1 Dr. Jo-Anne Berelowitz Office: A 51058, ext 4995 SDSU, Spring 2014Fall 2009Fall 199986 Office hours:T., TH. 2:15- 3:15 3:15-4:415 orTh. 7:30-8, 11-12, or by appt. Art History 560: American Art by appt. Office phone: 594-4995 Room 512300 A 412, TTh 8:00-9:152:00-3:15TH.. 1:002:30 - 3:4103:30-6:10 Email: [email protected] Office phone: 594-4995 American Art Description/Objectives: This course is a survey of American art from colonial times to approximately 1940the present. It examines art produced in the U.S., American art institutions, and American attitudes toward art and artists. Our approach, while following a broadly chronological framework, will focus on particular issues and topics such as representations of the landscape, the politics of ethnicity, the mythology of the West, genre painting, the Gilded Age, urban monuments, paintings of city life, modernism, the the establishment of American art museums, documentary photography, and the Depression Decade, documentary photography, articulations of . sexuality, the artist’s relationship to nature and to industry. Throughout, we will view the production of art within the broader context of political, social, intellectual, and cultural issues. Prior requirements: SI expect that students enrolled in this course must have taken prior classes in Art History, particularly 258 and 259. If this is not the case, please see me before enrolling. If you have not had these courses or their equivalents, I strongly advise that you drop the course and delay taking it until you have the background that these 200 level courses provide. Class format: Slide illustrated lectures, videos, discussion of readings, one field trip to two museums (which will serve in lieu of two classes), field trips.. Review procedure: Independent frequent review of notes, readings, and visual material is necessary for success in this class. Good note taking is essential. It is also essential that you work through the study guide questions on a week- by-week basis to keep up with the material. Requirements: All assigned readings, attendance in class, threewo midterms, a short term paper, , and a visit to a museum. There will be an optionaland a finalC UMULATIVE examination. Please note that you MUST attend all classes and do all the readings. You cannot afford to neglect either of these modalities. Information will be given in lectures that is not contained in the readings. You are responsible for this and will be examined on it. So - COME TO CLASS! Museum visit: Our field trip will be to the San Diego Museum of Art. On the same day we will also visit the Timken Museum of Art, also in Balboa Park. Details will be given early in the semester. The visit is required. Because this is a lengthy field trip, 2 regular classes will be cancelled, as we will be spending the equivalent time at the museums. Examinations: Examinations will be in the form of multiple choice questions and slide identificationshort essays. Questions will be based on assigned readings and on material presented during the lectures. Some of the material you are responsible for is not in your text books or your reader and therefore requires your att e a ndance and attention in all classes. Some of the slide identificationswil mayl be images that you have not seen before or are not illustrated in your text books but are by artists whom you will have studied. They will manifest obvious characteristics of those artists and, provided that you study and pay attention in class, you should have no difficulty identifying them. You will also be tested on information given in the videos. There will be four examinations: three during the semester and a final. Only the final is cumulative. The course grade will be computed by combining three examination gradess and the term paper grade. A student who has taken three examinations may use the comprehensive final to better a grade. (In other words, if you take four exams, your grade will be computed from your three best exam grades.) A student who has missed an examination should take the cumulative final. This will be your only opportunity to make up a missed exam! There are no make-ups in this class. Excepti o nal term papers will receive five bonus points. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: 2 First mMidterms: 100 points Feb. 13Sept. 24 September 30 October 13; November Second midterm: 100 points March 27Nov. 3November 5October 28 Third midterm: 100 points May 6Dec. 8 December 210 Term papers due: 50 points (5 bonus possible) December 9October 22 14 FFinal: 100 points 110 points (5 bonus , 5 earned) Wed., December 1679, May 11, 1-2:301:00 - 3:00 Important dates: NO CLASSES ON FEBUARY 20 AND MARCH 4 BECAUSE OF THE FIELD TRIP TO TWO MUSEUMS Note that papers handed in late will be docked a full grade for each day of lateness. Ordinarily on examinations and for general grading purposes, the following table is used: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 60-69 = D; 0-59 = F. This may vary by two or three points, depending on the class’s overall performance on a given examination. Pluses and minuses will be given. For the term paper: 45-50 =A; 40-45 =B; 34-39 =C; 30-34 =D. Your final grade is computed out of a possible total of300 points. The scale is as follows: A 300-279419-450 A- 278-270405-418 B+ 269-261392-404 B 260-249373-391 B- 248-240 C+ 239-231 C 230-219 360-372 C+ 346-359 C 328-345 C- 218-210315-327 D+ 209-201302-314 D 200-189 283-301 D- 188-180270-282 Policy for missed exams: A missed exam will count as an F grade unless the student has an authorized excuse. Illness must be substantiated by a physician’s letter, work-related absence by a letter from an employer. Other reasons for absence will need to be cleared with the professor. There will be no makeups under any circumstances. Students who miss an exam for whatever reason may take the optional cumulative final.Early exams are not an option. Student responsibility: It is your responsibility to attend class regularly, to make up missed information if absence is unavoidable, to stay current in terms of course material, to participate in the field tripps, and to prepare for examinations. If you experience difficulties with course material, it is your responsibility to schedule conferences with the professor. 4:00 - 6:00 Examination questions will be in the form of short essays. A list of study questions is appended to the syllabus. Exam questions will be selected from this list. It is meant as a guide to your reading. Questions are based on assigned readings and on material presented during lectures. You are responsible for all of this information. Information is given in lectures that is not in your text book or assigned readings. You are responsible for this information and therefore MUST COME TO CLASS. Term Paper: Due November 7. Papers handed in late will be docked a full grade for each day of lateness. Grading: Your final grade will be determined as follows:2 0% each midterm; 20% term paper; 40% final examination. Note that there will be no makeups for missed exams. Readings: TwoOne books haves been ordered for you: Wayne Craven: American Art: History and Culture, Brown and Benchmark, 1994. Marianne Doezema and Elizabeth Milroy: Reading American Art, Yale, 1998. 3 Additional readings are on reserve. There is also a reading package of xeroxed articles. TheBoth books and package are available for purchase at K.B. Books. TheyBoth are also on reserve in the library. Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays7:30-8:00; , 7-8, 11-12 or by appointment. I encourage you to take advantage of office hours and to use this time to discuss the readings, difficulties you might be having with the course, writing skills, or any other matters pertaining to the course. It’s best to catch problems early! I will sometimes have a faculty meeting scheduled during my usual office hour time. This makes it important to check with me regarding my availability for each office hour period. Cheating and plagiarism: The penalty for cheating is an F in the class and being reported to the University’s judicial officer. Plagiarized work will be penalized to the fullest extent possible and will very likely result in expulsion from the university and/or delay of graduation. If you are caught cheating, it will go on your record. More administrative details: In Incomplete may be issued under appropriate circumstances, in which case a contract must be signed by both student and professor. The contract form is available in the School of Art Office, located in A-505. An Incomplete is not a substitute for an “F.” If no arrangements have been made and assignments are missing, a “U” will be automatically issued. It is all but impossible to withdraw from a course after the official drop date, so please do so before that date, should you want or need to drop this course. University restrictions on issuing Incompletes and granting course withdrawals after the official drop deadline are very stringent. Even if you have submitted a petition to withdraw from a course, continue to attend until permission has been officially granted and confirmed in writing by the University. If you are taking the course in order to remove a grade lower than C (C- or below), you must file a petition for “Course Forgiveness” with Admissions and Records.