SYLLABUS
Walla Walla Community College
Online ART127 History of Western Art I: Ancient & Medieval
Fall quarter 2013
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This Art History course covers the art of Europe, the Near East, and Egypt from the
prehistoric period through the Middle Ages. Architecture, sculpture, painting, and
diverse portable objects will be studied in order to understand style, craftsmanship,
cultural function, and significance. Students can expect to develop critical thinking and
communication skills, as well as online experience, through reading, writing, and class
discussion forums. Students will learn about our human heritage, history, society,
culture, and themselves. In an effort to foster a more global perspective, a cursory
introduction of Islamic art and Asian art is also included.
This course is the first in a three-quarter chronological sequence (ART127, ART128,
ART129) but may be taken out of sequence and independently. THERE ARE NO
PREREQUISITES, BUT BE ADVISED THAT COMPETENT WRITING SKILLS ARE
VERY IMPORTANT. THIS IS A FIVE CREDIT COURSE AND IF YOU EXPECT TO
GET A GOOD GRADE YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO DEDICATE BETWEEN
TEN TO FIFTEEN HOURS PER WEEK TO COURSE READINGS AND
ASSIGNMENTS. 5 Credits.
INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Janice James
Primary Contact Information: Use system provided by Canvas
Secondary Contact Information: Janice.James@wwcc.edu
Campus mailbox at WWCC Information Desk
Cell phone: 509-876-1097
Due to the nature of online classes, it is very important that you contact me when you
foresee complications or trouble related to submitting your assignments on time.
Assignment deadlines will be enforced unless I hear from you in advance of the due
date.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
Stokstad, Marilyn and Cothren, Michael. Art: A Brief History. 5th Edition. Upper
Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-0-205-01702-7; includes
MyArts Lab (a supplementary study aid) when purchased new. Textbook is available
for purchase in the WWCC Bookstore.
As an alternative, you may buy an access code card from the WWCC Bookstore that
includes the entire ebook and MyArtsLab for Stokstad and Cothren, Art: A Brief
History, 2012. ISBN-10: 0-205-01702-9.
MyArtsLab is an online resource provided by the publisher of your textbook. It is
described as “a robust online learning environment.” If you purchase a new textbook or
ebook, you will have access to MyArtsLab. In consideration of students who may buy a
used copy of the textbook, I do NOT require that you have or use MyArtsLab. If you do
use it, please feel free to forward your comments and evaluation of it to me.
In the past, students have bought used textbooks from Amazon.com. Also, at least one
student rented his textbook from an online source (www.chegg.com). If you buy or rent
a used copy of the book, please get the correct edition (5th edition). It is very important
that you are in possession of a textbook by the start of the quarter, September 23th.
This course, ART127, covers the Introduction and chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
and 11. The remaining chapters are covered in ART128 (Renaissance & Baroque) and
ART129 (Modern Art).
COURSE GOALS
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
*Identify major works of art and architecture from prehistory through the European
Medieval period by name, date, and culture of origin;
*Gain a familiarity with Islamic and Asian art;
*Distinguish various styles and cultural hallmarks;
*Recognize the challenges of both form and technique as they relate to different media;
*Understand works of art in relation to the cultural and historical context in which
they were created;
*Develop an awareness of the concepts that define and distinguish the Western visual
tradition, with special emphasis on the Classical tradition of Greek and Roman art, and
the stylistic diversity of the European Middle Ages;
*Develop an awareness of the historical changes that transform concepts of art, artists,
and patronage.
FALL 2013 COURSE SCHEDULE
Course content is organized into eleven units.
Unit One/September 23 - 25: Introduction
Unit Two/September 26 – October 2: Prehistoric Art
Unit Three/October 3 - 9: Art of the Ancient Near East
Unit Four/October 10 - 16: Art of Ancient Egypt
Unit Five/October 17 - 23: Art of Ancient Greece and the Aegean World
Unit Six/October 24 - 30: Midterm (and chapter 4)
Unit Seven/October 31 - November 6: Etruscan and Roman Art
Unit Eight/November 7 -13: Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine Art (and chapter 8)
Unit Nine/November 14 - 20: Early Medieval and Romanesque Art
Unit Ten/November 21 - December 4 (includes Thanksgiving break): Gothic Art
Unit Eleven/December 5 - 9: Final Round-up (and chapter 9)
Please Note: As you will see, you are responsible for three chapters in the textbook
covering non-Western art, specifically, chapters 4 (Early Asian Art), 8 (Islamic Art), and
9 (Later Asian Art). Since these subject areas are technically outside the scope of this
course, you will only be minimally tested on them. In our ever more globally connected
world it is important that you gain some knowledge and understanding of non-western
artistic traditions.
UNIT COMPONENTS
Each weekly unit, except for Unit One, begins at 12:05 a.m. on Thursday and ends the
following Wednesday at 11:55 p.m. Some assignments MUST be completed by Sunday
at midnight; other assignments are due by Wednesday at midnight. Please observe
specific assignment deadlines. (See below for details.)
