VOLUNTEER STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
ART 1030 - ART APPRECIATION
3 SEMESTER HOURS CREDIT
SYLLABUS - Online Class
ART 1030
A General Education course designed to meet the Humanities/Fine Arts
requirement. This course provides an introduction to the visual
language, the nature of creativity, and the functions and forms of art
in our own culture and in selected other cultures in human history. A
lecture course based on slide presentation and discussion.
PREREQUISITES: Acceptable placement scores or completion of all
Learning Support Competencies in Reading and Writing.
INSTRUCTOR Patrick Andrew Green
COMMUNICATION
Communication will be via email within the e-learn course site unless
otherwise arranged.
TEXT
Gateways to Art, DeWitte, Larmann, & Shields, ©2012.
(Books can be rented if they are returned in good condition.)
ONLINE SITE
E-learn (https://elearn.volstate.edu/) is available through My Volstate.
If you need help logging on, contact the "Help Desk" at 615-230-3367,
24/7.
COMPUTER & TECHNOLOGY
REQUIREMENTS
You will need an adequate computer and adequate internet access.
High-speed connection is an asset, as much of the content is image
and video-heavy. Email communication, content delivery, etc. will be
through 'MyVolstateOnline', also known as 'elearn' and 'D2L'.
All documents must be created in MS Office or Open Office. (Open
Office is a free download with programs similar to MS Office.) I cannot
open and will not accept documents created in any other programs.
CLASS ‘ATTENDANCE’ & READING ASSIGNMENTS
The material in the Content Section in the online class site contains
information not addressed in the textbook, like a classroom lecture just as there is information in the textbook that is not available online
in the Content Section. These two sources complement each other and
are equally important.
EXHIBITION PAPER
You will be required to visit the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in
Nashville (or a comparable venue in the Livingston area) and write a
response paper based on your experience there. The Frist is free to
college students on Thursday and Friday nights (beginning at 5pm).
Otherwise, the cost is $7 for college students. You need to be prepared
to show your student ID and pay any parking fees incurred. If you live
more than an hour from either area, contact me. See 'Exhibition
Response Paper'.
TESTS
here will be 7 tests throughout the semester. These will be taken
online. Most tests include one or more essay questions. While any
online test is, by default, open book/open content, success will depend
on your knowing and understanding the material.
DISCUSSIONS
There are graded online Discussion Topics and optional Discussion
Topics (which can earn participation points). The quality of your
comments is important. Comments that reflect insight, research or
other knowledge gained beyond the classroom (such as travel),
original thinking, etc. will earn more credit than thin, shallow or
minimally responsive comments. If you research the topic, please cite
your sources. Comments posted only on the last day that a Discussion
topic is open cannot earn full credit.
VIDEO RESPONSES
There are 2 Video Responses. Each requires you to view an online
video, 15-30 minutes in length, and write about it.
DESIGN ACTIVITIES
There are two Design Activities (Figure/Ground Activity and Powerpoint
Design Activity). Design is a Problem Solving process. Neither activity
is very complex and both have clearly stated goals. Submit these
projects early in the available time frame and I will provide feedback,
allowing for revision and grade improvement. These are the only
assignments that can be repeated for an improved grade.
METHODS
This course is delivered entirely online. PDF and other formats present
visual and other information supplemental to your text.
ASSESSMENT
The extent to which students achieve the desired outcomes of ART
1030 will be assessed through tests, papers, projects, and
participation. Student responses on tests are of several types:
essay
slide identification
fill-in-the-blank
multiple choice
The extent to which students use effective written communications will
be evident in their postings to Discussion Topics, papers and in other
written communication. The extent to which they are skilled at
identifying and solving problems will also be demonstrated in these
and other contexts. The extent of the foundation each student has laid
on which to build a personal system of aesthetic evaluation can be
inferred from the degree to which he or she has achieved the course’s
General Educational Outcomes. Developing such a system to a high
level, however, will require a period of time considerably longer than
that of the semester in which ART 1030 is taken.
GRADING SYSTEM
While each activity is assessed on a 100 point scale, each is weighted
differently:
In a grading system of 1000 total points:
500 points -Tests
Test #1 - 50 points
Test #2 - 100 points
Test #3 - 100 points
Test #4 - 100 points
Test #5 - 100 points
Test #6 - 100 points
Test #7 - 50 points
50 points - Design Activities (25 points ea.)
100 points - Video Responses (50 points ea.)
100 points - Graded Discussion Topics (50 points ea.)
