HON 4990/4280 • SPRING 2012 • Art and Architecture in Paris • SYLLABUS
Dr. Linda Speck
E-MAIL: aa3013@wayne.edu
THE COURSE:
Goals
To improve students’ sense of history by having them visit sites that are
500–1000 years old, but still standing and, in some cases, still functioning.
To show students buildings, paintings, and sculptures in situ, when any
previous knowledge would have been gained only through slides and other
pictures.
To encourage tolerance and flexibility by having students deal directly with
the idiosyncrasies of a related, but different culture: transportation, language,
food, currency, and ideas.
To study specific monuments of French culture. Students will make two
presentations: A short one in preparation for the trip, and a longer one on that
same topic after the trip. Presentations will be in the form of a PowerPoint,
accompanied by an oral presentation, and, after the trip, expansions of the above
and a three-page paper. Topics will be chosen at the first class meeting.
Objectives
The objective is to visit historic churches, monuments,
civic buildings, and works of art in and around Paris. In the course of a
typical day, students will visit assigned places with the group, use public
transportation, find places to eat, and search out places of personal interest.
So that all students in the group can acquire a context for their work, they will
complete orientation modules on Blackboard before the trip and visit sites with
the group, as listed below. Some will be required; others can be chosen from a
list of options. Also it is possible to add yet others not on the list:
• Major cathedrals at Paris and (as an option) Chartres; also the historically
significant Sainte Chapelle, Sacré Coeur, and Abbey Church of St. Denis.
• Major art museums: the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and Pompidou Center.
• Versailles, the World War II Exhibit, the Deportation Memorial, the Place
des Vosges, and other sites related to France's history. In addition, travels
around Paris will introduce them to the city planning done by Haussmann.
PREREQUISITES:
Approval through application to the Study Abroad Office and an interview with the
instructor.
REQUIREMENTS:
Everyone’s grade, regardless of number of credits will be based on the following.
The percentages are related to a grade for one credit.
1. Completing a series of modules (on Blackboard), designed to familiarize
everyone with Paris, its history, its museums, its connections to other
cultures, and its quirks (in the eyes of North Americans). 40%
Distribution of points and projected due dates are as follows; some work
may be submitted electronically, with your name on each paper; some
must be submitted as hard copy.
Grades are lowered by half a point a day in the case of late papers.
Changes in due dates may be made; check announcements on
Blackboard. Any change will be for a later time, rather than an earlier one.
a.
Knowledge Survey,
10 points,
Friday, March 23
Submit it electronically; be sure your name is on your paper.
b.
Timeline and Essay
15 points, Monday, April 2
The timeline is to be done by hand; turn it in at the Study Abroad
desk by 5:00 P.M. The Essay can be turned in with the Timeline, or
submitted electronically, again, with your name on your paper.
c.
Architecture Checkup
35 points, Friday, April 6
The information you need to study for this open-book checkup is on
Blackboard, in Course Documents. The checkup itself is in
Assignments. While it can be submitted electronically, I much prefer
it in hard copy. If you submit it as hard copy, your deadline will be
Monday, April 9, by 5:00 P.M., at the Study Abroad Office.
d.
Museum Project #1 30 points,
Study Abroad Office
e.
Museum Project #2
Study Abroad Office.
Monday, April 16, by 5:00, at the
30 points, Monday, April 23, by 5:00, at the
The Museum projects are to be done by hand; don’t worry about slightly
messy handwriting or erasures. NOTE THE HOURS FOR THE ART
MUSEUM! IT IS CLOSED ON MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS!
2. Participating in activities during the trip; submission of the journal; 60%
a. Attendance and participation 80 points
b. Journal 100 points
3. Attending one of the scheduled orientation meetings.
mail regarding the time!
Watch your WSU e-
POLICIES:
1. Grading: I evaluate all written work according to the following criteria:
a. Accuracy of information
b. Evidence that you understand the information. Such evidence includes
first-hand knowledge gained as a result of the trip (if writing a research
paper); and paraphrasing, rather than extensive quoting, of your sources.
c. Clarity of writing style, including accuracy of Standard English spelling,
punctuation, and grammar.
