Upper-division Writing Requirement Review Form (5/4/09)
I. General Education Review – Upper-division Writing Requirement
Dept/Program
Art
Course # (i.e.
303
Subject
ANTH 455) or
sequence
Course(s) Title
Contemporary Art and Art Criticism
Description of the requirement if it is not a single course
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.
Date
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
Hedquist
March 2010
Phone / Email
4607/valerie.hedquist@
umontana.edu
Program Chair
Julia Galloway
III Overview of the Course Purpose/ Description
Course description: An exploration of the artists, art works, critics, and theories from WWII to
the present. The class will consider major art movements and ideas of the post-modern era,
with an emphasis on contemporary art makers. First-hand experiences with art at local
venues and direct engagement with contemporary art criticism published in newspapers,
journals, magazines, and other media are high priorities.
IV Learning Outcomes: Explain how each of the following learning outcomes will be
achieved.
Student learning outcomes :
Reading contemporary art criticism, linking
Identify and pursue more sophisticated
critical reading with special works of art.
questions for academic inquiry
Discussion of readings and presentation of
ideas.
Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize
Assignments require examining galleries of
information effectively from diverse sources
contemporary art websites and using
(see
electronic databases to find articles in
http://www.lib.umt.edu/informationliteracy/)
contemporary art magazines about specific
works of art.
Manage multiple perspectives as appropriate
Reading a variety of critical responses to
specific works of art.
Recognize the purposes and needs of
Students write and present critical responses
discipline-specific audiences and adopt the
to art works that recognize the models
academic voice necessary for the chosen
available through gallery websites and
discipline
publications.
Use multiple drafts, revision, and editing in
Short papers are peer-reviewed, research
conducting inquiry and preparing written work
paper is four-parts with initial drafts and
revisions required. Peer-review is also
utilized with research paper.
Follow the conventions of citation,
documentation, and formal presentation
appropriate to that discipline
Develop competence in information technology
and digital literacy (link)
V. Writing Course Requirements Check list
Is enrollment capped at 25 students?
If not, list maximum course enrollment.
Explain how outcomes will be adequately met
for this number of students. Justify the request
for variance.
Are outcomes listed in the course syllabus? If
not, how will students be informed of course
expectations?
Are detailed requirements for all written
assignments including criteria for evaluation in
the course syllabus? If not how and when will
students be informed of written assignments?
Please attach one example of instructions for
written assignment.
Briefly explain how students are provided with
tools and strategies for effective writing and
editing in the major.
Which written assignments include revision in
response to instructor’s feedback?
Are expectations for Information Literacy listed
in the course syllabus? If not, how will students
be informed of course expectations?
Bibliography is required. Workshop with
Tammy Ravas is part of curriculum.
The utilization of electronic databases and
the management of information using
Refworks are part of course.
 Yes  No
No, the enrollment cap is at 32 students. We
have staff to offer one course every semester
and we accommodate extra students in order
to meet graduate requirements of our majors.
 Yes  No
Yes.
 Yes  No
Students are provided detailed rubrics for
each assignment. See attached rubric.
Students read and write to improve ideas.
Thorough examination of published
contemporary criticism reveals the structure
and methods used to communicate
effectively. Peer-review and revisions based
on teacher’s recommended editing also
Research paper.
 Yes  No
No/Yes, Information literacy comes through
Mansfield Library presentation with Tammy
Ravas.
VI. Writing Assignments: Please describe course assignments. Students should be
required to individually compose at least 20 pages of writing for assessment. At least 50% of
the course grade should be based on students’ performance on writing assignments. Clear
expression, quality, and accuracy of content are considered an integral part of the grade on
any writing assignment.
Formal Graded Assignments
Five short papers, five in-class identification
examinations, one multi-part research paper.
Informal Ungraded Assignments
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.  The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
Paste syllabus here.
Contemporary Art and Art Criticism, Art 303
Fine Arts Building 302
Valerie Hedquist, Associate Professor, 201B Fine Arts Building
Office Phone: 243-4607; e-mail: valerie.hedquist@umontana.edu
Office Hours: Monday 12:00-1:00 and Tuesday 11:00-12:00 and by appointment
Course description: An exploration of the artists, art works, critics, and theories from
WWII to the present. The class will consider major art movements and ideas of the postmodern era, with an emphasis on contemporary art makers. First-hand experiences with
art at local venues and direct engagement with contemporary art criticism published in
newspapers, journals, magazines, and other media are high priorities.
Required text: Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz, Theories and Documents of Contemporary
Art, 1996 and Brandon Taylor, Contemporary Art: Art Since 1970, 2005.
