ART 259: INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY (Hybrid Course)
FALL 2014, Schedule # 20216
INSTRUCTOR: DR. ALLYSON WILLIAMS
LECTURES: Tues.,11:00-12:15 in WC-220; Thursdays online in Collaborate Live
Classroom (from August 28 on)
OFFICE: (Art Building) A-559 (to the left of the drinking fountain in the lobby of the Art
Building)
OFFICE PHONE: 619-594-5918 (during office hours)
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:30 or by appointment.
E-MAIL: allyson@mail.sdsu.edu (Please use Art 259 in the subject line, and remember
to sign your name!) I try to answer all e-mails sent on weekdays within 24 hours. If I
somehow miss your e-mail and have not responded after 24 hours, feel free to send the
e-mail again. I reserve the right not to answer e-mails on the weekend, but if possible I
will probably check in.
LECTURE SCHEDULE: We will have in-class (face-to-face) lectures on Tuesdays only.
Thursday’s lectures (starting August 28) will be live online webinar style lectures
through Collaborate within Blackboard 11:00-12:15. Please join in live (you will be
able to ask questions), but if you cannot, commit to watching the archived recording
within a day or so.
Specific instructions for how to access the online class sessions will be provided
separately. Please take a look at the FAQ section of the Blackboard site; it has links to
download software and for help with Blackboard, Collaborate (Webinar style interface)
etc. I expect that most of you will not have had an online class before, and that is fine.
TEXT: Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren, Art History, Volume II, fifth edition,
(Pearson, 2014). It should come with MyArtsLab, a wonderful online resource.
EXAM SUPPLIES: 3 Red and White Parscore scantron forms
BLACKBOARD SITE: This course will make extensive use of Blackboard, and you need to
consult the announcements page and read course e-mail regularly. Download the slide
lists, vocabulary list, study guide for the mid-term exam, and the paper instructions
from the blackboard site when they are posted. Also consult the site for class
announcements, and for the online assignments. You will be doing weekly online
quizzes and accessing the Collaborate online lectures through Blackboard.
SLIDE WEBSITES: (images to help with studying):
a) Powerpoints of the lectures will be posted on Blackboard
b) you can also download images from Artstor, an online database in the SDSU library
(under article databases); Google Image search and Web Gallery of Art are also good:
http://www.wga.hu/
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WHY STUDY ART HISTORY? Art historians try to understand how the products of visual
culture (artworks) functioned and signified in a particular place and time, in order to
better understand the past. They also try to understand why certain objects still
interest us and are prized in today’s world. In Art 259 you will learn how, why and
when some of the most beautiful paintings, sculptures and buildings in the Western
tradition were created. You will also learn how artists and architects use elements of art
such as color, line, texture, shape and space to tell a story from a certain point of view,
or to express an emotion, or create a mood.
Students in an art history class develop important skills of visual analysis and critical
thinking that help them “unpack” or decipher artworks. Since we live in a world full of
sophisticated images in advertising, politics, and entertainment, learning how to “read”
or decipher visual works is a useful, transferable skill.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
This course is a survey of western art from the late Gothic period to the Twentieth
Century, covering painting, sculpture and architecture (primarily European art, with
some art of the Americas after 1600). We will examine the course material from a
variety of viewpoints, addressing artistic techniques, formal and stylistic concerns,
placing works of art in their social/historical contexts, learning about the various
artistic movements, and discussing how issues of class and gender have affected
representation. Students will be introduced to the discipline of art history and will be
encouraged to write and think critically about art. Students will be able to use the
appropriate vocabulary when discussing art. Upon successful completion of this
course, students will recognize representative monuments of architecture, sculpture
and painting from the fifteenth through the twentieth century; they will identify and
explain significant features of works of art, and will recognize the relationship between
the different artistic styles and movements covered in the course.
Leonardo da Vinci on art:
“Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art.”
“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.”
Pablo Picasso on art:
“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place; from the sky,
from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.”
“If there is something to steal, I steal it!” (a comment on the importance of
understanding the work of artists who preceded him; not to be confused with
plagiarism!)
“Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding.”
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
This is a hybrid course. There will be a weekly face-to-face lecture and an online lecture
(live or recorded). In addition, this course will make use of the wealth of interesting
scholarly materials provided by Stokstad’s companion website (MyArtsLab) or on the
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internet such as online lectures, podcasts and videos produced by museums and art
historians. Your online assignments will most often be linked to the historical period
discussed in lecture, and you will have a week or two to review the online materials and
complete online assignments such as quizzes. The online weekly assignments are
worth 25% of your total grade.
It is your responsibility to complete the quizzes in a timely way, that is, before they are
due. This policy is intended to ensure that you are working on each chapter as the
material is being covered in class. Once the quizzes have been removed from the web
site, they will NOT be made available to you again. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST
15 MINUTES TO DO THE QUIZZES!
Exams: There will be three examinations in class: 2 mid-terms and a final exam. The
examinations consist of multiple choice questions. They include slide identifications,
questions about the images, and questions about the major themes and concepts
covered in the lectures, and may also cover material from online portion of the class.
