Spring 2003

THE CONTRACT

This syllabus is the operational contract between the professor and the student.  Read it carefully.  The information contained herein is intended as a guide to allow the student to know what the policies of this class are, and to help her/him achieve success within the structure of the course.

I will be glad to schedule individual office appointments to discuss class material from lectures, readings, or examinations with any student.  At the end of a lecture, see me, and we will book your appointment.

This course will provide the student with an overview of the history of western art of Europe and the United States from the eighth century, B.C.E. to the present time.  Since this is an enormous undertaking, the material for study will be edited to cover the major styles, their artifacts and artists.

The course is not one concerned with "appreciation," nor is it one specially designed for "non-majors."  It is a genuine art history course on the introductory level.  Therefore, any university student should be able to handle the required work and succeed in the class.  The professor and text will present material within a common art historical perspective, context and methodology, and the student will be tested on these same aspects.

It is intended that the course serve as an introduction upon which the student may build by taking more advanced courses within the discipline.  A selection of these courses is offered by the Department of Art each semester.

Lectures will be held three times a week.  During the lectures, material will be presented that is based upon the assigned reading for that day.  The points of the lectures will be demonstrated by the projection of slides of various media--drawings, paintings, sculptures, works in ceramics, and architecture, for instance.  Questions about the material under consideration are strongly encouraged.  The lecture meeting will be the best time for the student to ask about any aspect of the readings he or she found difficult or unclear.

 ATTENDANCE

But for those when your work is due, the days that you come to class are entirely your own business.  WHEN you come during lectures is entirely the professor's business.  Class begins promptly at its appointed time.  Do not come late thereby interrupting your peers and the professor.  When class has started, we are busy; do not bother us.  You will know that our class is underway because the door(s) to the lecture hall will be shut; do not come in.  If you need to see the professor or a peer, wait until the class is over.  In order to protect ourselves from rude intrusions, latecomers will be asked to leave, and then dropped from the class as soon as the professor can get to the Office of the Registrar.

 GRADES

The grade for this course will be determined by the average of four examinations.  Your only opportunities for grades are to take the examinations at their appointed times.  Do not request special favors that cannot be granted to all of your peers; "extra work" does not exist.  These examinations are scheduled (see WORK DUE).  You should mark those dates on your personal calendar immediately.  Examinations are given neither earlier nor later than the scheduled slot.

Make-up examinations are not given.  Should you miss either EXAM I, II or III, the final grade will be determined by an average of three grades rather than four.  Should you miss two of these examinations, a grade of zero will be recorded for each of the missed exams.  The final examination--EXAM IV--on May 3 is required of all students (see Undergraduate Bulletin under "Grading"); if it is missed, a zero will be averaged with the other grades rather than an INC (incomplete) assigned as the course grade.

In keeping with the policy of this university which has no standardized grading scale, I have determined that the scale for this course will be:  A 100-95;  B+ 94-92; B 91-88; B- 87-85;  C+ 84-82; C 81-78: C- 77-75;  D+ 74-72; D 71-68; D- 67-65;  F 64--.

Blue Books are required.  Only complete (no pages missing) Blue Books with a signed honor pledge will be acceptable.  Ink--blue or black--is the only proper medium for your examination writing.  Your submitted examinations must fulfill all of the above requirements or they will not be accepted for grading.  The examinations for Art 101 will follow usual practices for art history surveys, and each will consist of three sections:

1. Identifications--provide the crucial data for major artifacts.  Information such as the title of the work, its date, the name of the artist, the style or period to which it belongs, and its culture or country of association, or artist's nationality will be required.  Information for this section will be taken directly from your text unless otherwise indicated during lectures.

2. Essay(s)--will concentrate on issues of style and culture.  In studying the material, you should always construct a clear idea of the importance that works hold in the history of art.  Your essay should contain accurate and specific information from your text and the lectures--never vague generalizations and uninformed observations.  The essay should be written in a clear, concise standard form for essays in the English language.

3. Terms--often have a specialized usage in art.  Mastery of terms is essential since they are often keys to understanding both the general properties of a style and the specific properties of an artifact.  Should you be required to define a term, do so fully; short answers may not be clear enough to allow you to receive credit.

Each examination will test only the material (text and lecture) covered since the previous exam.  Note:  Spelling is essential.  As in any discipline, the student is required to know the material.  2 + 2 = 5 is not correct, and neither is Bruneleschi for Brunelleschi.

 In order to fully comply with the Federal Rights of Privacy Act, grades are never posted or given out over the telephone.

 TELEPHONE CALLS

Telephone calls should not be necessary.  Information and questions can be dealt with by your professor during class times and conferences.  Also, the departmental and museum staffs are  occupied with their duties; please do not hinder them in their work.  Never call the Weatherspoon Gallery if you are trying to locate a faculty member.

This class is held in the Cone Building which houses the Weatherspoon Gallery.  The gallery is the University's art museum and owns a world class collection of contemporary art from the United States.  As is common with museums--food, drinks, smoking are not permitted in the building.  Chewing gum and feet never belong on furniture.  In short, it is assumed that the standard rules governing public behavior in society are applicable here.

  Gardner's Art Through the Ages, ninth edition.

Each reading is due for the class that falls on the date cited.  Also, examinations are scheduled in this calendar.

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