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Topics in American Studies: Arts Adventure
01:050:283
1.5 Credits
Section 01(06257)
Sunday 8:30 am
Section 02 (16502)
Sunday 11:30 am
Spring 2015
Scott Hall 221
Dr. Jonathon Appels
Phone: (212) 242-1664
Course Description:
Visits to museums, galleries, and arts centers in New Brunswick,
Princeton, and New York City, as well as Off-Broadway theatre, dance,
music, and poetry readings to experience differing artistic forms. How
do the aesthetic values of one art discipline (for example, painting)
influence the creation of works in another artistic field (such as music or
theatre)? We will examine how current events are depicted in the arts,
how the arts shape social values, and how the arts are interpreted by
different social groupings. We will also consider the human figure in
artistic representation, as well as the body as an expressive vehicle.
Grading Criteria:
All of the following assignments assume the clarification of a
theoretical position.
40% Research paper (5-6 pages, 14 font)
20% Idea Book (12 pages typed 14 font, or 12 pages handwritten)
20% Class participation and attendance
20% Two oral presentations (comparing influences from at least
two different artistic disciplines)
Late papers will be downgraded one grade per week late. No email
submissions. Multiple grammatical errors will affect the overall
grade. More than three typographical or grammatical errors on a
single page can be graded no higher than a C. Two errors on a
single page can be graded no higher than a B.
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Department Learning Goals Met by this Course:
 Students will be able to synthesize an interdisciplinary dialogue
among the different disciplinary methodologies that compose
American Studies in their investigation of American culture and in
relation to the history, politics, literature, and arts of the peoples of
the United States, as well as the Americas.
 Students will be able to write and speak articulately, and think
critically, analytically, and creatively.
Course Objectives:
 To survey the many artistic disciplines in the larger
metropolitan area and to examine multiple perspectives on
how those art forms have been created, and for whom
 To understand the interconnectedness of art, language, and
expression
 To understand the fluidity of subjective and objective
references to the history of art forms and art objects
 To increase visual and textual literacy
 To gain exposure to a variety of perspectives, approaches, and
methods of artistic creation
 To foster respect for all points of view and to promote crossdisciplinary arts dialogue
 To strengthen a wide spectrum of writing skills and oral
presentation skills
 To support and diversify critical and creative thinking skills
 To enhance reading, comprehension, and analytic tools as part
of research on the arts
 To enjoy the discovery of new ways of seeing and
understanding art!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------No electronic devices during class, including cell phones, iPods,
iPads, Kindles, Nooks, texting, laptops, photography, sound
recording, etc. Any single use of the above will automatically lower
your grade one level.
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Attendance Policies:
No more than one absence or you risk failing the course. Tardiness of
more than half an hour counts as a full absence. Absences lower your
grade. Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss a
class, please use the University absence reporting website
https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your
absence. An email is automatically sent to me.
Discussion Groups:
Students will be part of Discussion Groups. If you have forgotten
the homework, are absent, or are not clear on the assignment, you
can contact the President or Vice President of your Discussion
Group, or any member of the group, as well as anyone else in the
class through the President and Vice President of each Discussion
Group. In short, your first resource is each other. If your
questions are not clarified through that means, then feel free to
call me by leaving a message at my home number (212) 242-1664.
Please be sure to pronounce your phone number on my
answering machine since I do not have caller recognition.
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Required Books
(Rumi, and any two of the following)
Scarry On Beauty and Being Just ISBN: 0691089590
Berger Bento’s Sketchbook: How does the impulse to draw something
begin? ISBN: 9780307379955
Rumi The Soul of Rumi (tr Barks) ISBN: 9780060604523
Feldman Give My Regards to Eighth Street ISBN: 978-1878972316
Stein Everybody’s Autobiography ISBN: 0691089590
Plumly Orphan Hours: Poems ISBN: 9780393346626
Wheeler Ledger ISBN: 9780877459279
Van Gogh The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh (tr Pomerans) ISBN:
0140446745
Romanucci-Ross The Anthropology of Medicine: From Culture to
Method ISBN: 9780897895163
Csikszentmihalyi Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
ISBN: 9780061339202
Bryant The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali ISBN: 9780865477360
Michael Palmer Thread ISBN: 9780811219211
Suzan-Lori Parks 365 Days/365 Plays ISBN: 9781559362863
Ono Shinto: The Kami Way ISBN: 9780804835572
Brustein Letters to a Young Actor ISBN: 9780465008063
Alon Mindful Spontaneity: Moving in Tune With Nature : Lessons in the
Feldenkrais Method ISBN: 9781853270505
Additional books which can be used for the research paper:
Berzock and Clark (eds) Representing Africa in American Art Museums:
A Century of Collecting and Display
Bewer A Laboratory for Art: Harvard's Fogg Museum and the
Emergence of Conservation in America (1900-1950)
Marstine (ed) New Museum Theory and Practice: An Introduction
Corn Women Building History: Public Art at the 1893 Columbian
Exposition
Crimp, On the Museum’s Ruins
Levin Gender, Sexuality and Museums: A Routledge Reader
Ganteaume Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the
National Museum of the American Indian
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Requirements for the Idea Book:
Idea Book: The Idea Book is a form of free writing, that is, writing
without grammatical concerns, or subject restrictions (as long as
the writing is linked to the work of the class).
