Art 192B: Senior Seminar in Art History

Weds 3:00PM - 5:50PM

Kadema Hall 170

Professor: Elaine O’Brien Ph.D.

Office: 190 Kadema Hall

Hours: TuTh3-4; 1:30-2:30 pm

Email:

Website:

Seminar Description:

This is the culminating course for the art history major. The small size and seminar format make it possible for you to learn from each other interactively in discussions. Assignments are meant to help you synthesize what you have learned in your major, begin to hear your own “voice” as a thinker and writer, get clearer about your talents and desires, and seriously consider what your first vocational steps might be after graduation.Readings in the art of art history introduce you to the subjects, values, and methods of major art historians and theorists of art whose writings serve as models.A central focus of the seminar is the writing of a catalog entry about a work of art in the CSU Sacramento Art Collection. Your essay will be published in the Selected Works from the California State University, Sacramento Art Collection catalog. Other assignments and activities develop beginning professional skills such as writing a cover letter and résumé for a job, internship or graduate school application that would use your education and talents.

An important part of the senior seminar is to work with the art history faculty and Art History Club members to present the 2015 Festival of the Arts Art History Symposium, Here as Everywhere: Art of the Sixties and Seventies in Northern California. Our eleventh annual symposium, this year the date is Saturday, April 12, from 11am to 5pm. You will host symposium scholars at the speakers’ brunch, talk with them about their career paths, get their advice, and assist them. These are valuable learning and networking opportunities for you. Attendance at the symposium is required, so please make needed arrangements at work or for childcare right away.

Prerequisites: Senior status, completion of all lower-division requirements, History 100, the CSUS Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement and demonstration of Writing Proficiency as prescribed by the university.

Note: The standard study time for a college course of average difficulty is threehours each week for every one hour in class. This course thus requires at least nine hours of outside work each week depending on your level of prior preparation.

Learning goals:

  1. BA-level ability to apply the skills and knowledge gained in college art history courses
  2. BA-level familiarity with the history of art historiography and some of the most important figures and approaches
  3. Advancement of research skills to BA-level
  4. Advancement of analytic and critical thinking skills to BA-level
  5. Greater ease with public speaking
  6. Ability to situate your career ambitions and values within the field
  7. Ability to find and apply for a job, internship, or graduate program
  8. Ability to work directly from an art object for visual analysis and primary research

Required texts:

  • Donald Preziosi, The Art of Art History, 2009 / NOTE:Bring Preziosi to class each week marked for discussion.
  • Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art, 10th or 11th edition
  • E-book available free through the library One Search:Camenson, Blythe.Great Jobs for Art Majors. Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2003.eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Permalink:

Course Requirements and Grade Basis:

25 points // Participation

75 points // Catalog entry

25 points // One 20-minute Power-Point collaborative presentation

150 points // Short papers

275 points // Course total (Course letter grades will be determined by the class curve.)

25 points// Participation: a professional, engaged and collaborative attitude is extremely important in a seminar and is evident in how much of a team player you are: how much you help other people learn. The quality of each student’s learning in a seminar depends on the quality of the other students’ participation.
Attendance policy: Attendance and preparation are much more important in seminars than in lecture classes because you are a co-teacher and have responsibilities towards the other students. Each unexcused absence lowers your grade by a whole letter. Three unexcused absences is an automatic failure.

Illness (including mental illness) – yours or a dependent’s – is excused if you bring me a note from a doctor or health clinic. If you don’t have documentation, come to see me in person during my office hours to explain why you were absent. I will probably excuse you unless your absence was avoidable. If you are on medication or have a life situation that affects your learning, let me know early in the semester so we can try to make learning accommodations for you that will be fair to the other students.
Work, transportation problems, and scheduled appointments are not excused.Arriving late or leaving early is counted as a partial absence and three times equals an absence.

Disability: If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008. Please discuss your accommodation needs with me after class or during my office hours early in the semester.

75 points // Catalog entry (1200-1400 words) Write a professional-level catalog entry for one artwork in the Sacramento State art collection and give a PowerPoint presentation of your work to the class. Follow Sylvan Barnett’s guidelines in “Writing an Entry in an Exhibition Catalog,” and find art collection catalogs to use as models. Early in the semester you will select an artwork from the catalog inventory to study and write about, and you will begin your research with a guided examination of the artwork in the collection storage area. Your research will include both primary (interviews and original documents) and secondary (interpretive essays and reviews). There may be little written about your specific piece, in which case you will need to extrapolate from information you find about related works by that artist created around the same time.

Note: See sample student catalog entry on the course website.

