Introduction to the Visual Arts
1:30PM – 2:20PM MWF HYBRID
Fall 2014—August 25 – December 12
2:30 – 3:20PM MWF HYBRID
Online meetings conducted in Blackboard (Weekly)
Instructor: Adrian P. Blackstock Email: adrianb@rio.edu
and via Blackboard emergency: adrian.blackstock@gmail.com
Office: Blackboard Online
Course Description and Philosophy: This introduction to the visual arts stresses concepts and vocabulary used in the study of art. The course emphasizes the elements of art and principles of design, the nature of style, some major media, understanding art in its cultural context (both western and non-western) and the role of art in daily life. This introduction to art theory and history is designed to expand students’ notions of art, to introduce concepts of style and aesthetics as well as to explore media and the principles of design. It is designed to make students aware of the roles of art theory and art in normal life and to increase their visual literacy. Using appropriate terms and concepts, students should soon be able to discuss art logically, analytically and cogently.
Required Text: Mark Getlein, Living with Art , 7th ed. (or newer) (NY: McGraw-Hill, 2002), pb.
Computer Requirements: Computer access is mandatory; all coursework is conducted online in Blackboard . This is a hybrid course, most of which is conducted online. To do well in this class, one will need to use the course website on Blackboard for assignments. Use of the Rio
Grande email account is also a necessity. I will communicate and clarify assignments using the
Blackboard and email. If you do not have a personal computer, plan in advance accordingly
(through use of labs, etc. on campus) in order to 1. Complete assignments, view lectures, and complete assignments 2. To explore the text’s website www.mhhe.com/livingwithart ; and 3.To search museums and other art websites.
Desired Learner Objectives and Outcomes: This course should help students: 1. Understand that works of art and the principles of design influence daily life in many respects; 2. Understand that art arises from and reflects a cultural context while also contributing to it; 3. Increase their visual literacy and awareness that it extends far beyond art; 4. Be aware that they are consumers of art, reproductions of art and other visual images; and 5. Understand that works of art provide access to and understanding of other cultures and other times.
Attendance Policy: This course relies heavily on online presence. Blackboard contains lectures and assignments. The hybrid part of this course will require the student attend three in-classroom sessions scheduled by the instructor during the semester.
Assignment and Paper Policy: Due dates for assignments are outlined in the following course schedule. This class is mainly conducted online and strict adherence to due dates is expected.
Students are responsible for viewing lectures online in the Blackboard course, for the completion of all readings, assignments, and papers with adherence to due dates by submitting work in the online Blackboard forum and to turnitin.com where noted. All writing assignments (papers) in this course must be turned in on the due dates through turnitin.com and as a hard copy; failure to submit the papers in any of these forms will result in losing one full letter grade.

Academic Honesty Policy: Cheating will result in failure, as it is completely unacceptable. I will report all cheating or other displays of academic dishonesty to Academic Affairs and it will be made part of your University-wide record.
ADA POLICY: If a student wishes to be identified as having a physical, mental, or learning disability, that may or may not require reasonable accommodation(s), he/she must register with the Office of Accessibility. These registered students should identify themselves to their instructors and provide a written statement from the Accessibility Office that indicates the appropriate accommodations. The process of a student self-proclaiming the need for accommodation should occur as early in the semester as possible. The Office of Accessibility phone is 245-7339 and is located in Rhodes Hall, Room 116, University of Rio Grande.
FERPA: The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College are committed to fully respecting and protecting the rights of students under the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA). These rights generally include the right to inspect, review and seek amendment to the student's education records and the right to provide written consent before personally identifiable information from education records is disclosed. Under FERPA, students have the right to file a complaint with the US Department of Education concerning alleged failures to comply with FERPA. Please see the Student Records Confidentiality/Rights Under
FERPA section of the Student Handbook for details and more information.
WITHDRAWAL: Standard university policies, as described in the Student Handbook, apply.
Assignments - 12 Worksheets (25 points each) -- 300 points
Writing assignment – Thesis Paper
100 points
Museum Visit and Paper
100 points
Total Class Points Possible - 500
A 93-100% 465-500
A- 90-92%
B+ 88-89%
B 83-87%
450-464
440-449
415-439
B- 80-82% 400-414
C+ 78-79% 390-399
C 73-77%
C- 70-72%
D+ 68-69%
D 63-67%
D- 60-62%
F 0-59%
365-389
350-364
340-349
315-339
300-314
001-299

Assignments - 12 Worksheets (25 points each, Total 300 points)
Each week students are expected to answer Worksheets based on suggested readings and Chapter
Materials such as Prezi’s and videos found in the Weekly folders under “Course Information.”
Writing Assignment (100 points)
This writing assignment will be 1000 words. The assignment will be an opportunity to respond to a prompt while using appropriate terms and concepts in a way that discusses art logically, analytically and cogently. Please see the Thesis Paper folder in our “Course Content” on Blackboard for details.
Museum Visit (100 points)
Guidelines for writing the museum visit paper will be found on the
Blackboard website for this course.
Columbus Museum of Art wexner center for the arts, Columbus
Cleveland Museum of Art
Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland
Dayton Art Institute
Cincinnati Art Museum
Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati
Huntington Museum of Art
Toledo Museum of Art
Syllabus: (Instructor reserves the right to make minor changes to the syllabus)

Week 1 – (August 25 – August 29) o
In-classroom meeting scheduled on Monday, August 25 th , 2014 o No in classroom meeting Wednesday or Friday, please see Blackboard instead o Suggested Reading: Chapters 1 and 2: Living with Art/ What is Art? o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi by August 31st

Week 2 – (September 1 – September 5) Meet in Blackboard; NO in classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o Labor Day - Campus Closed September 1 (Does not affect our class online) o
Suggested Reading: Chapters 4 and 5: The Visual Element and Principles of Design o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Readers Response Worksheet due on Sunday, September 7 th by 11:59PM o Read the Guidelines for the Thesis Paper/ Check email to receive your assigned artists as your topic.

