KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE PROPOSAL OR REVISION,
Cover Sheet (10/02/2002)
Course Number/Program AMST 7450 / American Studies
Department Interdisciplinary Studies
Degree Title (if applicable) Master of Arts in American Studies
Proposed Effective Date : Fall 2013
Check one or more of the following and complete the appropriate sections:
X New Course Proposal
Course Title Change
Course Number Change
Course Credit Change
Course Prerequisite Change
Course Description Change
Sections to be Completed
II, III, IV, V, VII
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
Notes:
If proposed changes to an existing course are substantial (credit hours, title, and description), a new course with a
new number should be proposed.
A new Course Proposal (Sections II, III, IV, V, VII) is required for each new course proposed as part of a new
program. Current catalog information (Section I) is required for each existing course incorporated into the
program.
Minor changes to a course can use the simplified E-Z Course Change Form.
Submitted by:
_____
Rebecca Hill
Faculty Member
Approved
1/8/213
Date
Not Approved
Department Curriculum Committee Date
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Not Approved
Department Chair
Date
College Curriculum Committee
Date
College Dean
Date
GPCC Chair
Date
Dean, Graduate College
Date
Not Approved
Not Approved
Not Approved
Not Approved
Not Approved
Vice President for Academic Affairs Date
Approved
Not Approved
President
Date
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE/CONCENTRATION/PROGRAM CHANGE
I.
II.
Proposed Information (Fill in for changes and new courses)
Course Prefix and Number _____AMST 7450_______________________
Course Title _American Visual Culture ______
___________
Class Hours
3 ____Laboratory Hours__0_____CreditHours___3____
Prerequisites: Admission to the graduate program in American Studies or
permission of the program director
Description (or Proposed Degree Requirements)
Examines the history and cultural influences of visual culture in American life and the impact of
U.S. visual culture in a global context. Emphasis is on the aesthetic, economic, and
technological aspects of the film industry /or visual culture more broadly. Course content may
deal with: the history of film, television, photography, painting, sculpture, and or architecture;
the role of particular visual artists, film-makers or producers in shaping popular culture; tensions
between high art, popular and commercial culture; or the role of visual culture in the American
landscape. Students read from the texts to gain historical perspective, see documentary films
dealing with film, the visual arts or landscape, analyze selected works, and consult reviews to
ascertain their critical reception and impact on the community. The course may involve visits to
off-campus sites. Course may be repeated for credit provided the content differs entirely from the
previous offering
III.
Justification
Visual Culture is a concept that is significant in contemporary interdisciplinary approaches to
the study of American Culture. The course replaces the current offering, AMST 7410 “The Film
Industry in American Culture” which was different from our other courses because it focused
only one medium or area of inquiry. Other courses in our program are more explicitly
interdisciplinary. Visual Culture is a concept that includes not only film, but other visual arts,
and their larger impact on spaces and landscapes. As defined by the Journal of Visual Culture,
the approach applies to film, television, fine arts, architecture, and fashion design. The visual
culture perspective brings the disciplinary training of art historians into the program’s
interdisciplinary coverage. A larger number of faculty from a wider variety of disciplines will be
able to teach this course than the course with the narrower title and description.
IV.
Additional Information (for New Courses only)
Instructor: Diana McClintock
Text:
Prerequisites: Admission to the graduate program or permission of the MA in
American Studies Program Director
Objectives:
Students will demonstrate critical analysis of a a variety of visual media
Students will Communicate effectively about visual media both in writing and oral
presentation.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of visual media in a broad social context
Students will demonstrate an understanding of visual media using appropriate
disciplinary frameworks
Students will demonstrate an understanding of visual media in historical context
Students will apply one or more disciplinary methods to the analysis of visual culture
materials.
Instructional Method
Discussion, lecture
Method of Evaluation
Papers, presentations
V.
