HIST/ARHS 1010
Themes in Western Art: Passion and Pain

 Description | Objectives | Class Schedule | Texts | Course Requirements | Links

1. Description

This course surveys two basic themes of art within Western Civilization: passion and pain. Artists through the ages have portrayed basic stories, drawn from myth, religion, and history, that show people both in love and in torment. These stories reflect the concerns of the past, while they often resonate with us today and provide a foundation of a common culture. Drawing especially on the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman traditions, we will provide a basis for appreciating art, its changing styles and techniques, and ourselves. 

2. Incoming Competency

This course requires the ability to listen, discuss, read and write in English at the college level.  Students will evaluate both primary and secondary sources.  While no course prerequisites are required, a familiarity with European history and culture would be helpful.  

3. Course Objectives

Objectives for the student:

1. To be familiar with the ways of looking at Western art and appreciating how in reflecting important forms of political, social, economic and cultural organization, it has produced our common heritage.
2. To identify major themes, ideas, artists and artworks which contributed to the development of our Western artistic heritage.
3. To develop concepts which give meaning and order to the raw material of our recorded past and its art.
4. To identify and analyze significant problems and situations of the human condition as they, through art relate to the continuing issues of contemporary life. 

Goals for the student:

1. To improve understanding of how art has influenced our contemporary culture. 
2. To understand the basic mythological stories and historical events portrayed in Western art.
3. To be an intelligent consumer and evaluator of information about the arts and history.
4. To develop a cultural perspective which recognizes the cultural interdependence of the past and the present.

General Learning Outcomes for the student:

In addition to the more content related objectives described above, this course has some general liberal learning goals. Successful completion of this course is expected to help improve your ability

1. To manage information, which involves sorting data, ranking data for significance, synthesizing facts, concepts and principles.
2. To understand and use organizing principles or key concepts against which miscellaneous data can be evaluated.
3. To differentiate between facts, opinions and inferences.
4. To frame questions in order to more clearly clarify a problem, topic or issue.
5. To compare and contrast the relative merits of opposing arguments and interpretations, moving between the main points of each position.
6. To organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly and concisely in a written form and oral presentations.
7. To obtain practice in selecting and presenting information and arguments within a restricted environment, especially the limitations of time in exams.

All topics and assignments on the schedule are tentative; the instructor may change them at his discretion. 

5. Required Texts

• A. S. Kline, trans., Ovid's Metamorphoses, <http://www.tkline.freeserve.co.uk/Webworks/Website/Ovhome.htm>; or any other translation.
• The New Revised Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2003).
• other websites listed on the class schedule
• various handouts

The required readings are intended both to provide you with important factual and background information before class and to be used as review and reference works afterwards. Before class, you will read the chapters or pages assigned according to the class schedule, section 4. Not all topics in the books will be covered in class, but you are responsible for them on the exam and in class discussion.

The instructor may give quizzes to test your reading and comprehension.

6. Course Requirements

A. Grading Criteria

You earn your grade through work done for this course.
For more information see your Student Handbook and the following grading policy. For your protection, in case of errors in recording, you should keep copies of all exams and assignments until you have received notice of your grade.  Any and all materials done for this course may become the property of the professor, who may use them for assessment, evaluative, scholarly, or research purposes. 

Your final grade will be based on a percentage (above 90%=A, 80%=B, etc.) of the sum of the following points: 10-20 for each quiz or in-class discussion/project and paper evaluation; 50 for your WebCT quizzes and exercises;  100 each for your two written assignments or projects; 75 for the midterm exam, 100 for the final exam; and 100 for your class participation and attendance.

B. Class Participation & Attendance:

Participation and attendance are necessary because lecture and discussion provide the essentials for achieving class goals and objectives. Thus a portion of your grade (about 15%) will depend on your in-class performance. You are required to attend each class, arrive on time, remain attentive, respond to questions, ask questions and participate in any in-class projects.  Any classes missed by the instructor must be rescheduled.  

Lectures may be recorded with the instructor's permission, although the tapes must be erased after the exams.