Recommended texts: Lisa Phillips, The American Century; Art and Culture 1950-2000,
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1999; Jonathan Fineberg, Art Since 1940;
Strategies of Being, 2000; Paul F. Fabozzi, Artists, Critics, Context: Readings in and
Around American Art since 1945, 2002; Linda Weintraub, Art on the Edge and Over,
1996; Robert Atkins, Artspeak, 1997; Irving Sandler, Art of the Postmodern Era, 1996;
and Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Yve-Alain Bois, Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Art Since
1900, 1945 to the present, Thames and Hudson, 2004. Additional primary and
secondary sources will be recommended and available through electronic resources and
BlackBoard links.
Course Goals:
 Develop familiarity with modern and contemporary artists, art works, critics, and
venues
 Master research skills and identify and utilize major sources for information about
contemporary art
 Identify critical perspectives regarding modern and contemporary art
 Read carefully, write convincingly, and present material with clarity
Course requirements: You are expected to attend class and participate in discussion. All
assigned course work must be completed in order to earn credit for the class. NO LATE
WORK WILL BE GRADED. Students are expected to keep copies of all assigned work.
Grades will be calculated as follows:
 Five short (2-3 pages) papers: 10% each; 50% total
#1 Contemporary Art Galleries; #2 Contemporary Art Publications; #3, 4, and 5
Linking primary source (Stiles and Selz) and image
 Five short identification exams, 5% each; 25% total
 One research paper and Power-Point presentations (10-15 pages) on art since
2000, 20% paper; 5% presentation; 25% total
Grading: 100-90 points = A; 89-80 points = B; 79-70 points = C; 69-60 points = D; less
than 59 = F
Students with disabilities or special needs should see the instructor.
Academic Misconduct and the Student Conduct Code: All students must practice
academic honesty. Academic misconduct is subject to an academic penalty by the
course instructor and/or disciplinary sanction by the University. All students need to be
familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review online at
www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/Index.cfm/page/1321.
Lecture and Reading Schedule
August 28, Introduction, What is modern art? What is contemporary art?
August 30 and September 6, What came before the postmodern?
Vocabulary 1; AbEx, Color-Field, and Minimalism
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 1
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 2
September 4, Labor Day-no class
September 11, Proto-pop and Pop
Vocabulary 1; Rauschenberg and Johns; Warhol, too
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 4
Writing Assignment #3-Stiles and Selz Due Date: September 11
September 13, Group Day, Who are the influential global contemporary artists of the
21st century?
September 18 and 20, Post-Minimalism
September 18, Identification Exam #1
Writing Assignment #1-Galleries Due Date: September 20
Vocabulary 1; Beyond Objects
Read: Taylor, Chapter 1
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 5
September 25, Europe c. 1960s
Vocabulary 2: Beuys and Arte Povera
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 2
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 7
September 27, First Generation Feminism
Vocabulary 2: Bourgeois, Hesse, and Chicago
Read: Taylor, Chapter 2
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 2
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 4
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 8
October 2, Photorealism and P&D
October 2, Identification Exam #2
Vocabulary 3: Estes, Close, and Shapiro
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 3
October 4, New Image Painting
Writing Assignment #2-Art Resources Due Date: October 4
Vocabulary 3: Guston
Read: Taylor, Chapter 3
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 3
October 9 and 11, European and American Neoexpressionism
Vocabulary 4: Schnabel, Salle, Clemente, and Kiefer
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 3
October 16, Media Art and Appropriation
October 16, Identification Exam #3
Vocabulary 5: Baldessari
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 9
October 18, Deconstruction
Vocabulary 5: Kruger, Holzer, and Sherman
Read: Taylor, Chapter 5
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 4
October 23, Group Day, Developing a theory of contemporary art
Writing Assignment #4-Stiles and Selz Due Date: October 23
October 25 and 30, Graffiti and Commodity
October 30, Identification Exam #4
Vocabulary 5: Haring, Basquiat, and Koons
Read: Taylor, Chapter 4
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 4
November 1, YBA and Saatchi
Vocabulary 5: Hirst
November 6, Video Art
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 5
Writing Assignment #5-Stiles and Selz Due Date: October 23
November 8, Identity Art
November 8, Identification Exam #5
Vocabulary 6: African-American Artists, Native American Artists, Jewish/Eastern
European Artists, Gay/Lesbian Artists
Read: Taylor, Chapter 6
Read: Stiles and Selz, Chapter 3
November 13, 15, 20, (Thanksgiving Break) 27, and 29 and December 4 and 6,
What is new? What is hot? Global Perspectives
Student Power-Point Presentations
Read: Taylor, Chapters 7 and 8