100 points - Exhibition Response Paper
50 points - Participation
Participaiton is based on reading/viewing slide lectures and other
materials in the content section, contributions to optional discussions,
completion of assignments, and use of standard English in all
communications.
These grade points add up, of course, but doing poorly on any one
item should not prevent you from achieving the grade you desire. In
addition, extra credit points are available. See the Extra Credit
document.
Use standard English in ALL communications. Grades reflect not only
quality of content but quality of writing, including spelling, grammar,
and structure.
For ANY assignment, if you research your topic, cite your sources.
The final grade scale is A, B, C, D, F, I (Incomplete), N (Audit), or W
(Withdrawal).
A = 100-90 (1000-895)
B = 89-80 (894-795)
C = 79-70 (794-695)
D = 69-60 (694-595)
F = 59 and below (594-0)
EDUCATION GOALS
he Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) and Volunteer State Community
College (VSCC) establish the following goals for students in Humanities
and Fine Arts courses:
1. To provide experiences that enable students to understand the
effects of the arts and to identify and analyze artistic aspects of
cultures;
2. To enable students as citizens and educated members of their
communities to know and appreciate their own human cultural
heritage and its development in a global context;
3. To develop an understanding of the present as informed by the
past.
4. To encourage development of effective oral and written
communication skills;
5. To encourage skills for identifying problems and finding appropriate
means for solving them;
6. To assist students in the development of a personal system for
aesthetic evaluation through informed critical thinking skills and
interpretive experiences;
7. To create an informed audience that seeks out art that suits their
individual preferences and needs;
8. To increase understanding of art as a refection of life: personal,
cultural and historical.
COURSE OUTCOME STATEMENTS
Students who successfully complete this course will have
demonstrated a basic knowledge of:
• the principles of aesthetics
• the function of art in both Western and non-Western culture
• the range of cultural diversity
• how the arts reflect life, both historically and personally
• the elements and principles of design
• materials and processes in visual arts
• techniques for analysis and interpretation
• new trends of art and design in contemporary society.
• the nature of creativity, including children's art development
• how to develop a personal involvement as an audience for the arts
POLICIES
There will be no Incompletes given in this course unless the
circumstances are very unusual and arrangements have been made
with the instructor.
PLAGIARISM STATEMENT
According to the Volunteer State Community College Student
Handbook, “Plagiarism is using other people’s ideas as your own work,
copying all or parts of someone else’s work, having another person
write the assignment, getting too much assistance in writing, or failing
to document accurately the use of source material”. Plagiarism is
punishable by possible failure in the course, to be judged by the
teacher, and a definite zero on the project. Students are responsible
for seeking help if they are unsure about how or when to cite sources;
ignorance of the rules is not a justification for plagiarism.
The Student Handbook can be found at the following internet address:
http://www.volstate.edu/handbook-student/
ADA AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
It is the student’s responsibility to self-identify with the Office of
Disability Services to receive accommodations and services in
accordance with The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Only those
students with appropriate documentation and who are registered with
the Office of Disability Services will receive accommodations. For
further information, contact the Office of Disability Services at (615)
230-3472, TDD (615)-230-3488, or visit the office which is located in
Room 108 Wood Campus Center.
It is the intent of VSCC to be free of discrimination or harassment on
the basis of sex, race, color, religion, age, disability, political affiliation,
sexual orientation, veteran status, or physical appearance.
FINANCIAL AID STATEMENT
Students who are receiving Title IV financial assistance (Pell Grant,
Student Loan or SEOG Grant) must regularly attend class or be subject
to repay PART or ALL of the Federal Financial Aid received for the
semester
Students with concerns or questions that the instructor cannot resolve
should contact the Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts
Department, Mr. James Story, Pickel 132, 230.3216,
james.story@volstate.edu.
TOPICAL OUTLINE
I: CREATIVITY
The Creative Process
Brain Hemispheres
Childrens' Art
II: THE VISUAL LANGUAGE
Form - Elements and Principles of Design
Content - meaning, idea, or interpretation
Analysis
III: MEDIA AND PROCESSES
Two-dimensional Arts
Three-dimensional Arts
Time-based Arts
IV: HISTORY & CONTEXT
Prehistoric art
Early Civilizations
The Classical World - Greek and Roman art
The Middle Ages (Medieval Europe, Byzantium, Islam)
Symbols & 'Threads'
V: HISTORY & CONTEXT
Non-Western Art & Culture
VI: HISTORY & CONTEXT
Renaissance and Related Styles
Modernism and Post-Modernism
VII: THEMES
Community
Spirituality
Cylcle of Life
Science
Illusion
Power
War
Social Conscience
The Body
Gender
Expression