Since the Journal will be written spontaneously and “on the run,” so to
speak, I will be more lenient with the above requirements than on anything
prepared to turn in, such as your orientation materials or your research
paper (the latter if you elect the course for 2 or 3 credits).
d. Proper documentation of any material outside your own previous
knowledge, or general knowledge.
2. Relationship between number grades (percentages) and letter grades:
93–100, A; 90–92, A-; 87-89, B+; 83–86, B; 80–82, B-, and so on down.
The lowest passing percentage is 60. I do not curve grades.
3. Dropping the course: It will be possible to drop the course only if there is an
emergency of such magnitude that one’s trip cancellation insurance would be
paid out for it.
4. A grade of “I” (Incomplete) is given only when a student is passing the
course but is missing one assignment, which, because of an extremely
serious emergency, cannot be completed before the end of the term.
Any student granted a grade of “I” will sign a statement of agreement
regarding the requirements for completion of his or her work and the date
by which the work must be completed. After the allotted time has passed, a
student who does not hand in the missing work will receive the grade as it
stands.
TEXTBOOK (required for everyone)
Rick Steves’ Paris 2012, by Rick Steves, Gene Smith, and Gene Openshaw
(Emeryville, California: Avalon Travel Publishing, 2011).
ACTIVITIES WHILE IN PARIS (ALL STUDENTS)
We will go to a number of sites in and around Paris, as listed in the brochure for
the trip. (Please be advised, though, that the list there is tentative and depends
on the number of people in the group, plus shifting schedules of guides we plan
to use.) The required sites are those which are among the best known and
which lend themselves to group visits.
The required sites are certainly not the only valuable ones to visit, just as
textbooks for a course are usually not the only viable ones available. However,
just as a required textbook must be used for a course, so also are all students
expected to participate in the required activities for this trip.
After all final arrangements have been made, but before the trip itself, you will
receive a detailed schedule of activities. Some of them will be required and
some will be optional. For all the required activities, you will be informed
regarding a place to meet, items you will need to have with you, and the
appropriate Métro(s) to take if you get separated from the group.
Further, you will receive an outline for a journal, to be handwritten as you visit
various sites with the group. In connection with the journal, you will be issued a
single-use camera and a list of places where you will have someone take a
picture of you. Most of these pictures can be made during the group activities;
others, you may visit when you wish.
At the end of the trip, after passing through Customs in Detroit, you will hand in
the camera and your journal. I will have the pictures developed and have a CD
made, plus an index. I will return the journal, the CD, and the index to you
through the Study Abroad Office; you may print the pictures as you wish and add
them to your journal.
ATTENDANCE POLICY WHILE IN PARIS
If you are seriously ill, you may be excused from attending an activity, but you
must contact me (telephone me in my room) regarding your illness. Depending
upon the activity, you may be expected to visit the missed venue on your own.
Arrangements will be made on a case-by-case basis.
OPTIONS FOR HON 4990 cr. 2 or 3; HON 3000 (Service Learning); HON.
4280 (Jr. /Sr. Seminar)
Note: Each credit in university-level courses represents a minimum of forty
hours of work.
HON 4990 cr. 2 or 3: RESEARCH PAPER
You will present your initial proposal for a paper when you have the interview that
is part of the application process for the trip. If your project is accepted, you will
have to write a paragraph describing the paper in order to register for two or
three credits.
By March 23, you will hand in a outline having at least three levels, and a
workable list of sources. A list of high quality will include a variety, such as
books, websites, videos, and scholarly articles. Moreover, a well-done outline
will demonstrate some familiarity with your chosen sources.
Outlines will be returned, with comments and suggestions, before the trip. Please
submit the outline and list electronically, with your name on each page by
midnight on the day they are due. Save your original. Sometimes mysterious
things happen in cyberspace and documents get lost. Don’t let anything you
submit for this course be one of them!
