ART 593: HISTORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ART HISTORY
Fall 2014, Schedule #20296
INSTRUCTOR: DR. ALLYSON WILLIAMS
CLASS MEETINGS: Tuesday, Thursday 2:00-3:15, Art 512B
SDSU OFFICE: Art Building A-559 (in lobby of Art Building to left of water fountain)
OFFICE PHONE: 594-5918, during office hours
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday, Thursday 9:30-10:30. Please don’t hesitate to contact me
if you are having trouble!
E-MAIL: allyson@mail.sdsu.edu (Please use Art 593 in the subject line, and
remember to sign your name!)
TEXTS:
•Required: Vernon Minor, Art History’s History, Prentice Hall, 2001 (available at KB
Books and at the Aztec Bookstore)
•Optional text: Donald Preziosi, The Art of Art History (the older edition is an e-book
in the SDSU library)
•There are also articles on blackboard.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students in this
course take an in-depth look at the history and methodologies of Art History from
its inception to the present. This course will introduce you to a variety of
conceptual tools in order to help you better appreciate, understand, and engage
with the discipline of Art History. We grapple with the question “What is art
history,” and how is it a relevant part of cultural studies and life in general?
By the end of this course students will have the following skills and knowledge base:
• They will be familiar with the development of the discipline of Art History
• Students will be able to identify, compare and contrast the various methodologies
of the discipline of Art History
• Investigate the intellectual background and approaches of the key figures of art
history
• Students will acquire and be able to use the specialized vocabulary of Art
Historical and related methodologies
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the types of knowledge produced
by art historical discourses
• They will have engaged with aesthetics, history, style, meaning, identity, gender,
ethnicity, globalism, and the problematics of cultural studies, visual culture, and
visual studies
• Through reading, writing assignments and class discussions students will develop
skills in critical analysis.
PREREQUISITES: Art 258 or 259 and 12 units of upper division art history
ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS: This course is a seminar which involves close reading,
engaged discussion, and writing. To this end, one must attend, participate, and
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complete work on time! In class discussion, disagreement is encouraged, but at all
times we must be respectful of our class colleagues. Please be on time for class, and
stow your cell phones and other electronic devices. Your presence and engagement
is essential for the success of the course.
1. Most of your grade is based on attendance, participation, and turning in reading
synopses in class and on time. (60%--50% in-class participation)
1. There will be two Mid-Term exams 20% each. The exams may include multiple
choice questions and will include essays. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS
UNLESS THERE IS A VERY SERIOUS DOCUMENTABLE REASON.
The grade breakdown will be as follows:
Class Participation, attendance and Summaries 60%
First Midterm 20%
Second Midterm 20%
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)
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 halfone 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
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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 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.
e) Allow sufficient time for reading and even re-reading—this is not material
that you can skim. Think about what you have read.
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
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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.
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.
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.”
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
I am more than happy 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
DUE DATES: First Exam: Tuesday October 16
Second Exam: Tuesday November 4
Final Exam: Thursday December 11, 10:30 a.m.
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SCHEDULE OF CLASSES (subject to change)
Tue. Aug. 26 Introduction
Thur Aug. 28 Overview
Minor: Introduction, pp. 1-6______________________
Minor: The Academy, pp. 7-27_____________________
Preziosi: Art History: Making the Visible Legible, pp. 13-20______________________
September
Tue Sept. 2 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______________________
Thur. Sept. 4 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 for Minor, but be
prepared to discuss - so READ!)
*bb Eric Fernie (on reserve) Vasari, 22-42_______________________
Tue Sept. 9 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________________________
Thur. Sept 11 Method and Modernism contd. Kant
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 _________________
Tue Sept. 16 Method and Modernism contd. Hegel
Minor: Hegel, 97-101_________________
Preziosi: Hegel, 97-106__________________(same student for both readings on Hegel)
Thur. Sept. 18 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)
Tue Sept 23 History as an Art. contd. Wolfflin
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Minor: Wolfflin, 109-124_______________________
Preziosi: Wolfflin, 115-127__________________
Intro to Connoisseurship Minor: Morelli, Greenberg 125-133; 135139____________________
Tue Sept 30 Connoisseurship, Style, Formalism
reserve: Fernie: Morelli 103-116 _______________
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)
oct
Thurs. Oct. 2 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._____________________
Tue Oct. 7 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)
Thu. Oct. 9 * 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._________________
Tues. Oct .14 Sociological and Marxist Perspectives
Minor: Mechanics of Meaning, Alienation and Ideology, 140-149____________________
The New Art History
Minor: 150-156_______________________
Semiotics
Minor: 174-184________________________
THU OCT. 16: MID TERM
Tues. Oct. 21 Feminism
Minor: Feminism, 157-165, ___________________
Preziosi: Introduction, 339-343; Salomon, 344-355________________
Thur. Oct .23 Modernity and Its Discontents
Preziosi: Introduction, 277-280________________
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Preziosi: Foucault: What is an author? 299-314____________________
Tues. Oct. 28 Deconstruction
Minor: Deconstruction 185-193_________________
Preziosi: Introduction, 397-400; Stephen Melville 401-412_______________
Thur. Oct. 30 Preziosi: Heidegger, 413-415; ______________; Schapiro, 427431___________________; Derrida, 432-437____________________
Tues. Nov. 4 Psychoanalysis and Art History
Minor: 194-203__________________
Leo Steinberg, “The Philosophical
Brothel,” Parts 1 and 2 Christopher Green: An introduction to Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon
Thur. Nov. 6 Green 1 Garb, “’To Kill the Nineteenth Century’: Sex and Spectatorship
with Gertrude and Pablo,” in Green, Picasso’s Les Demoiselles, chap. 4.
Tues. Nov. 11: Veterans’s day no school
Thur. Nov. 13 Patricia Leighton, “Colonialism, L’Art Negre, and Les
Demoisellesd’Avignon,”in Green, Picasso’s Les Demoiselles, chap. 5.
Tue. Nov. 18: David Lomas: In another frame: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and physical
anthropology
Thur. Nov. 20 Yves-Alain Bois “Painting as trauma” or Rubin “From Narrative to
Iconic in Picasso”
Tues. Nov. 25 Christopher Green Naked Problems and Sub Saharan Caricatures
Thur. Nov. 27 No class—Happy Thanksgiving
Tues. Dec. 2 Preziosi, 52-62; Baxandall, “Patterns of Intention,” ______________
Thur. Dec 4 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________________
Tues Dec. 9 Second Midterm
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