In each weekly unit, you will find an assortment of components. I have tried to make
each unit basically consistent so that you will learn what to expect while allowing for
some variation. Unit Six is reserved for the Midterm, and the Final Round-Up is
scheduled for Unit Eleven (December 5 – 9). THIS CLASS IS DESIGNED FOR YOU
TO RECALL COURSE MATERIAL FROM EARLIER WEEKS, AND THE MIDTERM
AND FINAL ROUND-UP ARE ALSO CUMULATIVE.
Each weekly unit contains:
READINGS from the textbook, ART: A BRIEF HISTORY. I consciously chose a
textbook that was not overly burdensome with regard to reading load and cost. As you
will see, I supplement textbook assignments with additional required online readings.
EXPLORATORY ACTIVITIES are You-Tube videos or web visits, often to museums of
art, added to support and enhance course topics.
WEEKLY GRADED ASSIGNMENTS include * a multiple choice quizzes and art
vocabulary matching exercise based on the reading. A writing assignment, **discussion
forum, and ***mystery image (one or more) are regularly also included. The Midterm
and Final Round-Up also include a discussion forum, mystery images, and/or writing
assignments.
*Multiple choice quizzes and art vocabulary matching exercises must be completed by
Sunday, 11:55 p.m., so that you will be familiar with unit topics, concepts, issues, ideas,
artworks, and relevant vocabulary words which you are expected to use in your written
assignments (discussion forum posts, essays, and mystery images).
**A discussion forum is an interactive assignment designed for you to articulate wellfounded opinions and swap ideas with fellow students. You must post an initial
response and comment substantively on TWO fellow students’ posts in order to get a
passing grade. IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO POST YOUR INITIAL RESPONSE
WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE UNIT DEADLINE IN ORDER TO GIVE FELLOW
STUDENTS AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT. Please note, therefore, that
your initial post is due by Sunday, 11:55 p.m., and your two replies to fellow students
are due by Wednesday, 11:55 p.m. For the highest grade, your initial post and two
replies needs to be informative (rich with meaning that reflects your understanding of
course content) and well-written. Aim to move the discussion forward not just repeat
yourself or others. Don’t forget – you must include works of art that are documented
correctly – include culture, artist’s or architect’s name, title, and date (in parentheses);
if a building or monument, or something in a fixed location like a fresco or stained
glass, you must include location.
***A mystery image is a work of art that I presume you have not seen before, but
should be comfortable attributing to a culture, place, art historical period, or artist that
we are studying due to stylistic similarities, subject, technique, or another relatable
measure. It may be that you know or otherwise can positively identify the mystery
image in which case you must still relate the mystery image to this course, related art
work from the text book, and relevant subjects and styles under study. It is important
that you demonstrate what you have learned. Shortcuts will not be rewarded.
For Canvas assignments, write your answers to essay questions and mystery images
using Word (doc, docx, or RTF). By doing this, we can avoid potential computer
incompatibility issues. Always make a copy of your written assignments since we
cannot always predict what will happen in the cyber world between your computer and
mine.
LATE WORK POLICY: I strongly encourage you to abide by the posted deadlines and
submit your assignments on time. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO MAKE A DEADLINE,
YOU NEED TO CONTACT ME VIA CANVAS EMAIL IMMEDIATELY. If I am
notified, I will tolerate a rare late submission; however, if I see a pattern of lateness
emerging, I will warn you and then impose a strict grade-demotion penalty for further
lateness. If you can foresee a problem or if an emergency arises, please contact me at
once and together we can arrange a mutually agreeable plan of action. It is your
responsibility to keep me informed in a timely manner if you encounter problems or
anticipate delays.
PLAGIARISM: Understand that plagiarism is a serious academic offense and will not
be tolerated. DO NOT SUBMIT ASSIGNMENTS CONTAINING TEXT THAT YOU
HAVE COPIED, LIFTED, SHUFFLED, OR OBVIOUSLY MANIULATED FROM
YOUR TEXTBOOK OR ANY OTHER SOURCE. Any instance of plagiarism will be
dealt with severely. You will certainly get a zero for that assignment, and disciplinary
action from Walla Walla Community College may be initiated. Repeat plagiarism
(twice) earns an F in the class and an incident report to WWCC administration,
including the Financial Aid Office, if applicable. The concept of plagiarism also includes
allowing another person to submit work in your name in the class. If you cannot resist
the urge to depend too heavily on the text, I suggest you finish your reading assignment
and then write your answers with the textbook closed. Obviously, you can fact-check,
and I encourage you to look at the illustrations very carefully. Just beware that I expect
your answers to reflect what you have learned, not what anyone of us can read for
ourselves in another source. It is your understanding of course material that I am most
interested.
GRADING: Your final grade will be determined by calculating assignments based on
the following percentages: weekly quizzes & vocabulary matching exercises (15%),
discussion forums (20%), mystery art images (20%), written assignments (25%),
Midterm (10%), and Final Exam (10%).
A 100 – 93% C 77 – 73%
A- 92 – 90% C- 72 – 70%
B+ 89 – 88% D+ 69 – 68%
B 87 – 83% D 67 – 63%
B- 82 – 80% D- 62 – 60%
C+ 79 – 78% F 59% and below
For information regarding specific WWCC policies related to Disabilities, Plagiarism, and on-campus
student support services, go to the Lessons tab and click on TIPS and Course Resources.