The examinations are NOT cumulative, and the final is not comprehensive. The midterms are each worth 15% and the final exam is worth 20% of your total grade
MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS (FOR THE MID-TERM) AND EXTENSIONS FOR THE ONLINE
QUIZZES WILL ONLY BE GIVEN IF YOU HAVE HAD A SERIOUS ILLNESS OR IF THERE
HAS BEEN A DEATH IN YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY (DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED).
The make-up mid-term examination must be taken during my office hours as soon as
possible. Students on official athletic teams need to keep me informed of travel/exam
conflicts.
Paper: There will be one 3-4 page term paper due, in which students will examine a
suitable work of art in a local museum. It is a great experience, and is worth 25% of
your grade. To receive a good grade, the paper must follow the instructions and be well
organized, and well written. Correct grammar and spelling are important.
Your museum paper will be submitted in hard copy in class and electronically through a
component of Blackboard called Turnitin, which also checks text for plagiarism.
Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to
submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism.
All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com
reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You
may submit your papers in such a way that no identifying information about you is
included. Another option is that you may request, in writing, that your papers not be
submitted to Turnitin.com. However, if you choose this option you will be required to
provide documentation to substantiate that the papers are your original work and do
not include any plagiarized material.
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Grade Breakdown: Online quizzes and assignments: 25%; 2 Mid-term exams: 15%
each; Paper: 25%; Final Exam; 20%.
It is very important to attend all lectures and pay attention, as exam questions will be
based on the lectures as well as drawn from the textbook. It has been my experience
that students who do not come to class are unable to do well on the exams, because
they have missed essential material. It takes a good deal of practice to develop your
visual memory, and also to learn how to look at a slide and take notes about it at the
same time! Pick up your mid-term exam and papers in class as soon as they are turned
back, and please come to me right away if you are not doing well.
Grading Scale:
A
93%
A90%
B+
87%
B
83%
B80%
C+
77%
C
CD+
D
DF
73%
70%
67%
63%
60%
59% or below
Definition of Grades for Undergraduate Students according to the SDSU Catalog:
A: (outstanding achievement; available only for the highest accomplishment),
B: (praiseworthy performance; definitely above average)
C: (average; awarded for satisfactory performance; the most common undergraduate
grade)
D: (minimally passing; less than the typical undergraduate achievement)
Note on Plagiarism and Cheating:
These will not be tolerated in class and will result in failure of the course and reporting
to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. As stated in the SDSU Statement of
Student Rights and Responsibilities “Examples of cheating include unauthorized
sharing of answers during an exam, use of unauthorized notes or study materials during
an exam, altering an exam and resubmitting it for regrading, having another student
take an exam for you or submit assignments in your name, participating in
unauthorized collaboration on coursework to be graded, providing false data for a
research paper, or creating/citing false or fictitious references for a term paper.
(Submitting the same paper for multiple classes may also be considered cheating if not
authorized by the instructors involved). Examples of plagiarism include any attempt to
take credit for work that is not your own, such as using direct quotes from an author
without using quotation marks or indentation in a paper, paraphrasing work that is not
your own without giving credit to the original source of the idea, or failing to properly
cite all sources in the body of your work.”
BE A GOOD CITIZEN! Art 259 tends to be a large class. Please observe basic courtesy so
that you do not disrupt the lecture. Arrive on time, and avoid leaving the class early. If
you must leave before the lecture has finished, inform me beforehand and sit at the
edge of the class. Please turn off and stow all cell phones, pagers, and listening devices
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(iPods etc.) before the class starts. Laptops can be used in airline mode only (no
internet). Be kind to your fellow classmates during the lecture, and don’t talk; it
disturbs those around you. Students who disrupt the lecture may be asked to leave the
class. If there is something that you missed, please ask me, I am always happy to answer
questions.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
I am more than willing to assist students with disabilities. If you are a student with a
disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your
responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. (Calpulli Center,
Suite 3101), To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should
contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that
accommodations are not retroactive, and that I cannot provide accommodations based
upon disability until I have received an accommodation letter from Student Disability
Services. Your cooperation is appreciated. The web site for Student Disability Services
is: http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/sds/index.html
READING ASSIGNMENTS: All required readings will be from Marilyn Stokstad and
Michael W. Cothren, Art History, Volume II, fifth edition, (Pearson, 2014). I expect you
to read the appropriate parts of the chapters in your textbook as we go along to
accompany the lectures. Do some reading every day, and take good notes (rather than
just underlining) to help you assimilate the material. Make sure you examine the time
lines and read the introductory sections of each chapter carefully. Within each chapter,
read the introduction to the various sections noting the themes presented, and then
focus on the images discussed in class. You are not responsible for images not
discussed in class or in the online assignments.
Many students download my PowerPoints or ArtStor images and make flashcards. All
images on the exams will be selected from the textbook, and will be listed on the slide
list.
