arth372 full course (discussions+assignments+quiz) latest 2016 October

Week 1 discussion

Analyzing a personal artifact using the FTC Palette

Choose an artifact in your possession that contains some personal significance and perhaps historical significance. The artifact may be totemic, utilitarian, or of aesthetic beauty. Use the FTC Palette and the Introduction to Art History Analysis to aid in your brief analysis of the object.

Fill out the palette directly answering the questions and digging as deeply as possible with regard to this object that you have chosen to observe. The goal is to find possible connections between the formal, thematic, and contextual elements of the object toward a possible argument with regard to the importance of the artifact in relation to one or more of these elements.

Be sure and add a thesis statement developed by looking across the developed palette. You are not required to support the thesis, just create a start for an argument that you would research further if requested. A thesis statement is a single sentence that outlines the argument you are making and briefly outlining what you would be stating to support that argument. This is an important element in argumentative writing, so it is important that you use the palette to help you form this statement.

Week 2 discussion

Egypt and Mesopotamia Discussion

The themes of religion and power dominate artwork from this era of art history. What is the importance of these themes relative to the civilizations at the time? How do these themes manifest themselves in works of art? Choose one culture (Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, etc) and support your answer to that one culture describing specific artifacts

Week 3 discussion

Ancient Greece Class Discussion

Explain the differences in the depiction of the human form between ancient Greece and Egypt. Be sure to use examples to support your argument.

Week 4 discussion

Ancient Rome Discussion

Based on your understanding of the material on Rome, in what ways do you see the concept of power or propaganda being displayed? Describe a particular artifact and the context with which it would have been viewed. What makes the artifact an image of strength? Be specific, and be sure to back up your examples with research.

Week 5 discussion

Early Christian and Islam

Compare and contrast the architectural styles and structure of the early church versus that of the mosque. How do these structures reflect the social and religious functions of each faith? Use examples to support your response.

Week 6 discussion

Byzantine Discussion

These early Christian empires demonstrate the importance of developing a symbolic vocabulary that mimics earlier cultural traditions. Choose a visual symbol (the halo, angel wings, Celtic knotting, etc.) and describe how that symbol has been adapted to illustrate a Christian concept. Use specific artifacts to support your argument and try to explain the contextual significance, if any of such design decisions.

Week 7 discussion

Romanesque and Gothic Discussion

Compare and contrast the differences in styles between the Romanesque and Gothic styles. What are some contextual reasons for the differences? Be sure to connect your arguments to specific examples in painting, sculpture, or architecture.

Week 8 discussion

Final Project Discussion

Once you submit your presentation, please look at and comment on other student final presentations. Try and answer the following question:

In looking at these special exhibitions, what broader understanding is formed by the display of works of art? How do you relate to these works in a digital environment as opposed to a physical environment? And, did you come across any similarities or differences in other student presentations that you found interesting or insightful?

Assignment 1

AA.2 Museum Field Trip

Instructions

AA.2: Early in the term, interns are expected to visit an art museum either physically or digitally. The purpose of the trip will be to demonstrate what a special museum exhibition looks like, and how curators add to the scholarship of art history. Please note that a special exhibition space differs from the permanent museum collection in that it is a collection of artifacts brought together for a specific purpose rather than the museum collection that may be simply chronologically displayed throughout with no particular themes being expressed. Following this trip, students must research a physical museum special exhibition space or virtual museum special exhibition space of their choosing and produce a report of 2-3 pages answering the following questions due at the end of week 3:

What museum did you visit? (Provide information about the museum, location, etc.)

What special exhibit was on display?

What was the theme or mission of the special exhibition?

How was artwork displayed? (Explain the space and how the space encourages or distracts from the viewing experience)

How is information provided for the artworks being displayed? How informative or what types of analytical information is displayed? (Consider yourself as a novice viewer with no art historical background. Do you understand the artwork? Is there enough information presented for you to learn about the artwork?)

Please read the curatorial statement or exhibition book for the exhibition that you visited and try to find other information regarding the particular exhibition that you visited. How does this information support or inform the visual presentation of artifacts?

What aspects of this museum experience might you transfer into your Museum Exhibition project?

Assignment 2

AA.4 Individual Curatorial Paper

Instructions

AA.4: Each student curator is required to produce a formal research paper for their particular “room.” This is much like a museum catalog paper art historical researchers write specific research arguments about the exhibition to add to a catalogue (I suggest that you look at a recent museum exhibition catalogue for writing samples). These individual research papers must form specific arguments connecting the choice of artworks to the theme utilizing academic research to support all arguments made.

