Margaret Lazzari and Dona Schlesier's Exploring Art  –– any of this book’s five editions (the first dates from 2002) is acceptable. The book is not required, but it is recommended as an excellent reinforcement of topics covered in class.  

There will be other relevant reading/viewing materials providing by the instructor via Canvas.

ART 1010 ELO (Essential Learning Outcome) No. 1 (SUU Essential Learning Outcome 2.4 – Communication)
Command of Content – a demonstrated understanding and use of disciplinespecific content;

ART 1010 ELO (Essential Learning Outcome) No. 2 (SUU Essential Learning Outcome 3.1 – Creative Thinking)
Acquisition of Competency – a demonstrated ability to evaluate and reflect on creative processes and products;

ART 1010 ELO (Essential Learning Outcome) No. 3 (SUU Essential Learning Outcome 4.0 – Critical Thinking)
Competency in Comparative Evaluation – a demonstrated skill at conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to belief and action; and

ART 1010 ELO (Essential Learning Outcome) No. 4 (SUU Essential Learning Outcome 11.0 – Variable)
Knowledge of Human Cultures – a demonstrated knowledge of human cultures and of the physical and natural world through study inthe fine arts, humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, and the life and physical sciences.

The General Education curriculum for art history and visual-cultural studies at SUU maintains objectives that teach students to engage with the discipline by using established research methods which help not only to develop a mastery of the required writing and presentation components of a given course, but also to build students’ command of their analytical, investigative and communicative skills. 

By the end of this course, students are to aquire an understanding of and familiarity with:

Modules and Module Quizzes

This version of ART 1010 will have 10 Modules.  Most of the 10 Modules will culminate in a short Module Quiz (consisting mainly of  True-False questions) covering the material in that Module.  Each Module Quiz should be completed within a period of days allotted following the close of that Module –– usually five days.  It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with the pace of the course. 

In addition to the 10 Module Quizzes, there will be one Midterm Test, and one Final Test.  The schedule of specific topics covered in each Module of the course can be found on Canvas.

The first two Module Quizzes in the course – Module 01Quiz and Module 02 Quiz – will cover some of the elements, media and principles commonly applied in the f ields of art and design, but they will not include material about any specific work of art or any individual period or artist. For these first two Module Quizzes, therefore, all artists and works of art that may be identified in class will be shown solely as illustrations of the elements, media and principles of art and design – not as lessons in the history of art.

The eight remaining Module Quizzes,  however – as well as the Midterm Test and the Final Test – will emphasize image identification (title, artist, time period, media, and historical significance) through objective-format (mostly True-or-False) questions covering issues of stylistic, cultural and historical significance.  Questions will often be written so as to assess not only the student's factual knowledge, but also their critical thinking and analytical skills.

With only a few exceptions (for which due notice will be given), this course does not emphasize specific dates in history.  That does not mean, however, that the sequence of events in art history is not important, or that the approximate date and its relation to contemporaneous events in history will not be a subject in Module Quizzes and Tests. This course is about the history of art; both words are of equal importance.

Under no circumstances may any student “re-take” a Module Quiz or a Test.

Although the format for the Module Quizzes and Tests is objective, not all of the questions are equally conducive to objective thought processes.  ART 1010 is not a science course; rather, it investigates the history of ideas as they relate to visual culture; those ideas often invite alternative viewpoints.  Therefore, students are welcome to write out brief explanations for their Module Quiz and Test answers. This may or may not result in a higher score, but it can’t hurt, and often the process of explaining one’s reasons for an answer can clarify the issue for the student, serving as a guide to the correct answer. No student will ever be penalized for simply marking the Module Quiz answers without adding explanatory comments (True, False, True, etc.); on the other hand, if no explanatory comments are added to the answers, obviously the professor will have no choice but to count every “incorrect” answer as such.

Each of the 10 Module Quizzes will have a maximum value of 10 points, out of the total of 150 possible number of points in the course.

The Midterm Test and the Final Test

There are two Tests in this course: the Midterm Test and the Final Test.  Each of these two Tests will cover only the five Modules that immediately precede it: the Midterm Test will cover Modules 01 through 05, and the Final Test will cover Modules 06 through 10.

More specifically, the Midterm Test will have a total possible value of 25 points.  15 of these points will come from the comprehensive part of the Test (covering Modules 01 through 04), and the remaining 10 of the 25 total possible points will comprise the point value of the Module 05 Quiz (covering material from Module 05), which will be incorporated into the Midterm Test.

