Russian, Soviet, and Central Asian Art Fall 2017 | Professor Allison Leigh Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 11:00-11:50Am – Fletcher Hall 211
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University of Louisiana at Lafayette VIAR 422-001 Studies in Art History: Russian, Soviet, and Central Asian Art Fall 2017 | Professor Allison Leigh Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays 11:00-11:50am – Fletcher Hall 211 Professor’s Office: Fletcher Hall 201A Office hours: Mondays 12-3pm and Tuesdays 12:30-3:30pm; and by appointment Email: [email protected] COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will examine the development of Russian, Soviet, and Central Asian art from the time of Peter the Great (c. 1700) to the 1980s. From early secular portraiture and the development of critical realism to the formal experiments of the avant-garde, this course will trace the impact of Europe and Asia on Russian art and visual culture. It will treat Russian contributions within the context of international art history, and highlight the variations within specific stylistic movements between western and non-western cultures. Students will study Russian and Central Asian responses to Romanticism, Realism, and Futurism, as well as artists’ efforts to reclaim Russia’s eastern heritage in the early 20th century. The first part of the course focuses on the development of Russian painting, sculpture, and printmaking in the 18th and 19th centuries. The focus during the second part of the course is then on Russian and Soviet modernism, from the art of the Russian avant-garde movements of the 1910s-20s to nonconformist art of the 1960s-80s. Threaded through the course will be analyses of the art and visual culture of Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The works of all the artists under study will be discussed in terms of the cultural and political context of Russia both before and after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Course Goals 1. Advanced knowledge of various artistic media central to Russian, Soviet, and Central Asian art production, including: painting, printmaking (lubki), sculpture, textiles, conceptual objects, and performance. 2. Advanced knowledge of major artists and works of art from the period under study. 3. Advanced knowledge of approaches and methodologies used by art historians to assess works of art. 4. Advanced knowledge of key terms in art history as well as their use and application. 5. Advanced knowledge of how to conduct formal and visual analyses to build arguments about works of art. Student Learning Outcomes 1. Identify key artworks and art movements in the period and culture under study, and discuss them in relation to larger issues in art history. 2. Situate, engage, and assess artworks in relation to their cultural, political, and socio- historical context. 3. Conduct close reading and formal analysis of works of art and write analytically at an advanced level about images and texts under study by using scholarly research methods. © 2017 Allison Leigh, This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License 4. Express and communicate ideas and arguments about art and art history across all components of the course including written assignments, presentations, and classroom discussions. 5. Mastery and fluid use of key terms in Russian, Soviet, and Central Asian art including: Occidentalism, Slavophilia, mass culture, avant-garde, authoritarianism, and globalization. 6. Conduct intensive readings of advanced-level art historical texts and theoretical discourses in order to analyze interpretations about artworks. 7. Ability to summarize and elaborate upon the ideas of others and ideas of their own based on a new depth of knowledge on art, poetry, philosophy, art criticism, and political history. REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS Rosalind Blakesley The Russian Canvas: Painting in Imperial Russia, 1757-1881. Yale University Press, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-0300184372 Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art, 1863–1922. Thames and Hudson, 1986. ISBN-13: 978-0500202074 Additional required readings will be available through the Moodle website for this course. You should print these PDFs and read them for the assigned class according to the schedule below. You must bring the readings with you to class for the days they are assigned (either printed out in hard copy or already downloaded on your laptop or iPad; NOT on a cell phone). If there is ever a problem with a PDF on Moodle, email me right away. Continually not bringing the readings with you to class will result in a lowered participation grade for the semester. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Class Attendance and Participation: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting. Four absences will be allotted to each student without penalty. I will, however, drop a student’s final average by one letter grade for each absence beyond the four allotted: an A thus drops to a B, a B to a C, a C to a D, and so forth. If you will be absent, please send me an email beforehand to let me know. This does not necessarily mean the absence will be excused, but it will let me know what’s going on. Classroom Policies: All cell phones must be put on silent and set NOT to vibrate for the duration of class. Typing on a cell phone is not permitted for any reason during class. You may take photographs of the projector screen or chalkboard using your cell phone during the class, but these photographs are © 2017 Allison Leigh, This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License not allowed under any circumstances to be posted online or to social media and are to be used for study purposes only. Please be sure not to include the professor in these photos. Violation of these rules will result in a complete ban of cell phone use during class for everyone. Laptops may be used to take notes, but must only be used for note-taking. If you use a laptop for note taking you must sit in the first two rows of seats in the classroom. Any student caught looking at material on a laptop not related to class during lecture or discussion will be banned from using a laptop in class again. Recording of class lectures or discussions is not allowed. You must meet with me in person to receive permission to record and sign a waiver if permission is granted. A respectful tone should always be maintained in class (both with the professor and with each other) in all exchanges. Required Reading: Assigned readings are listed in the course schedule below and are fundamental to developing an understanding of the material. You are expected to complete the readings listed on the schedule below for the day they are listed (i.e. before the class meeting) and demonstrate knowledge of the information they contain in class discussions. I reserve the right to give periodic pop quizzes. These will be “open book” and you may use your copy of the reading and/or notes while taking the quiz. In addition, I will occasionally ask you to respond to a reading in such a way that demonstrates you have completed it before we begin discussion. Writing: Two short essays and several one-page response papers will be required for this course. The first short essay will be a visual analysis essay (4-5 pages) in which you will be asked to use formal analysis to describe and investigate a Russian artwork from a list of possible choices after spending a prolonged period studying the work. The second short essay will be a book review essay (4-5 pages) in which you will assess the merits, organizational structure, and writing style of Rosalind Blakesley’s The Russian Canvas. The one-page responses will be to readings assigned on the “case study” days. There are 12 total case studies and you will need to submit responses to 6 of your choice over the course of the semester. Further details and guidelines for these essays will be forthcoming. To pass the class, all writing assignments must be completed. Please note that writing is accepted in stapled, printed hard copy only and not over email. The minimum page requirement must be met always: for example, 3 “full” pages means 3 full pages - i.e., not two and a quarter, not two and a half, for example, but 3. Papers with manipulated fonts and margins to stretch the text, feigning the required length, will not be accepted and will immediately receive a grade of “F”. Students are required to write in a standard 12-point font and use 1” margins on ALL sides. EXAMS: In addition to the essays and responses, there will be two exams in this course. The midterm exam will be on Moodle and you will be able to use notes and the readings to complete this test. © 2017 Allison Leigh, This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License The final exam will be in-class and will consist of slide IDs, multiple choice questions, and an essay. A study guide will be given in advance to help narrow the material to be tested on this exam. GRADING: Participation 15% Visual Analysis Essay 15% Quizzes and Responses 20% Book Review Essay 15% Midterm Exam (on Moodle) 15% Final Exam 20% MOODLE AND EMAIL: For the duration of this class, students are required to have regular access to a computer with on- line service and a ready-to-receive UL email account; students must also have regular access to Moodle. DISABILITIES ACT STATEMENT: If you are a student who is disabled as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act and require assistance, academic accommodations or other support services will happily be provided to you. Please see me in person after class your first day or two of attending with appropriate documentation to discuss accommodations or come to my office hours to discuss.