Richard Gantt:
228 Cone Bldg.

Fall 2002

CONSULTATIONS

 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.

THE COURSE

This course is a general survey of the artistic production of the United States from the colonial era to the present day.  A great variety of media are included in the text for the course, and many will be discussed in the lectures.  However, the great portion of the lectures will focus on the usual fine arts media of painting, sculpture and architecture.

Since the span of the chronology of this study is an ambitious one, the wealth of material will be judiciously edited so that some depth of focus and comprehension can be achieved.

LECTURES

Lectures will be held twice 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--drawing, painting, sculpture, works in ceramic, and architecture, for instance.  Questions about the material under consideration are strongly encouraged.  Also, 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.

But for examinations, 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.

The grade for this course will be determined by the average of three examinations.   Your most advantageous 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:  September  21 which will cover the 17th and 18th centuries, October 31 for the 19th century, and the final (20th century) for December 19 starting at 12:00 noon and concluding at 3:00.  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 either the first or second examination be missed,  I will assign a formal research paper to replace the missing grade.  The topic will be entirely of my choosing. If you do miss either the first or second exam, see me the very next class so that we may set your paper topic.  Warning! It will be very unwise to consider the paper an OPTION rather than taking the scheduled examination; in my experience, passing papers on the undergraduate level are rare.

Should both the first and second examinations be missed, a grade of 0 will be recorded for each.  (Having failed to complete two-thirds of the graded work for the course, at this juncture the student will be strongly advised to officially withdraw from the course). The final examination on December 19 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--.

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

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 examination must fulfill all of the above requirements or it will not be accepted for grading.

The examinations for Art 310 will follow usual practices for art history surveys, and each will consist of two sections:

1. Identifications--provide the crucial data for major artifacts.  Information to be included is: the title of the work, its date, location for architecture, the name of the artist, when applicable–the artistic circle or group that the artist belonged to; and the style or period to which it belongs.  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 specific works hold in the history of American 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 the clear, concise standard form for essays in the English language.

 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 Stiechen for Steichen.

 TEXT

Craven, Wayne.  American Art - History and Culture.
Readings will be assigned in advance of the class in which the student is expected to be prepared to discuss the topic(s) under consideration.

 TELEPHONE CALLS

Telephone calls should not be necessary.  Information and questions can be dealt with by your professor during scheduled 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.

 BUILDING USE

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.

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