The instructor will regularly take attendance. A student's grade will be reduced by 1/2 letter for each full week of class missed.  Any student who misses three or more classes will automatically flunk.  Consult policies in your student handbook.  Absences due to college activities, emergency or extended illness may be excused by the appropriate college official, but extra work must be completed to make up for the absence, as determined by the instructor. After any absence, see the instructor as soon as possible.  You are responsible for making up missed work, requesting hand-outs and already returned assignments, or borrowing notes from other students. 

All students who have a learning disability, physical handicap and/or any other possible impediment to class participation and requirements should schedule an appointment with the instructor as soon as possible to discuss available accommodations.

If at some point during the semester you must discontinue the course, due to poor performance, illness or some other cause, be sure to follow proper procedures for withdrawal.

Be aware of the academic honesty policy concerning cheating and plagiarism, and your moral, ethical and legal obligation only to submit work completed by you yourself.
For more information see, URL: <http://departments.kings.edu/history/honesty.html>.

C. Exams

You will take one mid-term exam and a final exam, which is comprehensive, as scheduled.

Both exams will consist of short identifications quizzing knowledge of detail and significance, and essays testing your understanding of the course material through logical presentation of facts and explanation of historical, cultural and artistic trends. 

To study for the exams you should regularly, at least once a week, review your class notes, especially for identifications drawn from the overhead outline. You should also compare and contrast these notes with your textbook and other readings. 

Only paper from the instructor is to be used. Please write legibly, in ink. Note the academic honesty policy.

D. In-class projects

Regularly through the term we will have in-class discussions and projects. You are required to have read before class the appropriate material (as listed on the class schedule, section 4, or otherwise assigned by the instructor) and be prepared to discuss and write about it with the instructor or in small groups.

You will be evaluated by short quizzes or written reports done in-class or after class, worth between 10 and 20 points each.

E. WebCT

Various exercises and short review quizzes may be available on WebCT. You are to use them for study and review.

F. Assignments

I. Art Queries
You are to answer the following questions about one relevant work of art per week. (20 pts. each, total of 120 pts.). Due Monday or Wednesday of weeks 2 through 7.  Be sure to follow procedures concerning Format, Quotes and Citation.  

Purpose: 
Examining art works helps you understand the artistic achievement, and the culture better. In this exercise you will watch closely, analyze images, read carefully, organize your thoughts, and present them in clear written and verbal forms, and so develop observational and critical skills. 

Procedure

1. For each week, choose a topic as listed on the Class Schedule for which to analyze a picture.
2. Find a relevant picture (perhaps on the web, in a book, or in a museum). 
3. Carefully answer each question below, in a few sentences. Be sure to pay attention to the subcategories and the relevant readings in primary sources. Consult appropriate secondary sources about the art work, if possible (especially to answer Question #3).
4. On the day on which the topic is to be examined, be present your artwork to the rest of the class. Be sure to bring a copy of the art to class (as a printout, postcard, picture in a book). Your assignment will be evaluated on the appropriateness of your choice of artwork, the thoroughness of your answers, your use of sources, the clarity of your oral presentation, and your response to questions. 
5. Turn in a written copy to the instructor at the end of the class, with a copy of the artwork attached. 
   

A. Medium 
B. Genre 
C. Title/Subject

2. How does it look? 

A. Format
B. Color/Light 
C. Line 
D. Composition

3. What is the context?

A. Style/period
B. Artist
C. Original setting

4. How good is it? 

A. Craftsmanship
B. Attraction
C. Success 

II. Church Analysis
You are to write a 2000 word essay in which you critically research and analyze the artistic program of a Viennese church. (100 pts.).  Due June 16. Be sure to follow procedures concerning Format, Quotes and Citation

Purpose: 
Churches are basic to the history and the artistic heritage of Western Civilization. This paper provides you the opportunity to study in greater detail one church and how it integrates art into its religious program. In this exercise you will watch closely, analyze images, read carefully, assess opinions, organize your thoughts, present them in a clear written form, and so better understand the connection between art and organized religion. 