Resources and Funding Required (New Courses only)
Resource
Amount
Faculty
Other Personnel
Equipment
Supplies
Travel
New Books
New Journals
Other (Specify)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TOTAL
0
Funding Required Beyond
Normal Departmental Growth
VI. COURSE MASTER FORM
This form will be completed by the requesting department and will be sent to the Office of the
Registrar once the course has been approved by the Office of the President.
The form is required for all new courses.
DISCIPLINE
COURSE NUMBER
COURSE TITLE FOR LABEL
(Note: Limit 30 spaces)
CLASS-LAB-CREDIT HOURS
Approval, Effective Term
Grades Allowed (Regular or S/U)
If course used to satisfy CPC, what areas?
Learning Support Programs courses which are
required as prerequisites
AMST
7450
Visual Culture
3-0-3
Fall 2013
Regular
APPROVED:
________________________________________________
Vice President for Academic Affairs or Designee __
VII Attach Syllabus:
AMST 7450 American Visual Culture:
“Outsider” Art and Environments
Fall, 2013
Dr. Diana McClintock, Associate Professor
Office: WB219
Phone: 770-499-3245
Description: This graduate course in American Visual Culture will focus on the history and cultural influences of
art that is frequently termed “outsider,” “folk” or “vernacular” because it was created and exists outside of the
mainstream art institutions. Students will examine impact this alternative artistic practice on popular culture in the
United States, as well as in a global context. Emphasis is on the aesthetic, economic, and cultural contexts of this
art; the role of particular artists, collectors, curators and critics in shaping the reception of this art and the impact that
it has had on popular culture; tensions between high art, popular and commercial culture; and the role of this
manifestation of visual culture in the American landscape. Students read from the texts to gain historical
perspective, see documentary films dealing with “Outsider” artistic practice, analyze the work of selected
individuals, and consult reviews and current journals to ascertain their critical reception and their impact on the
community. The course may involve visits to off-campus sites.
Learning Objectives
Students will learn to demonstrate critical analysis of a variety of visual media, and communicate effectively about
visual media both in writing and oral presentation. Students will demonstrate an understanding of visual media in a
broad social context, using appropriate disciplinary frameworks. Students will demonstrate an understanding of
visual media in historical context. Students will apply one or more disciplinary methods to the analysis of visual
culture materials.
Texts
Barrett, Didi. 1986. Muffled Voices: Folk Artists in Contemporary America. New York: Museum
of American Folk Art and PaineWebber Group.
Boriss-Krimsky, Carolyn. "Self-Taught Art: Who Are the Outsiders in ' Outsider' Art?" Art New
England, December 2000/January 2001.
Cardinal, Roger. 1972. Outsider Art. New York: Praeger.
----------. 1978. Primitive Painters. London: Thames and Hudson.
Conwill, Kinshasha Holmann. “In Search of an ‘Authentic’ Vision: Decoding the Appeal of the
Self-Taught African American Artist.” American Art, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Autumn 1991): 2-9.
Gaver, Eleanor E. 1990. “Inside the Outsiders.” Art & Antiques, 7.6(Summer): 72-86, 159-163.
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. Outsider Art Magazine. http://www.art.org/
Janis, Sydney. They Taught Themselves: American Primitive Painters of the 20th Century. 1942.
New York: The Dial Press. Reprinted 1999.
Kurzmeyer, Roman. "Plow and Pencil." Bill Traylor 1854-1949: Deep Blues. 1999. Edited by Josef Helfenstein
and Roman Kurzmeyer . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. 10-30.
Kahan, Mitchell. 1986. Heavenly Visions: The Art of Minnie Evans. Raleigh: North Carolina
Museum of Art.
Kino, Carol. “Letting His Life’s Work Do the Talking.” New York Times Feb. 7, 2011.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Parallel Vision: Modern Artists and Outsider Art. 1992.
Edited by Maurice Tuchman. Los Angeles, CA and Princeton, NJ: Los Angeles County
Museum of Art and Princeton University Press.
Maizels, John. Raw Creation: Outsider Art and Beyond. 1996. London: Phaidon Press, 8-10.
McClintock, Diana. “The Art of Bessie Harvey: Her Gift of the Spirit.” (1994) Athanor XII.