This paper is not a guide to the exhibit and stands alone. Thus, you will want to avoid listing artifacts or making direct reference to the digital exhibition space. Write the paper as if the exhibit does not exist and create the exhibit to emphasize the points made in the paper.

The paper should begin with an introduction to the theme being considered and rationale for selecting works. A strong thesis statement will lead the paper into discussing works of art, analyzing them in connection with the theme that you have chosen, supporting your argument. The paper must then include a conclusion and must have proper citations throughout in MLA format.

The paper should be between 5-7 pages. This paper may be incorporated into the exhibition, but you must consider the method of delivery as 5-7 pages of text is unlikely to be read by the average museum-goer. If you wish to combine this with your museum project, consider cutting out bits of useful information to display with the works that you have chosen.

A draft will be due during week 5 and the final will be due on the last day of the term. It is important to have an initial draft early as it will inform the group project and the exhibition, and allow time for feedback from the instructor and your peers before your final submission.

Hints:

This is an argumentative paper under the umbrella of your group's theme. The concept is a funneling down to a narrow theme about a topic (the topic that your group had chosen).

Example: Your group chooses Religion. Your room might be devoted to the Mesopotamian Period. You would then compile artifacts that discuss the topic of religion and demonstrate unique aspects of that relgion and culture through their formal characteristics relating to the context.

Section headers are unnecessary for such a short paper. Section headers also force you to write about each piece independent of the others and not in conversation with them in the context of the "room" that they will be displayed in in the show. The paper is your chance to compare and contrast these artifacts and to support your argument. Leave the separate informational listing of artifacts to your presentation where each image may end up being viewed independently.

Images in-text are distracting, especially when I make some comments and it quickly ruins all the work you did to put the images where you thought the text flowed. Place the images at the end with a full MLA caption and reference to them parenthetically in-text (Figure #).

Why do students include spaces between paragraphs or no indenting to the first line of a paragraph?! These are writing issues that I shouldn't have to cover in art history and take time away from my commenting on your content. I will honestly say that I am less a stickler for length than I am for depth of answer.

Write as if I am a blind man. Describe the pieces and don't assume anything of me. For instance, "You will see..." The more formal detail you can describe, the richer the paper and the more connections you might find to support your argument or connect formally with the theme or context.

TONE! We are in an academic setting and you are an undergraduate student. First person is out of the question as you are currently "interns" in my gallery. Once you are published curators, then I might care about your personal opinions. Until then, please support all your arguments with researched academic articles.

Research: Make sure you get beyond the encyclopedic resources and that there are authors attributed to the work.

Project Deliverables

AA.4: Individual Curatorial Research Paper

Draft posted to the appropriate discussion area in week 5.

5-7 page report posted in a specified class conference area.

Quiz 1

Information

Welcome to the library. My name is Kira. I hope that you reviewed your MLA formatting information and guide to research. I am here to ask you a few questions to gauge your understanding of the material. You must have this discussion with me to gain credit, but remember that I am here to help, please take this as many times until you get full credit.

Question 1 Websites are the most reliable source for research information. True or false?

Question options:

True

False

Question 2 You should not trust a website that has which of the following charateristics:

Question options:

Music that plays when the site opens

A site that is from the government or a college

Extravagant backgrounds or design.

Tons of links to underrated sources.

Question 3 Sometimes religious groups or political organizations will have websites that promote their own agendas and are very biased. These sites are good to use for argument-based papers. True or false?

Question options:

True

False

Question 4 Which of the following links looks like it will contain credible information. Choose all that apply.

Question options:

www.ed.gov

stopanimalabuse.blogspot.com

www.justfacts.com

law.cornell.edu

Question 5 When trying to extend a paper or argument, using particular names of researchers or places and using facts that include numbers or percents that will help the reader better understand your position are a few ways to add in reasons and examples. True or false?

Question options:

True

False

Question 6 What are the two most important things to focus on in MLA writing?

Question options:

Formatting papers correctly and proper headings

Internal citations and a works cited page

Formatting papers correctly and a works cited page

Internal citations and proper headings

Question 7 Which of the following citations is correct for a traditional source? Choose all that apply.

Question options:

Ernest Hemingway explains that the iceberg effect is a style of writing where only ten percent of the meaning is shown and the other ninety percent is hidden between the lines (401).

In “A Modest Proposal,” the argument that the folks of Ireland should eat their children to overcome the famine is purposely sarcastic to show the citizens just how ridiculous some of the ideas given sound (Swift, page 750).

There are some parallels between friendship in ancient cultures and how people interact on social networking sites. (432)

Naysayers are used in “Letters from Birmingham Jail” to help show both sides of the argument (King 588).