Procedure: 

1. Choose a church in Vienna. Since some churches may be less suitable to this assignment, you must have the instructor’s approval.
2. Visit the church, and carefully note its artistic program. What style(s) is the church built in? What stories does it use in paintings and sculptures? How well does it integrate art and architecture? How well does its art focus on religious issues of life, death, and the afterlife?  
3. Research the history of the church and its works of art. Use at least four secondary, professional printed sources. 
4. Write a careful essay evaluating the use of art in the church. Your thesis should indicate your assessment of the church’s successful application of its own themes.  Your assignment will be evaluated on the appropriateness of your choice, the thoroughness of your description and analysis, the incorporation of knowledge about themes from Christianity and art history, the quality of your research and your use of sources, the clarity of your written work (including proper introduction and conclusion, organized paragraphs with clear topic sentences, transitions between ideas, as well as proper word choice and sentence structures).
5. Rest, review, and revise repeatedly. Then write a final draft to be turned in on June 16.

III. The story of a story
You are to write a 2000 word essay in which you critically research and analyze the historical development of a basic Western story. (100 pts.).  Due June 30.  Be sure to follow procedures concerning Format, Quotes and Citation

Purpose: 
This course focuses on basic stories of Western Civilization. This paper provides you the opportunity to study in greater detail one of the artistic themes and how it develops over time. In this exercise you will watch closely, analyze images, read carefully, assess opinions, organize your thoughts, present them in a clear written form, and so better understand a cultural theme.  

Procedure: 

1. Choose a basic cultural story or character (such as Hercules, David, the Deluge).
2. Research the different variations of the story, and works of art which illustrate it. Use at least four secondary, professional printed sources.  
3. Write a careful essay evaluating the use of the story in our culture. Your thesis should indicate your assessment story’s relevance.  Your assignment will be evaluated on the thoroughness of your description and analysis, the incorporation of knowledge about artistic themes, the quality of your research and your use of sources, the clarity of your written work (including proper introduction and conclusion, organized paragraphs with clear topic sentences, transitions between ideas, as well as proper word choice and sentence structures). 
4. Rest, review, and revise repeatedly. Then write a final draft to be turned in on June 30.

[Optional art alternative: instead of writing the above essay, you may create a set of artworks in a similar style covering three stories from different cultural sets (e.g. Hebrew, Greek, Historical), accompanied by a one-page analysis of your artistic choices. Please consult the instructor in the first week of class]. 

G. Deadlines:

Meeting due dates are an important aspect of written assignments. Papers should be handed in to the instructor, by you yourself, at the beginning of class on the dates assigned (see class schedule, section VIII). Unless special arrangements have been made, no late papers or assignments will be accepted, which means no credit (zero).

7. Links

WebCT course components

Christian History Websites

The Catholic Encyclopedia <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/>

Patron Saints Index <http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/indexsnt.htm>

Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend (Aurea Legenda), Englished by William Caxton, modernized by F.S. Ellis. Medieval Sourcebook. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/>

Classical Mythology Websites

The Perseus Project <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/>

Kirke, Ovid im WWW <http://www.kirke.hu-berlin.de/ovid/start.html#rez>

Encyclopedia Mythica <http://www.pantheon.org/>

Hans-Juergen Gunther, P. OVIDI NASONIS METAMORPHOSES
ILLUSTRATIONIBUS PRAECLARIS AUCTAE <http://www.latein-pagina.de/index.html>

A. S. Kline, trans., Ovid's Metamorphoses, <http://www.tkline.freeserve.co.uk/Webworks/Website/Ovhome.htm>

Larry A. Brown, Ovid's Metamorphoses <http://larryavisbrown.homestead.com/files/xeno.ovid1.htm>

University of Virginia, The Ovid Collection <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/latin/ovid/>

Art & History Websites

Mark Harden's Artchive <http://www.artchive.com>

Olga's Gallery <http://www.abcgallery.com/index.html>

Vatican Museums <http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html>

Virtual Museum of Totalitarian Art <http://members.telering.at/pat/museum.htm>

 Description | Objectives | Class Schedule | Texts | Course Requirements | Links

URL: http://departments.kings.edu/history/h1010.html Site built, maintained & Copyright © MMIIII by Brian A. Pavlac Last Revision: 2004 May 9