Likewise, the Final Test will have a maximum possible point value of 25.  15 of these points will come from the comprehensive part of the Test (covering Modules 06 through 10), and the remaining 10 of the 25 total possible points will comprise the point value of the Module 10 Quiz (covering material from Module 10 only), which will be incorporated into the Final Test.

All 10 Module Quizzes and each of the two Tests – the Midterm Test and the Final Test – will consist of  “objective”-format questions (again, mostly True-False, perhaps relieved by a group of Multiple-Choice or Matching questions). 

Remember that no student will ever be penalized for simply recording their Module Quiz responses, without adding explanatory comments (True, False, True, etc.).  On the other hand, if no explanatory comments are added to the answers, obviously the professor will have no choice but to count every “incorrect” answer as such.

A total of 150 possible points is achievable in the course. So, 150 points constitutes a “perfect A.”   Therefore, each Module Quiz (worth 10 points maximum for a combined 100 points maximum) will constitute 6.66% of the overall course letter-grade. And, each of the 15-point Tests – the Midterm Test and the Final Test (not counting the portion of each Test that constitutes its respective 10-point Module Quiz) – will have a weight of 10 percent of the overall course letter-grade for a combined total value of 20%.  Therefore, the combined total weight of all Module Quizzes and Tests is 130 points, which is 86.66% of the total course letter-grade. (The remaining 13.33% is determined by performance on the multi-part Creative Assignment, which is explained on the next page of this Syllabus.)

The Creative Assignment  

Evaluation of a multi-part Creative Assignment will be based on how clearly the student’s own art works reflect comprehension of the elements and principles of design, and the historical models of style and concept discussed in class and in class resource materials.  Quality of workmanship will be considered relevant only insofar as it may reflect depth of the student’s commitment to the assignment and course learning objectives.  In other words, sheer talent and/or skill in drawing will not be considered in evaluating the creative projects – so chill. Detailed instructions for the multi-part Creative Assignment will be posted approximately midway through the course.

The combined maximum point value of the multi-part Creative Assignment will be 20 points – 13.33% of the course letter-grade –– raising the course’s maximum total (100%) to 150 points (a “perfect A” in the course). 

The Grading Scale

To summarize: there will be a total of 10 Module Quizzes (each with a value of anywhere from 0 to 10 points); one Midterm Test (which will incorporate the 10-point Module 05 Quiz, but which will also have a maximum value of 15 points of its own); one Final Test (which will incorporate the 10-point Module 10 Quiz, but which will also have a maximum value of 15 points of its own); and one multi-part Creative Assignment (the combined parts of which will have a maximum total value of 20 points). This means that the maximum total points achievable in this course is 150 (which would be equivalent to a 100% score for the entire course). Here is the actual grading scale for ART 1010: 

In reality, however, at the end of the course your professor will generally try to help those students who end up just below the cut-off point that is keeping them from reaching the next half-step-higher grade.  In such cases the part of their work that they did better in  – which might be the Module Quizzes, the two Tests, or the multi-part Creative Assignment – will be weighed a little more heavily. That is, that part of their work may receive a slightly higher total percent value, relative to the other parts of their work.  This is not technically grade inflation, but it may lean a little in that direction!

Extra Credit

There will also be two Extra-Credit opportunities in the course. Each will have a maximum value of 10 points, or 6.66% of the course letter-grade (to be calculated only after the course has ended). The details of these  Extra-Credit opportunities will be posted approximately midway through the course. 

Under no circumstances may any student “re-take” a Module Quiz or a Test unless the student informed the instructor before the absence and made arrangements to complete work.

Excused absences—such as those due to documented illness, university-sponsored activities, or other legitimate circumstances—may be made up with appropriate documentation (e.g., a doctor's note or official university communication). It is the student's responsibility to inform the instructor before the absence when possible and to make arrangements to complete missed work promptly.

A student who misses more than 25% of scheduled class time (including unexcused absences and tardiness) will receive a final grade no higher than a “C–”, and may fail the course, regardless of performance on assignments.

Excused absences—such as those due to documented illness, university-sponsored activities, or other legitimate circumstances—may be made up with appropriate documentation (e.g., a doctor's note or official university communication). It is the student's responsibility to inform the instructor before the absence when possible and to make arrangements to complete missed work promptly.

Consistent attendance and active participation are essential to your success in this course.