Investigating Objects
FYSE 111
Fall 2023
Professor Douglas Culhane
11:30 – 12:50 Tuesdays & Thursdays
Office Hours Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. and by appointment
Course Description
Our lives are filled with objects. What are our relationships to them, and what is their
significance in our culture? In this discussion-based course we will be exploring what
objects are, how we define and value them, and what their existence is apart from us.
Reading texts from a variety of disciplines including philosophy, literature, art history,
and anthropology, we will be investigating a range of perspectives on objects and their
significance. In addition to reading about them, we will examine actual objects.
Discussions and writing assignments will develop approaches to enrich and inform
these encounters through research, visual examination and critical analysis.
This course will also involve making things. Through a series of studio projects (drawing
and sculpture) we will explore how things are made and gain a richer understanding of
their physical, visual and tactile qualities. Writing assignments in connection with these
projects will help to foster an appreciation of the connections between the visual and the
verbal.
Class Logistics
Absences and Lateness
Please be sure to arrive on time and ready to work. More than one absence will affect
your grade, more than two constitutes a problem. Legitimate excused absences (for
religious observance or health reasons) are excluded from this. In any case, you are
expected to keep up with classwork.
Papers:
In addition to ”informal writing” (in-class writing, reflections on reading assignments),
there will be two papers assigned. One of these will involve submission of a first draft for
discussion and review, and then a final version of the paper.
Presentations:
Each student will be asked to give one short presentations this semester.
Please be sure to include images in your.
Discussions and Critiques
In the course of our discussions we will rely on a climate of respect and inclusiveness
that welcomes community members with diverse backgrounds and life experiences. Our
class is a space that supports the free and open exchange of ideas while engaging in civil
discourse. The manner in which we interact with one another is critical to cultivating
and maintaining a meaningful and effective intellectual environment. Our seminar can
thrive only when we approach each discussion with an open mind and when each
member can contribute fully. As much as we will focus on debate and critique, the class
must be viewed as a space that is free from insult, attack or discrimination. It is essential
that we respect each person’s individual viewpoint, ideas and insights. Please be sure to
come to each class prepared and ready to engage with the content.
Grading:
Grades are based upon:
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Attendance (see above)
Quality of assignments, both written and studio, this includes creativity, effort,
response to the prompt, problem-solving and development.
Shorter informal in-class writing and drawing assignments will not be given a
letter grade and will be factored into your class participation grade. I will make it
clear how each assignment will be evaluated.
Class participation (in discussions and presentation) and studio etiquette (set up,
clean up, consideration of other students and their work).
Improvement of your work over the course of the semester
Each project and presentation will receive a grade. Please note your final grade is
NOT the average of your project grades. Other factors (see above) are involved.
I will be meeting with each of you mid-semester to discuss your progress in the
class.
Investigating Objects
[Provisional] Calendar Fall 2023
Check Moodle for assignment dates
September 5 & 7
Presentation and discussion of Everyday Object
Drawing and writing assignment: Everyday Object
Reading: Gaston Bachelard
Discussion of Everyday Object writings and drawings
Writing assignment: Letter to Object, Letter from Object
September 12 & 14
Discussion of writing assignment: Letter to object, Letter from object
Reading : Franz Kafka “Cares of a Family Man”
Drawing assignment (in class): Odradek
Drawing assignment: transformation of the Everyday Object
Reading: Charles Simic poems
Reading: Natasha Tretheway
September 19 & 21
Discussion of transformation drawings
Reimagined Vessel ideas
Sculpture project: Reimagined Vessel
September 26 & 28
Reimagined Vessel
Reading assignment: “The Toaster Project
October 3 & 5
Reimagined Vessel (continued)
Critique
Discussion of “the Toaster Project”
October [10] & 12
Discussion of “the Toaster Project”
Video: Christine Meindertsma: Pig
Reading: Natasha Tretheway poems
Reading assignment: “Vibrant Matter”
“Functional Object” essay first draft
October 17 & 19
Discussion of “Vibrant Matter”
Reading assignment: “Thing Theory”
[outdoor excursion]
[student presentations]
October 24 & 26
Discussion of “Thing Theory”
Reading Assignment: “The Thing”
[student presentations]
October 31 & November 2
[Student Presentations]
“Functional Object” final draft
November 7 & 9
Discussion of “The Thing”
Writing assignment: Approaches to Thing Theory
Reading assignment: “My Private Property”
Reading assignment: “Unpacking my Library”
November 14 & 16
Collections and collecting
Curation and presentation
Wendell A. White: Manifest
Visit to the Mead
Reading Assignment: “Objects of Desire”
November 21 & 23 [Thanksgiving Break]
November 28 & 30
Found Object Sculpture
Reading assignment: “Powers of the Hoard”
December 5 & 7
Curation and presentation
Visit to Beneski
December 12
Final discussions