Dr. Jo-Anne Berelowitz
SDSU, Spring 20145
Art 593
T., Thu. 12:30-1:45
Office: A 510, ext. 4995
Office hours: Tues., Thu. 11-12; and by appt.
email: jberelow@mail.sdsu.edu
History and Methodology of Art History
“Before you study the history, study the historians. Before you study the historian, study his historical and social
environment. The historian, being an individual, is also a product of history and of society, and it is in this twofold light
that the student of history must learn to regard him”. E.H. Carr, cited in Michael Ann Holly, Panofsky and the
Foundations of Art History, Cornell, 1985
General overview of course:
This is a specialized course for art history majors. It will introduce you to some of the histories and methodologies of
the discipline from its early years to the present and aims at developing for the student a critical understanding of the
discipline of art history. We will ask – and attempt to answer – such questions as: What is art history? What is the
history of art history? What have been its goals and methodologies over the course of its history? What kinds of
knowledge has art history been directed at producing? Who have been the key figures in the construction of art history?
What factors affected their constructions of the discipline? How has the object of their discourse changed? How can we
confront art history as an object of study and a site of theory at the dawn of the twenty-first century? What
methodologies engage you as you embark on the study of art history?
In pursuit of these questions, we address aesthetics, history, style, meaning, identity, gender, ethnicity, globalism, and
the problematics of cultural studies, visual culture, and visual studies.
This course is complementary to Art 578 – History of Museums and Exhibitions, which is also required of Art History
majors. It is complementary because the development of museums and museological practice (the subject of Art 578) is
concerned with the production of knowledge predicated on the examination, classification, canonization, and archiving
of works of art and other artifacts.
Course prerequisite: 12 upper division units in Art History
Assigned texts:
Vernon Minor, Art History’s History, Prentice Hall, 2001
Other articles are on blackboard.
The Minor text is available at KB Books and at the Aztec Bookstore.
Class format/structure:
This course is a reading, discussion, and writing course and, as such, requires: (1) student attendance, (2) participation,
and (3) timely completion of assignments. These 3 components are mandatory for the successful completion of the
course. As the course depends on discussion of the ideas contained in our readings, there may be disagreement with the
authors of the works we read and with each other. Reasoned disagreement is strongly encouraged, but it is essential that
civility and courtesy prevail. Basic courtesy requires that students be on time for class.
Determination of course grade:
Attendance/Synopses/Discussion: 60% (50% in-class participation;)
Two midterms: 20% each
If you miss more than 3 classes, fail to turn in more than 3 synopses, and consistently arrive late to class your grade for
Attendance/Synopses/Discussion will be reduced by 50% (resulting in an automatic 25% reduction in your
overall score.)
Class is based on weekly reading assignments and class discussion of those assignments. The success of the class
depends on the quality of the discussions. It is therefore mandatory that everyone read the assignments for each week
and be prepared to discuss them. To that end, each student will submit each week a half-one page report of each
reading for that week. In your report you will:
1) State the author’s thesis
2) State what you regard as the author’s 4 main points or sentences in support of that thesis. (There will
probably be more than 4 key points and your 4 points may well be different from another student’s. You may
be required to explain why you selected those 4 points - in other words, you may be required to explain why
you regard them as key to the argument.
3) State what insight (if any) this article has given you (that you did not previously have) about the practice of
art history
You may write these in outline or in prose. Be sure to follow the format set out above by using the headings: “(1)
Thesis,” “(2) 4 main points,” “(3) Insights.” Do not write more than a page. Learn to be precise! IF YOU DO NOT
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FOLLOW THIS FORMAT, I WILL NOT READ YOUR SUMMARY AND YOU WILL BE GRADED AS THOUGH
YOU HAD NOT PRODUCED A SUMMARY.
THESE MUST BE PRINTED AND ARE DUE AT THE END OF THE CLASS SESSION FOR THE SCHEDULED
READINGS. The assumption is that if you are not prepared to hand in this brief outline of your engagements with the
article, then you are unprepared to contribute to the success of that meeting’s class discussion.
You may disagree with the authors about the issues. Taking issue with the author (and with one another in class) is
perfectly fine – even encouraged. However, be prepared to support your position and, above all, be courteous to one
another and respectful in your writing about the scholars whose works you are studying.
The readings are challenging, so give yourself plenty of time to read and think about them. Even brief readings may
take you considerable time to understand and to write about.
Primary readings are sometimes paired with secondary sources that discuss the primary author’s work. It is helpful to
read the characteristics discussed in the secondary source before tackling the primary source. A useful aid, if you are
having difficulties, is the Grove Dictionary of Art, which can be accessed online via Love Library.
