HUX 570 - Key Periods and Movements, Art: Contemporary Art

HUX 570 - Key Periods and Movements,
Art: Contemporary Art

[Assignment I] [Assignment II] [Some Pointers on Good Writing]

ASSIGNMENTS

Each assignment is due in the instructor's mailbox during the week indicated below. Count Week 1 as the first week that classes begin and Week 15 as the final week of the term. Trimester dates are listed at the upper left hand corner of your registration form.

All papers must be typed, with footnotes and bibliographies where appropriate, and mailed in before the assignment deadline.

NOTE:

See Instructions for Sending in Assignments from the Humanities External Degree Online Catalog for specific details regarding approved methods of turning in assignments.

If you do not fully understand the assignment or need help, telephone the instructor during office hours, or mail in your questions.

University regulations forbid assigning a grade of "I" (Incomplete) unless at least one course assignment has been received by the instructor. Instead, we must assign a "U" grade (Unauthorized Incomplete), which is equivalent to an "F."

There are two (2) assignments for the course:

ASSIGNMENT I:

Due:: The beginning of WEEK 8
Length:: 10-15 typewritten/computer-generated pages
Read:: The entire course guide, and then the entire textbook.
Format:: Choose one (1) of the three options given below; read and write according to the instructions:

OPTION A:	Read: Re-read the following chapters from your textbook: Chapter 3 - The Landscape of Pleasure Chapter 6 - The View from the Edge Chapter 8 - The Future That Was Format: Define Impressionism, Expressionism and Earthworks, distinguishing among these terms. Choose three (3) works of art that will illustrate your discussions of the artistic movements. Compare and contrast the three works, explaining the thinking that underlies these artistic developments. Always point to specifics in the artworks to illustrate the points you are making, for good writing is specific and concrete, not just a series of vague generalizations. As this is one essay, integrate the ideas into one unified composition.
OPTION B:	Read: Re-read the following chapters from your textbook: Chapter 1 - The Mechanical Paradise Chapter 2 - The Faces of Power Chapter 4 - Trouble in Utopia Format: Consider technology and its impact on culture. Some modernist developments looked upon the machine as a positive influence, while others condemned it. Discuss these two views by pointing to three (3) specific works of art found in the three chapters given above. As this is one essay, all ideas must be integrated into one unified composition.
OPTION C:	Read: Re-read the following chapters from your textbook: Chapter 2 - The Faces of Power Chapter 5 - The Threshold of Liberty Chapter 7 - Culture as Nature Format: Consider Dada and Surrealism as movements which produced very provocative works of art with multiple meanings. Choose three (3) works of art, one from each chapter, as the focus for a discussion on the multiple levels of meaning in art. As this is one essay, all ideas must be integrated into a unified composition.

ASSIGNMENT II:

Due:

The beginning of WEEK 15 (Early papers will be gladly accepted)

Length:

15-20 typewritten/computer-generated pages; five (5) pages should be devoted to a definition of modernism -- see below

Read:

The entire course guide, and then the entire textbook.

Format:

Choose another one (1) of the three options given above (Assignment I: Options A-C); read and write according to the instructions.

The second essay should be approximately five (5) pages longer than the first, to enable a concluding summation which should address the defining of modernism. Reflect upon all that you have read in the eight chapters of the textbook, and consider how all of these developments in art can be labeled "modern" in contrast to western "traditional art" -- that of the Renaissance to the 19th century realists. In essence you are being asked to elaborate on the question, just what is modernism?

This summarizing statement is required because all too often students of modern culture end their studies unable to define that which they have spent fifteen weeks studying. This forces your coming to an understanding.

SOME POINTERS ON GOOD WRITING:

Good writing is specific, thus avoid unsubstantiated generalizations. Tie your arguments to concrete evidence.

Use quotations sparingly. Quote only that which is of such importance that it cannot do justice to the concepts through paraphrase. When quoting, do not just "drop them in." Comment upon them. They are not a substitute for your own thinking and expression. They must be footnoted or endnoted and the source must appear in your bibliography.

Each essay is a unit, thus all paragraphs must be linked one to another so that there are no breaks in thought. The essays are too short for chapter divisions.

Contractions are colloquial. Avoid them in formal writing.

Avoid both the informal first person ("I") and the second person ("you") in formal writing.

One book plus annotations in the syllabus cannot teach everything about such a complex subject as modern art. Therefore, you should do extra reading. Consult the list of Suggested Additional Reading at the end of this course guide.