Metcalf, Eugene. “Bill Arnett, Thornton Dial, and the Myth of America.” Raw Vision 55
(Summer, 2006): 24-30.
Murrell, Katherine M. "Art Brut: Origins and Interpretations." In Singular Visions: Images of Art
Brut from the Anthony Petullo Collection. 2005.
http://www.petulloartcollection.org/history/article.cfm?n_id=18. Accessed June 1, 2011.
Patterson, Tom. 1987. “Some Brief Reflections on the Art That Can't Be Named.” In Tuttle, Lisa
M., and Tom Patterson. Revelations: Visionary Content in the Work of Southern SelfTrained Artists at the Atlanta College of Art, November 10-January 16, 1987. Also
published in Art Papers (November-December): 38.
Raw Vision: Outsider, Brut, Folk, Naïve, Visionary, Intuitive. www.rawvision.com
Course Requirements/Assignments:
Weekly Reading Presentations: Each Student will do two oral presentations on the weekly reading assignments.
Response Papers: Students will write two short (5-7 page) response papers to assigned readings.
Exams: There will be one midterm and one final.
Final Project: This will involve field research and personal interviews if possible. Students will give a 15-minute
presentation media presentation about an individual artist, including a clear explanation of the specific
methodologies employed in the students’ research. Based on their research, students will write a 20-page
paper about the life and work of that artist, using multiple methodologies from a variety of disciplines to
examine the work in its social, historical, cultural and artistic context.
Evaluation and Grading
Students will be evaluated on their ability to identify various types of artistic practice in a variety of media, and
analyze and interpret this work in the appropriate historical, social, cultural and art historical context. Students will
be evaluated on their effective use of a variety of methodologies across disciplines.
Reading presentations
Response Papers
Midterm
Final Project:
Class Presentation
Paper
Final Exam:
10%
20%
20%
10%
20%
20%
Weekly Schedule of Topics
Week 1: What is “Outsider” (“Folk,” “Vernacular”) Art?
Week 2: Historical Treatments of Outsider Art: Methodologies
Week 3: “Folk Art” and the New Deal: Holger Cahill and the Founding of the American Folk Art Museum
Week 4: American Outsider Art and European “L’Art Brut”
Week 5: Outsider Art in the American South
Week 6: African-American “Primitive” and “Outsider” Art
Week 7: Exam;
Week 8: Guest Artist/Collector
Week 9: Outsider Art in the American Midwest and West
Week 10: Outsider Art in the Northwest and Canada
Week 11: Outsider Art in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Week 12: Urban Outsider Art in the Northeast United States
Week 13-15: Individual Class Presentations and Discussion
Week 16: Final Exam
Academic Honesty Statement
Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the
Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University’s policy
on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University
materials, misrepresentations/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or
destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of
student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established
procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an “informal” resolution by a faculty
member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of
Conduct’s minimum one-semester suspension requirement. Please refer to the Student Handbook for additional
information regarding the policy of academic honesty.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Kennesaw State University provides program accessibility and reasonable accommodations for
persons defined as disabled under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A number of services are available to help students
with disabilities with their academic work. In order to make arrangements for special services,
students must visit the Office for disAbled Student Support Services and make an appointment to
arrange an individual assistance plan. In most cases, certification of disability is required. For
more information visit http://www.kennesaw.edu/stu_dev/dsss/policies.html. Once the office
for disAbled Student Support Services has received the necessary documentation, it is the
student’s responsibility to notify the professor if appropriate accommodations will be requested.
Attendance Policy
This is a seminar style course in which lectures will be combined with discussion of reading
assignments and oral presentations. Students will not be able to fully engage with, or
comprehend, course material without attending class. Therefore attendance is mandatory, and
there will be no makeup exams or assignments. If an emergency prevents a student from
attending class, it is that student’s responsibility to notify the professor in writing as soon as
possible, and to make up course material that was missed. A student’s grade may be raised or
lowered by a full letter grade for class participation.