ARTHS 199: Contemporary Art History (3 Units, CSU GE Area C1, IGETC Area 3A) Contact Me: [email protected] Please Include an Informative Subject Line
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DVC—Pleasant Hill Campus Ms. Kristen Koblik Fall ARTHS 199-1993 TTH 12:30-1:50PM in room A-106 2017 ARTHS 199: Contemporary Art History (3 units, CSU GE Area C1, IGETC Area 3A) Contact me: [email protected] Please include an informative subject line. Office Phone: 925-969-2253 Google Voice (mostly for texting): 925-322-0037 Skype handle: kckoblik Office Hours Coffee and Conversation Times: TTH 10:00AM-11:00AM, DVC Cafeteria This semester, in the interest of being more available to students in a more convivial environment, I’m holding “coffee and conversation” hours instead of office hours. I will be in the DVC Cafeteria (HSFC Building) with my laptop, a cup of something, probably caffeinated, and a sign. Drop by at any time, with any type of question. I’m also in my office A LOT, so I am happy to make time to see you. My official office (ha) is A-504, top floor of the art department, door closest to the quad. If you want to come see me outside my Coffee and Conversation times, please just let me know and we will figure out a time! Course Description: This course focuses on American and European art produced since 1945, although art from other cultures will also be considered. Students examine works of art and their cultural circumstances, with the goal of recognizing, understanding, and discussing various art forms in their broader contexts. This course also aims to introduce students to the discipline of art history and to enable students to answer a variety of root questions. The course centers on themes that run through contemporary art, including issues of identity, the avant-garde, the status of the art object, institutions and challenges to them, and branding and marketing in the art world. Strongly Recommended: Eligibility for English 122 or higher A Note on Course Content: Contemporary art is often purposefully shocking, and in this course we will examine some disturbing images. Some works of art will have explicit sexual, violent, racial, or religious content, and some will probably be personally offensive to you. I welcome your opinions and beliefs, but I will challenge you to articulate your support or condemnation of an artwork and will push you to locate each work in relation to other cultural values and forces. Course Management System: We will use the Canvas course management system to distribute readings, complete homework assignments, submit substantial written work such as essays, and record grades. There is a link to Canvas on the top bar of the DVC homepage, but the independent URL is www.4cd.instructure.com In addition, there is a Canvas link in your WebAdvisor page. We will review access and features of Canvas in class. However, they also have a 24/7 dedicated help line, 1-844-303-5586, and a series of help videos and instructions that you can access any time by clicking the question mark icon on the left menu from any Canvas page. Chrome is the recommended browser for optimal use with Canvas. Text: There is no textbook for this course. We will be reading and viewing many shorter texts that are primary sources, criticism, journalism, documentation, and didactics. These are available on our Canvas course site. These media are required. We spend most of our class time in discussing, debating, contextualizing, and other projects that require you to have some background knowledge on the subjects and works covered that day. Because of this format, I ask that you complete as much of the reading for the class as possible Koblik: ARTHS 199 page 1 DVC—Pleasant Hill Campus Ms. Kristen Koblik Fall ARTHS 199-1993 TTH 12:30-1:50PM in room A-106 2017 BEFORE each class listed. I have the readings scheduled as “assignments” on Canvas to remind you of what needs to be done before each class meeting. We will inevitably get behind at some point in the semester. I’ll try to adjust assignment due dates when that happens, but you may need to do some common-sense adjusting as well. Because your readings and media are all online, you will likely be reading and taking notes from a screen rather than on paper. Since annotating, highlighting, summarizing, and note taking are so important for your understanding, I strongly recommend that you use a program or app for taking notes on web pages. For each unit, I have a Google Doc that you can copy and use as a template for notes. This is useful in remembering what you have already read, and what you thought about it. Even two or three sentences of notes after a reading really helps! Diigo and Evernote are two programs/apps I also recommend for annotating and note-taking from online sources. They each have free versions, but it is very worthwhile and recommended to upgrade to the paid versions, which are equivalent in price at $40/year. These programs will keep you organized and help you prepare for class (and you can use them for all of your courses!). You can try out the free versions of each one and see which you like better before committing to a purchase. https://www.diigo.com/index https://evernote.com/ If you feel the need for a textbook, I recommend Eleanor Heartney’s Art and Today (Phaidon, 2013, ISBN 0714866008) as a good source that won’t break the bank ($50 new on Amazon, many used cheaper copies available). It does not cover the earlier works that we discuss, but I have borrowed from Heartney’s organization of chapters and she gives good introductions to the themes we cover in the course. Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to: 1. Identify, describe, and analyze important issues related to art making in the last half of the 20th Century, including significant social, economic, scientific, and political forces that helped shape the character of the art produced during this time; 2. Recognize key works of art produced since 1945; 3. Critically analyze the nature of contemporary art and its significance with regard to their own lives and society at large; 4. Apply concepts from critical, historical, and primary sources using appropriate art historical vocabulary. Course Requirements: Course assignments include in-class work, several quizzes on the images and the reading, homework projects and posts, several writing assignments, and midterm and final exams, each with essay and short answer components. • You will need to spend some time online to do your readings and complete and submit some assignments, so computer access is needed. School computer labs are free and available for this purpose. • You will be encouraged to visit a museum to see art in person and to facilitate some of the writing assignments. We will plan an OPTIONAL weekend trip to SFMOMA but you can also go see art on your own. A list of appropriate institutions, prices, locations, etc. will be handed out. Koblik: ARTHS 199 page 2 DVC—Pleasant Hill Campus Ms. Kristen Koblik Fall ARTHS 199-1993 TTH 12:30-1:50PM in room A-106 2017 Approximate Assignments and Point Values: Grades by Points: Projects, activities, and assignments 30% 150 points A 450 and higher Essays and writing assignments 20% 100 points B 400-449 4 Quizzes, 25 points each 20% 100 points Midterm exam 15% 75 points C 350-399 Final exam 15% 75 points D 349-300 Supplemental credit Assignments 0-10% 50 points F below 299 Total grade calculated out of 500 points Note: There will be some amount of “extra credit” points on quizzes and some assignments. In addition, there are several “supplemental credit” assignments that you may choose to complete. These assignments are scored and count towards your grade exactly the same as any “regular” assignment. If you miss an assignment, you may choose to complete a supplemental credit assignment to make up the points you missed. This means that more than 500 points are available in the semester, however, the grade scale is still and always based on 500 for figuring out percentages. I use Canvas to record all grades—your grades, comments on your assignments, and your running total of points for the semester are always updated and available to you through the “grades” page on Canvas. I’m always happy to answer questions about your assignment or overall grades. Course Policies: Please come to class on time each week and be prepared to work from the very beginning of class. Persistent acute lateness will have an adverse effect on both your learning and your grade. Small assignments will often be given and collected at the very beginning of class—this is to encourage your timeliness. The class functions best when people participate, discuss, and add to the learning community. Some of your project, assignment, and discussion grades are partially based on your participation. Please silence all cell phones and refrain from texting and other potentially distracting activities during class. In college classrooms, it is expected that you take notes, participate in discussions, and generally facilitate your own and others learning experiences. Students who cannot participate in the creation of a beneficial academic environment will be asked to leave. • Written work must be submitted online through our Course Management System. Work not submitted before the deadline online is late, and subject to a 10% point deduction. Late work will be accepted for one week after the deadline. • Quizzes are available online for you to take as many times as you like during the appropriate time period. Your highest score will be recorded.