If you are having problems in the course, please come and see me--sooner rather than
later! I am more than happy to help you develop successful strategies for preparing for
exams or to discuss your term paper.
DUE DATES: Write these on your calendar!
Mid-term exam #1: Tuesday September 23
Mid-term exam #2: Tuesday November 4
Museum Paper Due: Tuesday October 28, in class and online in Turnitin
Final Exam: Tuesday December 16, 10:30-12:30
Schedule of Lectures and Online topics (Subject to Change)
Week 1.
Lecture 1: Tuesday, August 26 In Class, Introduction, Fourteenth-Century Art in
Europe; (Stokstad and Cothren: Intro Chapter, Chap. 18)
Lecture 2: Thursday Aug. 28 online in Collaborate
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Fourteenth-Century Art in Europe, con’t; 15th Century Art in Northern Europe (Chap.
19)
Week 2. Sept 2, 4; Tuesday in Class, Thursday online in Collaborate:
15th Century Art in Northern Europe (Chap. 19) con’t; 15th Century Art in Italy (Chap.
20)
Week 3. Sept. 9, 11:
High Renaissance Art in Italy (Chap. 21)
Week 4. 7 Sept 16, 18:
Venetian Art; Mannerism (Chap. 21); 16th Century Northern Renaissance Art, (Chap.
22); Exam Review
Week 5. Sept. 23, 25:
Mid-Term Exam #1 September 23.
No Live online lecture; recorded lecture: Seventeenth Century Art in Italy (Chap. 23)
Week 6. Sept. 30, Oct. 2:
Seventeenth Century Art in Italy, Spain (Chap. 23), Flanders, Holland (Chap. 23), France,
England; (Chap. 23
Week 7. October 7, 9:
Seventeenth Century Art in Holland, France, England; (Chap. 23
Week 8. October 14, 16:
Eighteenth Century, Rococo Age of Enlightenment 18-19th century (Chap. 30).
Week 9. October 21, 23:
Neoclassicism and the Grand Tour; Romanticism (Chap. 30)
Week 10. October 28, 30:
PAPER DUE IN CLASS TUESDAY, October 28
19th century architecture (Chap. 30) Academic Painting, Photography, Realism (Chap.
31); Exam Review
Week 11. Nov. 4, 6
Tuesday November 4, MID-TERM EXAM #2.
Impressionism, Post Impressionism;
Week 12. Nov 11, 13—No class Nov. 11: Veteran’s Day
Late 19th century painting and sculpture (Chap. 31); Late 19th century Interior Design
(Chap 31); Fauvism (Chap. 32)
Week 13. Nov. 18, 20:
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Cubism; Expressionism; German Expressionism; Futurism; Dada; art and architecture in
the 1930’s; the Bauhaus School (Chap 32)
Week 14. Nov. 25:
Surrealism, Abstraction in Sculpture, Art of America and Mexico, (Chap 32)
November 27, No Class Happy Thanksgiving
Week 15. Dec. 2, 4
Abstract Expressionism (Chap. 32); Pop Art, Minimalism; Feminist Art; Political Art
since 1950; Postmodern Architecture, (Chap. 33)
Week 16. Dec. 9 Postmodern Architecture con’t; Performance Art and New Media
(Chap. 33); Review
Final Exam: Thursday December 16, 10:30-12:30
HYBRID (PART-ONLINE CLASS) HELP:
 Please download necessary software, including: Adobe’s Acrobat Reader and
Flash Player, Microsoft Word Viewer (if you do not already have Word installed),
Powerpoint Viewer and possibly the QuickTime Player
o If this sounds intimidating, please do not panic! Information about all of
these tools and links enabling you to install them are kept under the FAQ
button on the left of the Blackboard Website.
 Please enter the Collaborate Classroom (the link is under FAQs on the top left
part of the Blackboard page) and run the Collaborate Classroom Setup
Wizard that appears.
 Please get speakers or a headset so that you can hear online lectures etc.
 Please learn how to use Blackboard. You must be able to move around in the
modules and to use the necessary course tools. You must be able to receive email from Blackboard. For an orientation to Blackboard or for Blackboard help,
go to: http://its.sdsu.edu/blackboard/student/.
 Remember: This is a partly-online course. Information technology or IT
challenges can and will come up. Be prepared to handle them. The student
computing staff computing staff at SDSU or at your school of enrollment will
probably be able to help you, and the support staff for SDSU’s Blackboard site
are excellent. Don’t hesitate to consult them.
 Computer breakdown is not an excuse—if your own devices are not
functioning, the Student Computing Center on the second floor of Love
Library has computers for student use.
 Please be assured that if and when problems occur on the SDSU end, you will not
be penalized. However, when problems occur on your end, the story is different:
You are responsible for your computing needs. When problems occur on
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your end, you must fix them. The instructor cannot provide IT support. IT
problems that you experience do not constitute an acceptable excuse for noncompletion of assignments/tests, so give yourself a “cushion” of time when
completing online coursework.
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