RENAISSANCE TO POST-MODERN, SPRING 2008
Dr. Evelyn Kain - 4 credits - MTWF 10:10- 11:00 A.M.

• Please read this syllabus on your own. I will answer questions you have about it in class.
• Please fill out your student record, and turn it in on Friday with a photo I.D. for me to photocopy, so I can get to know your name.
• Get into the habit of taking good class notes.
• See reading schedule at the end of syllabus.
• Make an effort to be on time for class.

• To provide you with a basic orientation to the traditional history of Western, European art from the Renaissance to the 21st century using primarily examples of painting and sculpture, but also some architecture.
• To explain how these styles reflect a variety of ways of perceiving, experiencing, knowing and/or understanding what it was/is to be a human being within a particular historical context.
• To ask some nontraditional questions about art practice: who makes art, for whom, why, how, etc.
• To help you to understand and appreciate the art of your own time.
• To motivate you to see, understand, analyze, and discuss art by providing you with a useful vocabulary and a set of basic concepts that lead to "visual literacy."

• Classes will be primarily slide presentations coordinated with the required text, Stokstad, Art History, Vol. 1, 2^nd edition, 2002, with some time allowed for discussion and review.
• The professor’s presentations will focus on selected themes and art works. We will not be covering every reproduction and every passage in Stokstad.
• The themes of class presentations are posted on this site along with the figure numbers in Stokstad of the art works for which you are responsible. Study the themes and the art works carefully.
• Quizzes will be given about every eighth class period (see dates below).
• The class period before each quiz is reserved for questions and review. To prepare for review sessions, take stock of your notes and reading. Come to class ready to ask questions.
• The final exam is comprehensive.

• Tests will consist of some objective identifications, but primarily of essays evaluated subjectively by the professor according to class standards. See criteria below.
  
• Six quizzes (60%) (about every 8th class period)
• Tentative schedule. Any changes will be announced well ahead of time in class.
  1. Tuesday, Jan. 29
  2. Tuesday, Feb. 12
  3. Wednesday, Mar. 5
  4. Wednesday, Mar. 26
  5. Friday, April 11
  6. Friday, April 25
• Quizzes consist of 5 – 10 slide identifications (artist/ architect, title, period, geographic region, date by century), and 3 essays (some common, some choice) focused on the themes.
• For each art work assigned, learn the caption in bold face in Stokstad. Nicknames or short forms may be suggested in class. These can also be used for identifications.
• Periods, geographic regions and dating schemes will be clarified in class and posted on the website. Very useful are the "Parallels" lists in Stokstad at the end of each chapter that categorize the works in the same way.
• A simplified dating system will be explained in class. You may also chose to use the specific date in the caption in Stokstad. If you do, however, it must be exact.
• In an essay, I am looking for an informed response that
• makes an effort to verbalize the ideas and utilize the vocabulary presented in class.
• refers to specific examples of art that are described and discussed
• has a clear and organized structure of paragraphs with a beginning, middle and end.
• is not be a short answer response. Convince me that you are not blurting out ideas from the top of your head.
• Although reading Stokstad is required, the themes and examples from class presentations will be emphasized on quizzes.
• Essentially, you will be applying ideas presented in class to the same or similar examples on the quiz. Since you will know the themes ahead of time, you can practice organizing and writing your essays before the quiz and come to class on Friday with an outline already in mind. Quizzes are taken, however, without notes.
• Please be aware that I will often present material out of order from Stokstad.
• Keep your old quizzes, and use them for a study guide: they serve as a basis for the final comprehensive exam.
• Study groups for tests are encouraged (and fun!).
• If you miss a quiz, you get an "F". Make-ups are scheduled only for students with a valid excuse who contact the professor in person. The missed test must be made up before the next scheduled quiz.
• Sample quiz responses will be posted on the class website for reference.
• Please note that all of these quizzes take up the entire 50-minute class period.
• Graded quizzes are usually passed back on the third class period following the quiz.

 

• Final COMPREHENSIVE exam (20%)

Monday, May 5, 8:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M.

• Attendance: (20%)

• Will be taken at every class meeting. It is your responsibility to sign in. If you are late, find the sheet and sign in at the end of class. This is my only record of your attendance. It is in your interest to keep it accurate.
• Absence policy: 3 or less, no questions asked, more than that will affect your final grade ominously in proportion to their number.
• You are responsible for all material presented in class even with an excused absence.
• Students who contribute regularly to discussion will have their final grade raised.
• Students with irregular attendance will have their final grade lowered.

• Art Openings are considered a required part of the course and count as a class period. They take place in the Caestecker Gallery of Rodman on Fridays at 7:00 PM and last about half an hour. Plan accordingly. Ask off from work now. After the opening, please fill out and sign the slip that will be made available at the time. Students with a valid excuse for missing the opening must write a short paper. Notify Prof. Kain ahead of time if you must miss the opening. Mark your calendars for:
  
  

  Feb. 1 - Four-person exhibition of drawings and sculpture featuring the work of four young artists organized by Rafael Salas: Eriks Johnson, Milwaukee, WI; Dana Lee, Montreal, Canada; Dean Valdez, Waukesha, WI; Jennifer Wroblewski, Brooklyn, NY

  Mar. 21 - One-person exhibition of painting and mixed media: ChunLok Mah, Milwaukee, WI, Adjunct Instructor of Computer-Assisted Art, Ripon College

  April 18 - Selections from the Ripon College Permanent Collection: An exhibition conceived, organized and installed by students of Art. 377 Arts Management.

• Short essays in response to videos shown in class and to the museum trip will be assigned in the course of the semester. They will be graded check, check plus or check minus.

• Please feel free to come and talk to me about any aspect of this course and other academic interests in my office in Rodman 135 (off the "Green Room").
• Tuesdays, 1:30-3:30 P.M. or by appointment any day but Thursday at X783.
• Please make any special learning needs known to me as soon as possible.

• The schedule is approximate: we set our own pace during the course of the semester, slow at first, then a little faster as everyone gets their "art legs".

• The reading assignments are meant to give you background and supplementary information on the periods, topics, and art works discussed in class. The emphasis of quizzes, however, is placed on class presentations.

• "Use Notes" and "Starter Kit", p. 17 – 23. Many of these terms and concepts will be explained as we go along.
• The introductions of each section and chapter.
• Maps and timelines.
• Descriptions and discussions of art works highlighted in class.
• The "Parallels" pages at the end of every chapter.
• The glossary of terms at the back of the book (after p. 1184).
• TAKE GOOD CLASS NOTES, then relate them to the appropriate text and examples in Stokstad.
• Page numbers are not assigned: read selectively along with class presentations.
• A good strategy is to skim the text and illustrations before class, and then study the pertinent examples and sections more carefully as they come up.
• Do not try to remember everything you read.

• This course is not particularly reading-intensive (about 30-50 pages per week with lots of illustrations), but the amount of study time involved can be deceptive, since you are expected to be familiarizing yourself during the entire semester with a large number of art works.

Week of - Chapters:

January 16 - Chap. 17 Early Renaissance Art in Europe

January 30 - Chap. 18 Ren. Art in 16th Century Europe

February 13 - Chap. 19 Baroque Art

February 27 - Chap. 26 18^th Century Art

!!!!!SPRING BREAK!!!!!

March 19 - Chap. 27 19^th Century Art

April 2 - Chap. 28 The Rise of Modernism

April 16 - Chap. 29 The International Avant-Garde since 1945