Week 3 – (September 8 – September 12) Meet in Blackboard; NO in classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o Suggested Reading: Chapters 6 and 7: Drawing and Painting o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o
Answer Response Worksheet due on Sunday, September 14th by 11:59PM

Week 4 – (September 15 – September 19) Meet in Blackboard; NO in classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o Suggested Reading Chapter 8: Prints o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Response Worksheet AND Thesis Statement for Paper due on Sunday, September 21 st by 11:59PM

Week 5 – (September 22 – September 26) Meet in Blackboard; NO in classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o
Suggested Reading Chapters 9 Camera Arts o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Answer Response Worksheet due on Sunday, September 28th by 11:59PM

Week 6 – (September 29 – October 3) Meet in Blackboard; NO in classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o Suggested Reading Chapter 10: Graphic Design o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Response Worksheet + Annotated Bibliography for Thesis Paper Due on Sun., October 5 by 11:59PM
Week 7 – (October 6 – October 10) Meet in Blackboard; NO in classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o
Suggested Reading Chapter 11: Sculpture & Installation o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Answer Response Worksheet + Outline for Thesis Paper Due on Sunday, October 12 by 11:59PM
Week 8 – (October 13 – October 17) Meet in Blackboard; NO in-classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o Suggested Reading Chapter 12: Crafts o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o
Answer Reader Response Worksheet due on Sunday, October 19 by 11:59PM o Email your Thesis Rough Draft to Gary Lesko of the Jenkins Center for editing by October 19th at
11:59PM.

Week 9 – (October 20 – October 24) Meet in Blackboard; NO in-classroom meeting Mon., Wed., or Fri. o Suggested Reading Chapter 13: Architecture o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Answer Response Worksheet due on October 26 by 11:59PM

Week 10 – (October 27 – October 31) Meet in Blackboard; NO in-classroom meeting Mon, Wed. or Friday o
Suggested Reading Chapter 14: Ancient Mediterranean Worlds o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Answer Response Worksheet due on November 2nd by 11:59PM

Week 11 – (Nov. 3 – Nov. 7) Meet in Blackboard; NO in-classroom meeting Mon, Wed. or Friday o Suggested Reading Chapter 15: Christianity and Formation of Europe o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o
Complete Worksheet due November 9 th by 11:59PM .

Week 12 – (Nov. 10 – Nov. 14) Meet in CLASSROOM MONDAY; NO in-classroom meeting Wed, or Friday o Suggested Reading Chapter 16: The Renaissance and Chapter 17: The 17 th and 18 th C. o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Museum Visit Paper Due on Blackboard under SafeAssign on, November 10th by 11:59PM o In-classroom meeting on Monday, November 10 th ; Bring hard-copy print outs of Museum Paper. o Answer Response Worksheet due on November 16th by 11:59pm

Week 13 – (November 17 – November 21) Meet in Blackboard, NO in-classroom memory Mon, Wed, or Fri. o Suggested Reading Chapter 21: Art Since 1945 o Review Materials in this week’s folder and Watch Prezi o Answer Response Worksheet due on November 23rd by 11:59pm

Week 14 – (Nov. 24 – Nov. 28) – RIO FALL BREAK AND THANKSGIVING BREAK

Week 15 – (December 1 – December 5) Meet in-classroom meeting Mon, Wed, or Friday o IN-CLASSROOM meeting December 1 to turn in your printed copy of the Thesis Paper. o Thesis Paper due on Blackboard Safe Assign on December 1st by 5:00PM – NO LATE PAPERS
ACCEPTED – This paper replaces a final exam. o Suggested Reading Chapter 18: Arts of Islam and Africa, Chapter 19: Arts of East Asia and Chapter
20: Arts of the Pacific and of the Americas

Week 16 – (December 8 - 12) o EXAMS

*FALL 2014 SEMESTER IMPORTANT DATES*
All Classes Begin---------------------------------------------------------------------August 25, 2014
Last Day to Add a Class for Fall Semester-------------------------------------August 29, 2014
Last Day to Drop a Class with Refund------------------------------------------August 29, 2014
Labor Day: NO CLASSES-----------------------------------------------------------September 1, 2014
Enrollment Verification Reported on Student|Space ( by 5:00 p.m.
) ---- September 3, 2014
Bob Evans Farms/Community Service Day-----------------------------------October 10, 2014
Midterm Grades Due by 4:00p.m.----------------------------------------------October 13, 2014
Spring Schedule Available on Student|Space/Webpage------------------October 27, 2014
Registration for Spring Semester Starts---------------------------------------November 3, 2014
Last Day to Drop a Class or Withdraw from URG---------------------------November 21, 2014
Fall Break – NO CLASSES----------------------------------------------------------November 24-26, 2014
THANKSGIVING—HOLIDAY—CAMPUS CLOSED-----------------------------November 27-28, 2014
Last Day of Classes-----------------------------------------------------------------December 5, 2014
Final Examinations-----------------------------------------------------------------December 8-11, 2014
End of Semester--------------------------------------------------------------------December 11, 2014
Final Grades Due by 4:00 p.m. -------------------------------------------------December 15, 2014
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