Art History 1700-Pre-Historic Through the Middle Ages

Professor Andrea M. Zaremba professoramz@gmail.com cell-(973) 698-3541 AOL IM: AZBagoo Classroom: VE 112 Office Hours: by appointment

Thursdays, 7:30-10:15 PM, Fall 2012, Section 8

Syllabus
Art History Survey 1700 is a three credit hour course that is required for art majors and art history majors and minors. It is an elective course for all other students. Art history, design, and art majors are advised to keep all tests and papers from the course as you may need some of the material later on in your undergraduate program.

Required Texts
Stokstad, M. Art History, Volume 1, 3rd Edition. ISBN: 9780131743205.

Recommended Texts
James Hall, A Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, rev. ed., Harper and Row, 1979. Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers, 6th edition, University of Chicago Press, 1996. I recommend www.half.com, www.chegg.com, or www.amazon.com to purchase textbooks, or rent them-they are cheaper. Make sure to also utilize the Library and your local library resources. Each week I have included readings for the next class and suggested texts on the scheduled topics. Students are encouraged to bring in any articles, readings, texts, etc. that are relevant to the topics.

Course Description and Goals

AH 1700 is a survey of the history of art from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. The course is the first semester of a two semester survey sequence which is designed to acquaint the student with the historical development of the art of western civilization. This course will survey the

arts created in Near Eastern, Central American, Mediterranean and European lands from about 35,000 BC to about 1350 AD.

Course Objectives
Students who successfully complete this course will learn to: 1. Identify works from the pre-historic to the late medieval periods. 2. Use a basic art historical vocabulary in discussion and writing assignments. 3. Write a formal analysis about painting, sculpture, or some other medium. 4. Write short essays about specific works of art and their historical contexts.

Attendance, Participation, and Student Conduct

The successful completion of a course of study requires regular class attendance. Attendance means being present for the entire class period. Class attendance is important; however, it is recognized that absences may occur for legitimate reasons. Two excused absence will be allowed during the semester (but two absences will put you behind). Additional absences will lower your final semester grade average by five points for each absence. For example, if your grade average is 82 and you have 3 absences (1 absence beyond the allowable number), your average drops from 82 to 77 or from a "B" to a "C" grade. Excessive absences are understood to represent disinterest in the course. Students who miss class are responsible for finding out about the material covered in lectures, homework assignments, and any announcements or examinations. A faculty member is not responsible for repeating information missed during a students absence. Students will understand that excessive absences will adversely affect your final grade. Class sessions will be interactive with a combination of lectures, Q and A, and discussion. Each class will start off with a discussion of the readings and students will be asked to participate by answering questions. Feel free to bring any topics/articles/readings that are relevant to course matter. Participation is a large part of this class and it will be factored into your grade. You will be expected to follow all the guidelines for University Conduct. For more information, please use: http://www.kean.edu/KU/Code-ofConduct

Electronic Device Policy

Laptops are not allowed. All cell phones should be set to silent, not vibrate, during class time. Your cell phone should be away, and not in your hand, on your desk, or in your lap. Using your smart phone during class is distracting and disrespectful to me and the rest of class-texting, Facebooking, or anything else at anytime is prohibited-failure to follow this will result in points from your grade. You will be given a warning via email and then points will be deducted without notice to your grade. Electronic devices are not allowed during quizzes or in class exams. Failure to comply with this policy will result in a failing grade on that exam or quiz.

Museum Visits
There will be two trips during the course of the semester to museums in NYC (or Newark). The anticipated visits will be to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Newark Cathedral. Both trips will be on weekends and you will need to arrange for your own transportation to and from each venue. We can discuss carpool options as well as other dates if the suggested ones do not work. There will be a brief lecture during the trip and students will receive questions for discussion at the start of each visit. Plan for about 2 hours at each museum visit. You are required to attend at least one of the museum visits with the class. For one of your assignments, a research paper, you will need to visit the MMA, either with the class or on your own. You cannot complete the assignment without a visit to the museum. The anticipated dates of the class trips are: Sat Sun October 20 December 9 Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC Newark Cathedral, Newark

Study
For every class period, you should plan to spend at least one to two hours reading/studying the course material outside of class. In order to gain the most from the lectures, you should come to class having read your texts, and you should be familiar with the names of the objects and sites discussed in your text. I will give you a list of the monuments and vocabulary that are particularly appropriate for each lecture. Lectures will include artworks that are not illustrated in your text. It is unnecessary to bring your textbook to class as you will have the names of the objects and monuments provided on the study sheets. It is more important to look at the image on the screen and listen to the

lecture or participate in the discussion than it is to hunt for an illustration which may, or may not be, in your text. You may find it helpful to sketch quickly the objects that are shown in lecture. You may wish to leave sufficient room in your notes so that you can add information or correct spelling later. Note cards are useful.

Exams, Assignments, Class Cancellation, Information Distribution, and Grade Distribution

An exam missed as the result of illness, emergency, or injury may be made up at the discretion of the instructor who may require a doctors written explanation of your health issue. You should call the Art Dept office, (908) 737-4400, before the class period if you will be unable to take an exam. It is your responsibility to request a make-up exam if you have a legitimate excuse. Calls and not texts are to be made to the instructor to ask for a makeup exam.

Class Cancellation
In the event of inclement weather, University snow closings, or emergencies, I will determine a new makeup class date for any missed class periods.

Information Distribution
The bulk of the information needed for quizzes/exams will come from the images and information covered in class. You will receive two documents for each class: information about the images (word) and the images themselves (PowerPoint). You are expected to bring to each class the information sheet. These will be distributed through either email (from my Gmail account to your email) or through Facebook/Scribd account. I will update the class in two ways: my own Facebook account and through a mass email.

Quizzes
Two quizzes will be given at intervals throughout the semester. The quiz will be given at the beginning of the class on the date scheduled, and the remainder of the class time will be lecture. You will need to know the following information about each work:

the name of the object, the date of the work, the period style of the work, the original geographic location of the work

Exams (Midterm and Final)

The two class period exams will include:

slide identification (slide IDs), slide comparisons, short answer, and essay questions

For image identifications, you need to know the following information about each work:

the name of the object the date of the work the period style of the work the original geographic location of the work

The image comparisons will require you to (1) identify the two works shown in the comparison as you would for an image identification and (2) answer in essay form the particular question or questions asked about the two works. The short answer component may be matching or fill in the blank to test terms, definitions, examples of works of art, or important patrons or artists. The essay component will allow you to choose one or two essays from a selection of essay questions. You will discuss the question with reference to specific works of art Out of Class Assignments: A museum assignment will be due at the end of the semester based upon objects seen in the MMA. Class participation, attendance, museum trips, activities Two slide quizzes, each 10% Outside Writing Assignment/Museum Paper Midterm exam Final exam 10% 20% 20% 25% 25%

Grade range: A, 94-100; A, 90-93; B+, 87-89; B, 84-86; B-, 80-83; C, 70-79; D, 60-69; F, 59 and below.

I am more than willing to assist you outside the class with any questions or extra help. We will review prior to each quiz and exam about the format and the content covered. I encourage you to email me with any questions about class. As we are a class of many interests, please share with the class and feel free to add suggestive topics that you would like to know more about. You may receive extra credit by posting on my Facebook page and sharing with the rest of the class. Extra credit will be given at each quiz and on each exam.