Helpful hints for engaging with this material:
a) First scan the reading quickly and note any headings or subheadings for a quick overview
b) After each page, note what were the main points
c) Read for content, structure, and underlying assumptions.
d) Keep a dictionary handy to look up words you do not know. Write down the word and its definition. You are
expected to develop a vocabulary that is part of the toolbox of the art historian – AND YOU WILL BE
TESTED ON IT - so work at it! You may be asked in class to define a word that is part of the vocabulary of
your disciplinary tool-box.
Leading seminar discussions:
Additionally, each class session one or more students will be responsible for leading the discussion of most of the
assigned articles. In this role, the discussion leader is NOT to offer merely a summary of the article/s. Rather, the
student is to LEAD the discussion by raising issues that lend themselves to be elaborated upon, clarified, or debated.
You may use the guidelines given above in preparing for leading a seminar discussion.
Attendance policy:
Attendance is a basic, mandatory requirement in this seminar style course. This means attendance at all classes,
including those scheduled for reports. Unexcused and excessive absences – and lateness to class – will count in
determining the final grade. Excessive absences (more than three and being late by more than 10 minutes more than 4x)
will result in a Fail grade for the class.
Grading:
Pluses and minuses will be given for the course grade. Grading is as follows:
90-92%=A-; 93-100%=A; 80-82%=B-; 83-86%=B; 87=89%=B=; 70-72%=C-; 73-76%=C; 77-79%=C+; 60-62%=D-;
63-66%=D; 67-69%=D=; 0-59%=F.
According to University policy: “The average undergraduate achievement shall be C; the grade for average graduate
achievement shall be B. Undergraduate grades shall be: A – outstanding achievement; B – praiseworthy performance;
C – satisfactory performance, the most common undergraduate grade; D – minimally passing; and F – failing.
Graduate grades shall be: A – superior performance; B – satisfactory performance; C – minimally passing; D –
unacceptable for graduate degree credit; and F – failing. . . . Faculty may assign plus and minus grades…
Classified and conditionally classified graduate students:
Since this is a 500 level (upper-division undergraduate course) graduate students are expected to perform at a higher
level than undergraduates and will be graded accordingly. The expectation is that the final term paper of a graduate
student will be more theoretically sophisticated and that graduate students take on challenging readings for the term
paper.
NOTE: A failing grade or an Incomplete (unless based SOLELY on a late written term paper) can ONLY be made up
by repeating the course because it is a seminar style course. EVERYONE must make their in-class oral presentations in
order to receive course credit. If we agree on an Incomplete, we must sign the contract available in the Art Office (Art
505). Otherwise, if there is missing work, a “U” will be assigned as the course grade.
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Cheating and Plagiarism
The penalty for cheating (ANY form of misrepresentation, lying, plagiarism, copying the work of others, claiming
work that is not entirely your own as your own without crediting others – including other students’ work, use of any
unauthorized aide during examinations – including other students’ work, dishonesty), on ANY assignment will result in
a non-debatable, non-negotiable F in this class. You will also have a hearing before the university judicial officer. The
university takes cheating very seriously. See the section in the SDSU General Catalog on Plagiarism for university
sanctions. There are no acceptable excuses for choosing to compromise your integrity by cheating. Drop this course if
you feel you may not be able to resist the temptation to cheat.
Instructor absences:
If, for some reason, class is cancelled, we will carry the readings of the cancelled class over to the next class. We will
not skip them.
Learning Outcomes Objectives for this course:
There shall be three areas of assessment of attainment of learning outcomes objectives:
1) in class discussions, weekly written briefs, oral presentations and term papers students shall demonstrate
knowledge of the methodologies of art history addressed in this course. Students must be able to name major
methodological approaches and to define them.
2) Students shall demonstrate the ability to fulfill the requirements set out in the instructor’s assignment for the
term paper and for the weekly briefs and discussion sessions.
3) In research papers, students shall demonstrate proficiency with the library’s resources and with the internet as
a research tool. Further, students shall demonstrate standard use for citation of research sources,
foot/endnotes, and bibliographical material.
Week 1
Th. Jan 22
Introduction to course
We will address the questions given under “General Overview” above.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 2
Tues. Jan 27
Overview
Minor: Introduction, pp. 1-6______________________
Minor: The Academy, pp. 7-27_____________________
Preziosi: Art History: Making the Visible Legible, pp. 13-20______________________
Thu. Jan 29
Antiquity to End of Middle Ages
Minor: What is Art? Answers from Antiquity to the 18th century
Ancient Theory, 31-46_____________________
Medieval Theory, 47-56______________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 3
Tues. Feb. 3
The Renaissance/Art as History
Minor: Ficino, Pico,Alberti,, Leonardo, 57-65; Michaelangelo-Mannerism, 65-75 ---------------------------------------____________________
Nature, the Ideal, and Rules in 17th C. Theory
Minor: Minor, 76-82; 83-84 _____________________(no summaries required here, but be prepared to discuss - so
READ!)
