrates' Death; Dictionary: Judgement of Paris, Paris, Minerva, Helen of Troy, Trojan War; Hercules; Socrates |
Judgement of Paris; 12 Labors; 15 Things of Death of Socrates |
STORY of STORY final assignment DUE by 12:15 April 29 via Turnitin on Moodle |
| Week 14 May 4, 6 |
Græco-Roman History: 2. Alexander "the Great"; 3. Lucretia; 4. Cleopatra |
Battle of Issus; Livy on Lucretia; The Death of Cleopatra; Dictionary: Alexander the Great; Rape of Lucretia; Cleopatra |
change>> Assignment on Lucretia on Moodle |
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| Wed, May 12, 10:15-12:15 |
Final EXAM | Study Guide | Final EXAM Be sure to set aside time | |
Although this syllabus presents the basic content and requirements of the course, the professor reserves the right to change anything (e.g. assignments, point values, topics, due dates, grading policy, etc.), at any time, at his discretion. All these requirements, remember, are to help you to learn.
Description | Objectives | Course Requirements | Class Schedule | Moodle
|
URL: http://http://brianpavlac.org/teach/ARTS121.html |