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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 251"
COURSE NAME: "Nineteenth Century Art and Architecture"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2017
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Karen Georgi
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 3:00-4:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A survey of art and architecture from the later 18th to the 19th centuries, this course will investigate the major movements of the age: Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. The emphasis differs depending on the thematic structure of the given semester (see current course syllabi for details). However, students will study the canonical works of such artists as Canova, Turner, Delacroix, Manet, Degas and Van Gogh and they will also examine how the function and reception of art are transformed over the course of a century. Some semesters the course emphasizes French painting with a secondary focus on art and architecture in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and North America. Other semesters American art comprises half the focus, with transatlantic comparisons that highlight the relationship between the cultures of the old world and the new. Selected writings by 19th century critics and the artists themselves, in addition to readings by recent scholars in the field, will also inform understanding of the development of art in a period marked by social and political upheaval and from which an increasingly “modern” culture emerged.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:


The above course description is the standard description from the course catalog. The specific course is described here:

In the 19th century the rise of nationhood and development of modern industrial society brought fundamental changes to art patronage and audiences, encouraged different roles for artists, and altered habits of vision and aesthetic discourses. The modern art museum and the discipline of art history were also born in this century, institutionalizing modes for categorizing, historicizing, and even seeing artwork. By the end of the century, many of the ideas we currently associate with ­Art had settled into place as seemingly natural definitions. The course will introduce many of the canonical “isms” of Western European and U.S. art, seeking to situate the production and reception of such work with the historical conditions of the new institutional matrix. It will begin with French academic neoclassicism and end with post-Impressionism,  concentrating on the major artists and critical definitions of the century’s key movements in Western European and American painting. It will also include the century's major architectural interventions, highlighting the development of museum architecture. The course will also study the changing modes of perception and practices of vision that accompanied the experience of modern urban life and that were also institutionalized in new public venues such as world fairs, department stores, and art museums.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students who conscientiously apply themselves will become conversant in key 19th century American and European movements and artists and the critical discourses with which they were elaborated and defined. They will also develop skills for visually analyzing and recognizing forms and competently assessing stylistic differences with an understanding of how such styles communicated historically. They will begin to grasp the complex role of art in society and the ideological bases for 19th century notions of art that are still with us today.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Nineteenth-Century Art: A Critical HistoryStephen EisenmanThames & Hudsonxxxx     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
RomanticismHugh HonourWestview Pressxxxx  
RealismLinda NochlinPenguinxxxx  
The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and DesignTim BarringerYale University Pressxxx  
Image of the People: Gustave Courbet . . .T.J. ClarkNew York Graphic Societyxxxx  
The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet. . .T.J. ClarkPrinceton University Pressxxxx  
Art of Art History: A Critical anthologyDonald Preziosi, ed.Oxford University Pressxxxx  
Nineteenth-Century European ArtPetra ten-Doesschate ChuPrentice Hallxxxxx  

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
midterm exam 25
final exam 30
term paper 25
summaries 20

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the c
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is mandatory
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Course schedule will be distributed in class. Below are the topics that will be covered 





Academic Neoclassicism and the antique



Enlightenment critiques: Jacques-Louis David France and Francisco Goya in Spain



Neoclassicism in the US: architecture and democratic national identity



Romance of tradition: American ex-patriot sculptors in Italy



Romanticism in France and the challenge to the hierarchy of the genres, revolutions--symbolic and actual



Romantic landscape painting in England: place and identity, nature and sensibility



American landscape painting, 1830-1860: national identity and transcendental visions



Realism and "reality": social critique in France



The "Macchiaoli" in Italy



Photography and new technologies of vision



World's fairs: Modern vision and the commodity



Urban spectacle and industry: Architecture



Urban spectacle and the avant-garde: Manet and the Impressionists



The develpment of the art museum and its architecture: The Architecture of Display



French Post-Impressionism



Symbolism