  • February 4: submit a prioritized list of three artworks selected from the list of options. I will choose one from your list.
  • February 18: Submita research bibliography with four sources in correct Chicago style. On the top of the page, put the artist’s name, title of the artwork, date, and medium. List yourfour citations below. These might include primary research in the CSUS Library Archives and interviews.
  • April 1: Catalog entry first draft due for peer review
  • Guidelines for writing the catalog entry:
  • Begin your essay with a formal analysis of the artwork from direct examination of it.
  • Describe how it was made, materials and fabrication process.
  • Describe the relevant historical contexts of the artwork, including relevant aspects of the artist’s biography, the artist’s intentions for this work and related works.
  • Cite all information that you got from others inendnotes and a bibliography in correct Chicago style.
  • April 29: Turn in catalog entry Final Draft and give a 10-minute PowerPoint class presentation of your research

25 points // One 20-minute Power-Point collaborative presentation of the chapter readings in the Art of Art History for the week.

  • You and your partner lead the week’s class discussion following the directions on the document, “How to lead a discussion” available on the “Readings” page of the course website.
  • Together with your partner, create a PowerPoint presentation with fully identified images (only visuals) relevant to the reading. Show two works of art from the reading and two works of art not from the reading to demonstrate the following:
  • how the author looked at the artworks illustrated or mentioned in the text (his or her “thesis” or “argument”) and
  • how the thesis or argument can be used to interpret two works of art not discussed by the author
  • Create a one-page handoutto distribute to the students. The handout isthe same as the Reading Response paper except that it is a collaborative text written by you and your partner after discussion of the reading and includes a brief (around two sentences) professional biography of the authors.
  • *Do not split up the task. Both presenters are equally responsible for every part of the presentation.
  • *Do not put information from the handout on the PowerPoint slides. The only written text that can and must appear on the slides are your names, titles of readings, names of authors, and full identification of the artworks.
  • Follow theguidelines on the document, “How to do an oral presentation,” available on the “Readings” webpage of the course website.

150 points // short papers

1) Eleven reading responses to essays in The Art of Art History by Donald Preziosi. (300-325 words, double space, 12 font) 10 points each

For each of the Reading Response (Preziosi:) papers indicated on the syllabus:

a)Write your name, date, author’s name, full title of the reading at the top of page one.

b)Find and copy down (quote, using quotation marks) the author’s thesis statement in the article. Put the page number in parentheses next to the quoted thesis statement.

c)Restate (paraphrase) the author’s thesis statement in your own words. Your paraphrase should be about equal in length to the quotation.

d)Quote and paraphrase 3 points the author makes to support her or his thesis - from the beginning, middle, and end of the reading. A “supporting” point helps proves the credibility of the thesis and is usually a fact that the author is using as evidence that his or her claims are true.

e)Conclude with a short paragraph about what you learned about Art History.

f)Proving that you comprehend the reading well is the most important objective. Your personal reflection (item “e”) is only valuable if you have understood the reading.

NOTE: If you have trouble understanding areading, come to see me during my office hours or make an appointment. You can also form a student study group.

NOTE: The reading response is due the next class. Late reading response papers are not accepted except for excused absences because the response papers are the basis of small group and class discussions and must be on time so you can contribute to the discussion.

For free, one-on-one help with writing in any class, visit the University Reading and Writing Center in Calaveras 128. The Reading and Writing Center can help you at any stage in your reading and writing processes: coming up with a topic, developing and organizing a draft, understanding difficult texts, or developing strategies to become a better editor. Students can sign up for up to an hour a week with a tutor by visiting the Reading and Writing Center in CLV 128. Students may drop in at any time, but please visit the Writing Center website for current “drop-in only” hours. We also offer tutoring for one unit of academic credit through ENGL121. For Reading and Writing Center hours and more information, visit the website at

2)Résumé/Curriculum Vitae and cover letter for an actually-existing job, internship, or graduate program

15 points each

*NOTE: Michelle Okada, CSUS Career Counselor, will give us a presentation on how to create a résumé and cover letter.

  1. Consult e-book available through the library One Search:Blythe CamensonGreat Jobs for Art Majors. Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2003.eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Permalink:
  2. Do an internet search for jobs, graduate programs, and internships in the fields that interest you. Find the one that best fits your qualifications, goals and talents. For graduate programs in art history, see the CAA Directory of Graduate Programs available in the Art Department office and the CSUS Library, 2 NORTH Reference (N 385 .G73 2008). Another good starting place is the website of job opportunities for art historians:
  3. Using Dartmouth (website above) and other online resources for how-to descriptions and templates, draft a résumé or “cv” (curriculum vita) and a cover letter for a specific job, internship, or graduate program. Letters for jobs, internships, and graduate programs have somewhat different formats and content.
  4. I will edit and grade the first draft(due March 4) of your résumé/CV and letter, make suggestions, and return it to you for revision.
  5. Final draft(due March 18) submitted for grade. Note: the résumé/CV and letter are graded together twice.
  6. Late résumé/CV and cover letters papers earn ½ credit and are accepted up to two weeks after the due date.