The outline and bibliography will count for 20% of your grade on the paper.
During the trip you will visit the places you need to for your paper, write down
your observations, and take pictures. You are expected to take descriptive notes
while you are making your visit, rather than visit in haste, take lots of pictures,
and write your descriptions later. Your paper, then, will reflect first-hand
descriptions as well as the background material you have gained through
research. An acceptable paper will depend on your having prepared well ahead
of the trip, on your having been in Paris, and only minimally on sources you
consult upon your return.
If you are taking the course for two credits, your paper will be approximately 12
pages in length; if for three credits, approximately 20–25 pages. In any case, the
paper must be typed and double-spaced. Hand the hard copy at the Study
Abroad Office by Monday, April 23.
You are encouraged to put pictures into your paper, but the pictures are not part
of your page count and you must use figure call-outs and appropriate captions.
For example, if you want to include the “Thinker” gargoyle atop Notre Dame,
write something about the picture you are including. Then provide the correct
figure number and appropriate caption below the actual picture, as follows: .
The so-called “Thinker” gargoyle peers glumly over the
city,
tongue extended beyond its lips. Apparently the creature
has
not
eaten
any
good
French
cooking
for
many
centuries(Fig.4).
Wherever you insert your picture, label it Figure 4. “Thinker” Gargoyle.
SERVICE LEARNING (Add HON 3000 when you register for HON 4990)
Students engaged in service learning will work alongside the Imagine Photo Club
at Children’s Hospital, an activity club for young dialysis patients. The projects
will involve two kinds of visits: first, visiting the dialysis unit twice before the trip
and talking with the children about Paris: things you hope to see, and things they
might like you to photograph for them. Second, after the trip you will visit with
the patients and share your photos with them. You will arrange your photos in a
booklet that can be duplicated at the hospital and given to the patients. They
may have photos of their own that they would like to discuss with you.
I will meet with Service Learning students as necessary before the trip in order to
help connect with Children’s Hospital, to offer guidance in meeting with the
children there, and in developing the reflective part of service learning. There will
be writing assignments related to preparation and reflection. In addition, there
will be a final Reflection Paper to be submitted on April 23. I will provide you with
written guidelines for the assignments.
One-third of your grade will be determined by the work everyone else in the
course does (the orientation modules, participation in the activities on the trip,
and the journal).
The remaining two-thirds will be determined by four
components of the project itself, all carrying equal weight:
1) Attendance at, and participation in, preparatory meetings (including written
assignments),
2) Visiting the patients before and after the trip,
3) The booklet of photographs presented to the patients,
4) Your final reflection paper.
HON 4280
For those taking the course as their Jr./Sr. Seminar, there will be three class
meetings before the trip (late afternoon, TBA) and five three-hour meetings
afterwards, within the class schedule for the Spring term. In the meetings before
the trip, students will make short presentations about the places to be visited.
You will be given a list from which to choose two. Also you will be given written
guidelines for the content of your presentations.
I will supplement your presentations with any necessary technical information
about the art and architecture involved. After the trip, you will make expanded
presentations on the same places, supplemented with your own photos and
observations. You will find your journal from the trip to be a great help in
formulating your own presentations and in entering the discussions about those
by other students.
One-third of your grade will be determined by the work everyone else in the
course does (the orientation modules, participation in the activities on the trip,
and the journal). The remaining two-thirds will be determined by the following
components, all carrying equal weight:
1) Attendance at, and participation in, the preparatory presentations. I expect
everyone to enter into class discussions.
2) Your first expanded presentation
3) Your second expanded presentation
4) Participation in discussions of other students’ presentations.
Regarding your presentations: I expect a businesslike approach, though without
being too stiff or formal. I will do my best to model that approach in my own
presentations. Use Standard English. End with a solid statement, not with
“That’s all,” or trailing off with “and so . . . .” If you use a PowerPoint, go
beyond the text on your slides in terms of what you say.