*reserve: Eric Fernie (on reserve) Vasari, 22-42_______________________
Thu. Feb 5
The Emergence of Method and Modernism in Art History: Winckelmann
Minor: Winckelmann and AH, 84-89_____________________
Preziosi: Introduction, 21-30___________________
Preziosi: Winckelmann, 31-39__________________________
Preziosi: Davis, 40-51________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 4
Tues. Feb. 10
Method and Modernism contd. Kant
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Minor: Empiricism, 90-92; Kant, 93-96____________________
Preziosi: Introduction, 63-69; Kant: What is Enlightenment, 70-75__________________
Preziosi: Kant: The Critique of Judgment, 76-80 _________________
Thu. Feb. 12
Method and Modernism contd. Hegel
Minor: Hegel, 97-101_________________
Preziosi: Hegel, 97-106__________________(same student for both readings on Hegel)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 5
Tues. Feb. 17
History as an Art: Riegl
Minor: Riegl, 103-108________________
Preziosi: Introduction 165-168; 169-176________________(same student does this and the Minor reading on Riegl)
Thu. Feb. 19
History as an Art. contd. Wolfflin
Minor: Wolfflin, 109-124_______________________
Preziosi: Wolfflin, 115-127__________________
Connoisseurship, Style, Formalism
Minor: Morelli, Greenberg 125-133; 135-139____________________
* reserve: Fernie: Morelli 103-116 _______________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 6
Tues. Feb. 24
Panofsky
Electronic Book, SDSU Library E. Panofsky, “Introduction: The History of Art as a Humanistic Discipline,”
Meaning in the Visual Arts, , pp. 1-25. _______________________(2 students)
Thursday, Feb. 26
Reading Art History: Word, Image, Iconology
Minor: Ut Pictura, Iconology and Iconography: Panofsky 166-173____________________
Panofsky, “Iconography and Iconology” p 26-table on pp. 40-41, Electronic Book, SDSU Library, Meaning in the
Visual Arts._____________________
Week 7
Tues. March 3
Panofsky contd.
Panofsky: “The Decades of Art History in the United States: Impressions of a Transplanted European,” 321-346.
Electronic Book, SDSU Library E. Panofsky, Meaning in the Visual Arts, _______________________(2 students)
Thursday, March 5
Tues. March 11
* reserve: Karen Michels, “Art History, German Jewish Identity, and the Emigration of Iconology,” 167-179, Jewish
Identity in Modern Art History, ed. Catherine M. Soussloff, California, 1999._________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 8
Tues. March 10
Sociological and Marxist Perspectives
Minor: Mechanics of Meaning, Alienation and Ideology, 140-149____________________
The New Art History
Minor: 150-156_______________________
Semiotics
Minor: 174-184________________________
Thursday, March 12
Feminism
Minor: Feminism, 157-165, ___________________
Preziosi: Introduction, 339-343; Salomon, 344-355_______________
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 9
Tues. March 17
Modernity and Its Discontents
Preziosi: Introduction, 277-280________________
Preziosi: Foucault: What is an author? 299-314____________________
Thu. March 19
No class today
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 10
Tuesday, March 25
Deconstruction
Minor: Deconstruction 185-193_________________
Preziosi: Introduction, 397-400; Stephen Melville 401-412_______________
Thu. March 26
MIDTERM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 11
SPRING BREAK
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 12
Tues. April 7
Preziosi: Heidegger, 413-415; ______________; Schapiro, 427-431___________________; Derrida, 432437____________________
Thu. April 9
Psychoanalysis and Art History
Minor: 194-203__________________
Readings: 12 Views of Manet’s Bar
Schiff: Introduction 1-24 ______________________
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 13
Tues. April 14
Boime, “Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergere as an Allegory of Desire 47-70__________________
Th. April 16
Kermit Champa “Le Chef k’Oeuvre, 91-114___________________
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 14
Tues. April 21
Bradford Collins, “The dialactics of desire,” 115-141_________________
Thu. April 23
Steven Levine, “Manet’s man meets the gleam of her gaze,” 250-277______________
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 15
Tues. April 28
Griselda Pollock, “The view from elsewhere. . . . .”278-34_______________
Thu. April 30
Preziosi, 52-62; Baxandall, “Patterns of Intention,” ______________
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Week 16
Tues. May 5
Mourning and Melancholia
*electronic access: Michael A. Holly, “Patterns in the Shadows,” 15 pages, Invisible Culture: An Electronic Journal
for Visual Studies,, http://www.rochester.edu/in_visible_culture/issue1/holly/holly.html________________
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Thu. May 7
- Second midterm
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