Syllabus for ART-100

A WORLD OF ART

COURSE DESCRIPTION

A World of Art is an art appreciation course that covers the sweep of Western art from its earliest sources to its most recent developments. The course covers a range of media that have defined visual art over time: painting and sculpture, architecture and decorative arts, photography and drawing, mixed media, assemblage and installation art. A World of Art discusses ways that the visual arts have echoed the human experience across the ages. A key theme is the way that art reflects both continuity with previous tradition and transformation as artists continually create something new. Course content is drawn from the Teaching Company's "Art Across the Ages" course by Professor Ori Z. Soltes.

COURSE TOPICS

  1. Continuity and transformation in art
  2. Paleolithic art
  3. Art and religion
  4. Greek art
  5. Hellenistic art
  6. Etruscan art
  7. Roman art
  8. Judaean and Jewish art
  9. Christian art
  10. Medieval art
  11. Romanesque and Gothic art
  12. Islamic art
  13. Renaissance art
  14. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation
  15. Mannerism
  16. The Baroque
  17. Romanticism
  18. Impressionism
  19. Realism
  20. Fauvism
  21. Cubism
  22. Surrealism
  23. Figuration and abstraction
  24. Sculpture
  25. Terminology
  26. Artists as representative of various periods

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

  1. Explain the tension between continuity and transformation in the history of art.
  2. Discuss ways that visual art echoes human experience.
  3. Differentiate between different periods and styles of art.
  4. Examine the interplay between art and the areas of religion, politics, and culture.
  5. Discuss varying styles of representation and abstraction.
  6. Examine the emergence of artistic self preoccupation.
  7. Demonstrate appreciation of various types of visual art.

COURSE MATERIAL

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. (There is no textbook for this course.)

  1. Art Across the Ages (The Great Courses Series) by Dr. Ori Z. Soltes, Georgetown University. 48 half-hour videos streamed for you within the course. 

COURSE STRUCTURE

A World of Art is a three-credit online course, consisting of eleven (11) modules. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

  1. Module 1: Introduction and Early Greek Art
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 3, 4

  1. Module 2: Classical Greek and Early Christian Art
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 3, 4

  1. Module 3: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Art
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 2, 3, 4

  1. Module 4: The Early Renaissance
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 2, 3, 7

  1. Module 5: The High Renaissance
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  1. Module 6: The North and the Reformation
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7

  1. Module 7: The Counter-Reformation
    Course objectives covered in this module: 3, 7

  1. Module 8: Revolution and Romanticism
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  1. Module 9: Realism and the End of the Nineteenth Century
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  1. Module 10: The Twentieth Century
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  1. Module 11: Modern Art
    Course objectives covered in this module: 1, 3

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and complete a final project. See below for details.

Consult the course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

You are required to participate in eleven (11) graded discussion forums as well as an ungraded Introductions Forum. The online discussions are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.

Located within the Evaluation Rubrics section of the course Web site is the online discussion forum rubric used to aid in the grading of all online discussions.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete ten (10) written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.

Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder on the course Web site is the written assignment rubric used to aid in the grading of all written assignments.

Final Project

There is no midterm or final examination in this course. A paper of 2500 to 3000 words acts as your final assessment and is worth 20 percent of your grade. You may begin work on this paper at any time during the course, but you must submit it by the last day of the semester.

The final paper will allow you to demonstrate your mastery of course objectives and concepts.

A full description of the paper is provided within the course.

Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder on the course Web site is the final paper rubric used to aid in the grading of the final project.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

  1. Discussion forums (11)—20 percent
  2. Written assignments (10)—60 percent
  3. Final project—20 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

A

=

93–100

C+

=

78–79

A–

=

90–92

C

=

73–77

B+

=

88–89

C–

=

70–72

B

=

83–87

D

=

60–69

B–

=

80–82

F

=

Below 60

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a nonarea of study course), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings, etc.).

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

  1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

  1. Take time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.

  1. Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

  1. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

  1. To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.

  1. Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlines procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

  1. Cheating
  2. Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
  3. Fabricating information or citations
  4. Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
  5. Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
  6. Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
  7. Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or the College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism

Using someone else’s work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of the intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. if you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

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