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HAVC 100A “Approaches to Visual Studies” Winter 2015
instructor Donna M. Hunter, Associate Professor
office: 226 Kresge (3rd floor) mailbox: 164 Kresge (accessible M-F, 9 AM-5 PM)
telephone: 831-459-4671 email:
office hours: Wednesdays, 4:15-6:15, at Porter, not Kresge (room to be announced), and by appointment
TA Mary Thomas, PhD candidate in Visual Studies email:
office hour: Mondays from 12:00-1:00 in Porter 212, and by appointment.
sections Wednesdays, 9:30-10:40 AM and 11:00 AM-12:10 PM in Porter 248 beginning Wednesday, January 7
Do not hesitate to contact the instructor or the TA
if you have questions, need advice, or simply want to talk about the course and its content.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
“Introduction to major issues of method and critique in study of art and visual culture. Focuses on understanding disciplinary and critical modes of scholarly inquiry in the visual arts, including role of historical research. Emphasizes intensive reading, discussion, and writing. Course 100A is a prerequisite for all History of Art and Visual Culture seminars.”
The HAVC faculty intend 100A to provide majors with a unifying experience that emphasizes reading and writing skills and so prepares them for more advanced work, especially seminars (courses numbered 190 and 191). 100A will focus on various ways in which practitioners of the discipline have interpreted art and visual culture. Specific visual examples will be given from a variety of cultures and time periods, but the focus remains on the ways in which interpretations are generated. Attention will be given to the following ways or methods: visual analysis which is never as neutral as it might seem; gender and sexuality studies; semiotics; Marxism and the social history of art; critical race studies; the critique of orientalism and post-colonial theory; and museum studies.
“DISCIPLINARY COMMUNICATION”
100A fulfills both a major requirement and a General Education requirement, the “Disciplinary Communication” [DC] Requirement. A DC course is meant to help students develop the reasoning and communication skills essential to success in their major. The writing in a DC course—a minimum of 25 pages—is structured as an iterative process of writing and feedback. It is therefore essential to passing the course to make sure that your assignments meet the length stipulated and that you heed the feedback you are given. The curriculum in a DC course is explicitly designed to address the conventions of writing in the major’s discipline. In HAVC, this includes the proper use of quotations and citation; the proper use of bibliographic format, including the annotated bibliography; the ability to identify scholarly sources (books, articles, certain websites, reviews, dissertations, conference proceedings, etc.); analysis of visual evidence in the course of building an argument and persuading the reader; the search for and proper identification of visual resources; and, last but hardly least, methods of argument/ways of thinking.
REQUIREMENTS
Please note that all requirements need to be fulfilled to pass the course. For example, a student would fail the course if she or he did not submit one of the five writing assignments, even if all other requirements had been met and an A+ had been earned on all graded assignments.
Attendance More than 2 unexcused absences from lecture and a student fails the course. More than 2 unexcused absences from section and a student fails the course.
Preparation Students are expected to complete the readings BEFORE they come to class or section and be prepared to contribute meaningfully to discussion. The readings for any one week should be done before the Tuesday class meets. The reading that will be the focus of Wednesday section is clearly designated as such.
Five writing assignments Guidelines for each assignment will be distributed in advance and posted on eCommons.
#1 visual analysis of single item + single quotation (3 pages) due: Thursday, 1/22 returned: Thursday, 1/29
#2 “writing with theory”—readings from Weeks 2-4 (6-7 pages) due: Thursday, 2/05 returned: Tuesday, 2/17
#3 revision of assignment #2 (6-7 pages) due: Tuesday, 2/24 returned: Tuesday, 3/03
#4 “writing with theory”—readings from Weeks 5-10 (6-7 pages) due: Tuesday, 3/10 returned: Spring Quarter
#5 annotated bibliography (2-3 pages) due: Tuesday, 3/17 returned: Spring Quarter
Students are expected to make use of the editorial comments on each assignment in preparing subsequent papers. The revision of the first discussion of readings (#3 on the above list) is required of all students. Revisions of other writing assignments may be required or recommended on a case by case basis if significant improvement is needed. This sort of revision does not subsitute for another writing assignments nor does it move the due date forward for any later assignment.
No late papers will be accepted except through prior arrangement with the instructor or with a valid, documented medical excuse.
PERCENTAGES & GRADES
40% participation and attendance at both lecture and section 60% writing assignments
Performance translates into letter grades as follows:
C Average performance Presentation of a reasonable amount of substantially correct factual information relevant to the topic. In discussion, this means that you have looked at the reading before class.
B Above average performance Demonstrated control of factual material in depth, clear exposition and coherent organization. For discussion, this means that your class participation demonstrates that you have carefully done the reading (i.e., you can answer questions and refer to the text).
A Excellent performance Comprehensive factual knowledge, well organized and well-written, showing independent, critical thinking and originality of insight. For discussions, this means that your class participation shows a careful and critical reading of the text and that you have done some original research. For example, you might have investigated the context of the reading, looked up difficult or unusual terms, etc. In addition, your participation in discussion encourages others to talk rather than monopolizing the discussion.
CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
Any student who is found to have cheated or plagiarized will fail the course. For guidance when in doubt, check with the instructor or TA. Definitions and specific guidelines can be found at the following UCSC websites:
· http://undergraduate.ucsc.edu/acd_integrity/definitions.htm
· http://undergraduate.ucsc.edu/acd_integrity/resources.html (“Avoiding Plagiarism with Proper Reference Formats”)
· Section 102.01 of Student Policies and Regulations Handbook (pp.46-48)
http://deanofstudents.ucsc.edu/pdf/student-handbook-interim-sept-2011.pdf
READING
There is one required book: Anne D’Alleva, Methods & Theories of Art History (London: Laurence King, 2nd ed. 2012). D’Alleva is a tenured professor at the University of Connecticut/Storrs; her specialty is the art and visual culture of the Pacific. Her book costs $19.95 new. It is available for purchase at the Literary Guillotine in downtown Santa Cruz: 204 Locust Street, three doors down from Planet Fresh Burrito and not far from the Red Room, both on Cedar Street. The Literary Guillotine is open Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm. The telephone number is 457-1195. If the D’Alleva title is sold out, you can order a copy without paying in advance or even going to the store. Just call. The distributor is located in San Francisco so copies arrive quickly. One copy of the 2nd edition of D’Alleva’s is on reserve at McHenry. It can be borrowed for two hours at a time.
The rest of the required reading will be posted on eCommons by week. Click on “Resources” under “My Tools” and then select the week to find the reading.
VIEWING
Some weeks there will be required viewing assignments. Required viewing may consist of a clip on YouTube, a web site, or a set of jpegs. These assignments will be posted on eCommons by week. Click on “Resources” under “My Tools” and select the week to find them. Recommended viewing assignments will occasionally be posted. It is your choice whether you do the recommended viewing or not.
eCOMMONS
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ATMOSPHERE OF MUTUAL RESPECT Laptop computers, iPods, PDAs, and cell phones are not to be used in the classroom. They can be disruptive and sometime tempt their users to check email, text, surf the web, and work on assignments for other courses. Students are encouraged to take notes by hand and transcribe them electronically at a later date. See the instructor if you have questions or concerns about this policy.
PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES [PLOs] UCSC is introducing the use of Program Learning Outcomes in all departments that award the B.A. “Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are a set of statements that specify the fundamental knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes students will develop over the course of their studies leading to a degree.” [Guidelines for the Development and Assessment of Program Learning Outcomes http://planning.ucsc.edu/irps/assessment/Docs/UCSCguidelines%28v1.0%2C9-10-13%29.pdf] Faculty develop the PLOs for their program and then articulate them in relation to each course that the department offers. The PLOs are communicated to students (e.g., on the syllabus or in a separate statement); used to assess student work in that course; and used on the evaluation forms that students fill out online at the end of each quarter.
In addition to communicating the PLOs, faculty will let students know which level of competency is expected. For example, in lower-division courses PLOs are introduced and students are expected to demonstrate an introductory level of competence. In upper-division courses that are not seminars, there would be “intermediate expectations.” HAVC 100A is a course with “intermediate expectations.” In upper-division seminars, there are “advanced expectations.”
There are 3 PLOs for HAVC 100A: PLO 2, PLO 3, and PLO 4.
PLO 2: Critical Thinking: Students will be able to apply critical thinking skills that will enable them to analyze and solve problems through observation, experience, reflection, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and/or explanation of visual, material, and historical cultural forms and values. Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through oral and/or written communication.
PLO 3: Research Proficiency: Students will be able to formulate research questions that expand their knowledge of art and visual culture. Students will be able to apply research methods to answer these questions by consulting the current literature and developing independent results through archival, library, or field research.
PLO 4: Written Communication: Students will be able to present clear visual and historical analysis and interpretation in writing. Students will be able to demonstrate standard writing conventions in visual studies appropriate to purpose and context.
CALENDAR
PART I APPROACHES TO VISUAL STUDIES—AN OVERVIEW
Week 1 “thinking about theory”/”thinking with theory”
PART II THE ANALYSIS OF FORM, SYMBOL, AND SIGN
Week 2 analysis of form: “rehabilitated connoisseurship”; revealing “order of things” from visual example; formalist analysis
analysis of subject matter through identification of motifs, conventions, symbols: iconography to iconology
Week 3 analysis of signs: semiotics
PART III ART’S CONTEXTS
Week 4 Marxist and other materialist perspectives on art
Week 5 feminisms/gender studies/ sexuality studies/queer theory
Week 6 cultural studies & post-colonial theory
PART IV PSYCHOLOGY AND PERCEPTION
Week 7 art history and psychoanalysis
Week 8 reception theory
PART V TAKING A STANCE TOWARD KNOWLEDGE
Week 9 hermeneutics & structuralism to post-structuralism
Week 10 deconstruction & postmodernism
PART I APPROACHES TO VISUAL STUDIES
WEEK 1 “THINKING ABOUT THEORY”/”THINKING WITH THEORY”
Tu 1/06 approach/method/theory—definitions & etymologies—wariness about method & theory
seeing the forest as well as the trees—critical distance as well as closer look
toggling between near & far, approaching & stepping back, thinking inside & outside the box
being aware of the “default setting” or “pre-set,” whether you want to change it or not
noticing the paradigm, whether you are going to shift it or not
case study: The “world’s most famous painting” (Mona Lisa, 1503-06, Leonardo da Vinci) as opportunity to notice
different ways it has been thought about and how those different ways are related to different theories.
W 1/07 studying a table of contents—learning how to use a book [D’Alleva, iv-vi and 1-4]
Th 1/08 empiricism and positivism as theories, even if anti-theoretical
common sense/common knowledge as the everyday version of empiricism/positivism
case study: Mona Lisa continued
reading D’Alleva, Methods & Theories, iv-vi and 1-15
PART II THE ANALYSIS OF FORM, SYMBOL, AND SIGN
WEEK 2 FORMS and SYMBOLS
Tu 1/13 “formalism in art history”
a “rehabilitated connoisseurship” (Zerner, 1982)
(4 questions to guide your reading of Zerner posted on eCommons following the Zerner pdf.)