SMC Core Curriculum Course Proposal Form
Electronically submit a copy of the course proposal form and attachments to
the Chair of the CCC. Please submit a separate copy of the proposal form for
each learning goal.
1. Name of Proposer: Costanza Gislon Dopfel
2. Email address: cdopfel@stmarys-ca.edu
3. Department/Program of Proposer: Art History
4. Name of Department/Program housing the course: Art History
5. Name(s) of Program Director/Department Chair (if not the proposer): Anna
Novakov
6. Course Acronym, Number and Title: AH145 - Issues in Medieval, Renaissance
and Baroque art
7. Semester(s) in which course will be offered: Spring 2013
8. How often is this course taught? Every year
9. Course Prerequisites (if any): none
10. Unit Value of Course: 1
11. Proper Audience for the course (delete those that don’t apply): all
Freshmen
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
12. The Learning Goals for which the course is being submitted
(Courses may apply for at most one Pathways to Knowledge goal, and for as many
Engaging the World goals as is appropriate. Please complete a separate proposal
form for desired goal.)

Pathways to Knowledge
Artistic Understanding – Artistic Analysis only
Expected Attachments
(1)
Syllabus: Course syllabus containing a course description and a list of
learning outcomes. The course’s learning outcomes should include coverage of the
Learning Outcomes associated with the Core Curriculum Learning Goal for which
the course is being proposed.
(2)
Teaching: A brief narrative (300 words) that explains how the course will
guide students toward achieving the Learning Goal. The CCC believes it would be
simplest both for the proposer and for the Working Groups if the narrative
addressed the Learning Outcomes one by one.
(3)
Learning: A brief explanation of how coursework (e.g., papers, exams,
videotaped presentations) will be used to measure student achievement of each of
the Learning Outcomes. Please address the outcomes directly and one by one.
Any course approved for the core must provide data for the assessment of Core
curriculum learning goals at an institutional level. Via this proposal a chair/program
director agrees to oversee the submission of the student work necessary for the
assessment of the learning goals. If the proposal is from an instructor, that
individual agrees to oversee submission of work from appropriate sections of their
course.
Similarly, while courses, and individual sections within courses, may vary, the Core
should provide somewhat consistent experiences within each Learning Goal. To this
end, by submitting this proposal a chair/program director/instructor agrees that
instructors of Core courses will participate in assessment exercises.
PROPOSAL FOR ARTISTIC UNDERSTANDING
Costanza Gislon Dopfel
AH 145 – Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art
AH 145 – Issues in European art: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque - is a series of three
different courses under the same name/umbrella. The three courses, analyzing Medieval,
Renaissance and Baroque art history respectively, are offered on a three-year rotation,
allowing students to delve in depth into the history and culture of each period.
The goal of the courses, as listed in the syllabi, is:
‘To understand the development of art and literature as living and ever-changing expressions
of a society; to connect different periods while identifying their differences; to gain a clear
understanding of historical sequences; to recognize artwork and gain knowledge of its
genesis.’
Course outcomes:
Learning Outcomes 1a) Look at and read works of art; 1b) Analyze/interpret form and meaning; 1c)
Apply discipline-based vocabulary; 1d) Explore the artistic piece’s significance within appropriate context
are satisfied by the outcomes as listed in the Syllabus:
‘Students will be able to think of Renaissance history and civilization in an organized,
informed and organic way; they will be able to understand and identify different periods and
styles, while connecting them to key historical and social events; they will develop or refine
their understanding and analysis of artwork and research methodology, which they will
demonstrate in a research paper.’
Each of the three courses looks at different European regions, identifying styles, techniques
and subject matter. Students are encouraged to look at the relationship between the way
artwork developed in a specific location and conditions of climate, history and politics. It is
important that students do not assume that styles and techniques are simply fashions of the
moment, but that they discover how they come to be under specific regional circumstances.
For example, they are asked to explain why Italy’s fresco tradition is so pervasive, in contrast
to the portable altarpieces of the Netherlands, or how does Gothic style relate to early
Germanic aesthetics.
In this way students are exposed to hundreds of images of artwork, and eventually they are
able to analyze and locate a painting, statue or building based on style, technique and subject
matter at first glance, even without having ever seen it before.
Assessment:
The assessment is articulated through the following activities:
-
Identify individual artwork (midterm and final)
Relate individual artwork to local socio-artistic environment (midterm and
final, class summaries)
-
Connect artwork to cultural/religious/ political situation (midterm and final,
class summaries)
Analyze artwork orally (presentations)
Analyze artwork in writing (final paper)
During the midterm and final exam student have to identify a number of images by title,
painter, region or historical significance. They then have to answer a number of fact-based
questions and four analytical questions. The paper is one, extensive research paper that is
presented to the instructor first as a rough draft for approval, then as a completed work.
The group presentations are a way of testing the students’ ability to talk about art and use
the appropriate vocabulary while answering questions. The Class Summaries are exercises
aimed at helping students organize knowledge in a way they best relate to, while helping each
other clarify concepts. This is done first individually at home, and then in class, making use
of whiteboards, computers and projectors. The results of class summaries are then captured
through pictures and shared with the class or posted on Moodle. Class summaries are an
integral part of the class participation grade.