3)Self-evaluation of your work in the senior seminar in all areas of evaluation described on the course syllabus (c. 400 words) Due May 6, 10 points

NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated on the schedule below, short papers are due the class after the date they are assigned. Reading response papers are evaluated on a scale of 1-10, based on how well you followed the assignment directions and how much understanding of the material and effort your work shows.

NOTE: Late short papers are given ½ credit and accepted up to two weeks after the due date. The summary evaluation is not accepted late.

May 13 class make-up assignment due on or before May 6 (not accepted late): Worth one week’s seminar attendance. See attendance policy on page 2.

In February, March or April,visit the Crocker Art Museum or an art museum in the Bay Area or another large city. Get two photographs of yourself inside the museum, one with an artwork that you find especially interesting. Do not take selfies because they’re too close. Get someone else to take the pictures for you so they’ll include the gallery and the entire artwork with you with it. Ask strangers to take the pictures if you go by yourself. Fully identify the artworkand write a brief (200-250 word), informal reflection on how your education in art historyhas affected your experience of the artwork and the museum itself. *Email the assignment to me on or before May 6 with the two JPEGS attached and text in the body of the email or attached as a Word document.

Schedule (subject to change in class or via email)

NOTE:Make arrangements now to help host the Art History symposium speakers’ brunch and attend the lectures on Saturday, April 11, 11am-5pm.

January 28: Introduction; planning the art history symposium; form peer-review partnerships; schedule reading presentations; visit the art collectionstorage area in the library.

Assignment: 1) In preparation for writing an application letter for an art job or graduate program, use Google and resources listed on pages 4 & 5 of this syllabus to create a list of 3 real jobs, or 3 real graduate programs, or 3 real internships that you will research for your résumé/cv and cover letter. Get guidance on this assignment from Camenson’s Great Jobs for Art Majors available in theeBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Permalink (you’ll be asked to login using your My Sac State login):

Preziosi: chapter 2: “Aesthetics: Introduction,” Rodowick, Pietz

February 4: Prioritized list of artworks for catalog entry due. Presentation and discussion of Preziosireadings and your dream job/graduate program lists.

Preziosi: Chapter 3: “Form, Content, Style: Introduction,” Wolfflin, Gombrich

February 11: (O’Brien at College Art Association conference) Student-led class/workshop

Presentation and discussion of Preziosi readings and response papers.

February 18: Catalog entry bibliography due. Discuss catalog entries and symposium; visit to art collection storage rooms for supervised examination of selected artworks for catalog entry

Preziosi: chapter 3: David Summers, “Form” and “Style”

February 25: Michelle Okada, Career Counselor presentation from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.Discussion of Preziosi, symposium planning,

Preziosi:chapter 4: Anthropology and/as Art History: Introduction,” Aby Warburg, Claire Fargo

March 4: First draft of résumé and cover letterdue. Discussion and presentation of readings; discussion and presentation of letters.

Preziosi:chapter 5: “Mechanisms of Meaning: Introduction,” Panofsky

March 11: Kaitlin and Justine: presentation and discussion of readings

Preziosi: chapter 6: “Introduction” and Stephen Melville

March 18: Final draft of cover letter and résumé due; discussion and presentation of readings, cover letters and résumés/CVs

Preziosi: chapter 7: “Authorship and Identity: Introduction,” Foucault; and Griselda Pollock, “Open, Closed, and Opening: Reflections on Feminist Pedagogy in a UK University (2010) available to download from the course “Readings” webpage.

March 21-31: Spring Vacation and Cesar Chavez Day

April 1:Don and Stephanie:presentation and discussion of readings. Discussion of catalog entries and symposium Catalog entry first draft due for peer review;exchange drafts with your review partner (peer), exchange contact information and arrange date to meet to return papers and discuss how to make the papers stronger.

Preziosi:chapter 7: Kelly, Chow, and Jones

April 8:Ricardo and Nicole: presentation and discussion of Preziosi readings Deadline for returning peer review to review partner;and discussion of symposium

Preziosi: chapter 8: “Introduction: Globalization and its Discontents,” Mitchell

APRIL 11, SATURDAY, 11-5 PM: ART HISTORY SYMPOSIUM

April 15:Presentation and discussion of Preziosi readings. Discussion of art history symposium.

Preziosi:Chapter 8: Duncan, Benjamin

April 22:Liliana and Sara: Presentation and discussion of Preziosi readings

April 29: 10-minute PowerPoint presentations of catalog entries / Final Draft of catalog entry due

Preziosi: “Epilogue: The Art of Art History”

Assignment: Due May 6: 400-word Self-evaluation of your work and summary of what you learned in the senior seminar in all areas, including participation, Preziosi readings and response papers, the résumé and cover letter, the catalog entry, peer review, and presentations

May 6:May 13 make-up class assignment due /Self-evaluation paper due/culminating discussion of Preziosi’s “Epilogue” and your self-evaluation papers