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ART 305: ART & MASS CULTURE
FALL 2014
Class Syllabus
Professor Betty Ann Brown, Ph.D.
email: betty.a.brown@csun.edu
Office Hours: Via Email
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Prerequisite: Completion of the Lower Division Writing
Requirement. An introduction for the non-art major to the relationships between art and
mass culture. Illustrated lectures explore the development, techniques, and ideas
underlying the contemporary visual environment, including the media arts of
photography and advertising, as well as painting, sculpture and architecture. Art majors
may take this course for university elective credit. (Available for General Education, Arts
& Humanities).
This is a class in which we survey the history of Western art to chronicle
the development of our mass media society, examining both those art
monuments generally studied in art history classes (painting, sculpture,
architecture), as well as photography, film, television and advertising. The
purpose of this class is to help you develop what is often called "visual literacy."
This means the ability to "read" the images that surround you in our information
society.
After taking this class, you will have a much greater appreciation for the
importance of art to Western culture. You will also have the skills to become
critically aware of the visual messages you receive every time you turn on your
television, page through a magazine, or scroll down a computer screen.
CLASS REQUIREMENTS: Students must read the entire Art & Mass Media text
(the eBook available on Moodle), become familiar with all of the online
Powerpoints, take fourteen online quizzes, participate in at least ten (10) online
discussions, and take the online final exam. Museum Writing Projects are
optional (i.e., "Extra Credit") reports on designated museum visits. The overall
course grade will be calculated from the following:
1. Fourteen Online Quizzes, each worth up to 10 points, for a total of 140
possible points. The quizzes are short answer, i.e., multiple choice,
matching, or true-false. Each one covers a textbook chapter & related
Powerpoint lecture(s). The deadlines for the quizzes are on Moodle, not
on this syllabus. If you miss points on the quizzes, the only way to
make up those points by doing a Museum Writing Project. This
means even if your dog eats your computer, or the Internet doesn’t
work, or you have to work late—whatever the reason—you have to
make up missed points by writing a paper. NO ONE will be allowed to
take any quiz a second time!
2. Online Discussions, each one worth up to 3 points, for a total possible
30 points. Every week, I will post a topic for class discussion. Your
response can be worth up to three (3) points per topic. To earn the full
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three points, you must write three (3) complete sentences that are
relevant to the topic. Responses are to be written in traditional English
NOT as text messages.
3. Online Final Exam, worth 50 points. (Please note that the questions for
this exam are NOT taken directly from the chapter quizzes!) The
deadline for the final exam is not flexible. If you miss it, you miss the 50
points.
4. Museum Writing Projects, worth up to 25 points. The ONLY way to
make up missed points on the quizzes or final exam is by doing a
Museum Writing Project. You can choose to do one or the other, but you
may not do both. Both projects involve going to an art museum IN
PERSON and answering a series of questions. The papers are due
online on specific dates. See “Museum Writing Projects” on Moodle for
more information.
5. GRADING SCALE: Fourteen online quizzes: 140; Ten online
discussions: 30; Final exam: 50; TOTAL: 220.
A: 190-220; B: 160-189; C: 130-159; D: 100-129.
Grading will be on a plus-minus basis.
TEXT: Brown & Pelfrey, Art & Mass Media, an e-book available online at
Moodle or under Brown’s name on the CSUN Art Department website. Most
students download the book, chapter by chapter, onto their computer desktops.
Printed versions of the text run over 500 pages.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Note: This is a tentative schedule, which is subject to change. Weekly reading
assignments, quizzes and exams are listed here, with further specifics posted on
Moodle. In general, the online quizzes are due at the end of your scheduled
class meetings. The quizzes cover the chapters assigned that week as well as
the online Powerpoints.
It is your responsibility to stay current with assignments and due dates as
well as any modifications.
Week 1. August 25. Introduction to the class. Read Media 00.
Week 2. Sept. 1. Why Visual Literacy. Read Media 01.
Week 3. Sept. 8. The Roots of Western Culture. Read Media 02.
Week 4. Sept. 15. The Renaissance. Read Media 03.
Week 5. Sept. 22. The Baroque. Read Media 04. Getty Villa Museum Paper,
Option #1 due this week.
Week 6. Sept. 29. Photography. Read Media 05.
Week 7. Oct. 6. 19th Century Avant Garde. Read Media 06.
Week 8. Oct. 13. Film. Read Media 07.
Week 9. Oct. 20. Early 20th Century Avant Garde. Read Media 08.
Week 10. Oct. 27. Advertising. Read Media 09. Norton Simon Museum Paper,
Option #2 due this week.
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Week 11. Nov. 3. Television Programs. Read Media 10.
Week 12. Nov. 10. Television Commercials. Read Media 11.
Week 13. Nov. 17. Late 20th Century Avant Garde. Media 12.
Week 14. Nov. 24. Thanksgiving Week. NO QUIZ!
Week 15. Dec 1. Brave New World of the Computer. Media 13.
Week 16. December 8. ONLINE FINAL EXAM.