-Due April 19
-12 pages typed (double spaced, 14 font)
or 12 pages handwritten (single spaced)
-Page numbers on each page (paginated)
-Include Table of Contents as the first page with a list of the trips
taken and the corresponding page numbers
- The content is concerned with your individual impressions and
interpretations of the required books, class discussions, and
the visits to cultural institutions.
-Also consider your reflections on how your academic work is
connected to the rest of your life.
-Discuss how the artistic pedagogies and sensibilities you are
discerning in this course relate to the development of your
ideas and creativity.
-Writing is stream of consciousness thought process, associational
thinking, and not structured, similar to a diary, a journal, or
blogging.
Requirements for Research Paper:
Assignment: Make an argument about how art and aesthetics are
understood in American culture, using the materials from the class.
- Due April 19.
-5-6 pages, double spaced, 14 font
- Refer to the visits to cultural institutions.
-Thesis as part of the introduction.
-Restatement of thesis as part of the concluding paragraph.
-Integrate one quote each from the three books you have read
-Integrate one scholarly quote (from an outside source, not from
the three required books you have read in this class).
-Develop thoughtful transitions between the books and the visits
to cultural institutions.
-Note: Quotes should be between one and four sentences long.
-Use MLA Format.
-Works Cited page required.
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Please note: Because the course will be run as a seminar, it is expected
that students will come prepared with the readings. Active participation
is assumed and will be reflected in the grading.
Also note: Electronics (iPods, iPads, Kindles, Nooks, tablets, cell phones,
texting, laptops, photography, recording devices, etc.) will not be
allowed during the seminar.
Policy on Plagiarism:
Please read carefully the Rutgers' policy regarding plagiarism.
From the University’s Policy on Academic Integrity for Undergraduate
and Graduate Students:
Plagiarism is the representation of the words or ideas of another as
one's own in any academic exercise. To avoid plagiarism, every direct
quotation must be identified by quotation marks or by appropriate
indentation and must be properly cited in the text or in a footnote.
Acknowledgment is required when material from another source stored
in print, electronic or other medium is paraphrased or summarized in
whole or in part in one's own words. To acknowledge a paraphrase
properly, one might state: "to paraphrase Plato's comment..." and
conclude with a footnote identifying the exact reference. A footnote
acknowledging only a directly quoted statement does not suffice to
notify the reader of any preceding or succeeding paraphrased material.
Information which is common knowledge such as names of leaders of
prominent nations, basic scientific laws, etc, need not be footnoted;
however, all facts or information obtained in reading or research that
are not common knowledge among students in the course must be
acknowledged.
In addition to materials specifically cited in the text, only materials that
contribute to one's general understanding of the subject may be
acknowledged in the bibliography. Plagiarism can, in some cases, be a
subtle issue. Any questions about what constitutes plagiarism should be
discussed with the faculty member.
The Rutgers Writing Program also maintains a website that defines and
discusses plagiarism, which we encourage all students to visit.
2/10/15 RS
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Tentative Course Outline:
(subject to change, please stay in touch with the President and Vice
President of your Discussion Group)
March 8
Introduction to the course
Course requirements
Discussion of handouts
Introduction to the syllabus
Wednesday, March 11, 8:00 pm
Writers at Rutgers Reading Series Juan Gabriel Vasquez
Rutgers Student Center, Multipurpose Room - 126 College Ave.
March 29
Berger and Rumi: on seeing, believing, and drawing
Art and aesthetics with Elaine Scarry, On Beauty and Being Just
First oral presentation
Brief project at Zimmerli Museum
April 5
Princeton University Art Museum
Tuesday, April 7, 5:00-9:00 pm
Art After Hours: First Tuesdays
Live art events!
Zimmerli Art Museum
Wednesday, April 8, 8:00 pm
Writers at Rutgers Reading Series-Andrew Solomon
Rutgers Student Center, Multipurpose Room - 126 College Ave.
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April 12
Second oral presentation
Also possible:
Music at the Museum: Afternoon of Opera and Art Song
Voorhees Hall, Zimmerli Art Museum
2:00-3:00 pm
(Performance by soprano, baritone, pianist, guitarist.)
April 19
Research paper due
Idea Book due
Zimmerli Art Museum tour, 12:15 pm (be on time)
Second oral presentation (late)
April 26
NYC trip: Rubin Museum (and perhaps MOMA!)
Local New Brunswick option also available
May 3
Wrap-up, conclusion, synthesis of artworks seen and discussed
2/10/15 RS