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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 385 H"
COURSE NAME: "American Art and Identity - HONORS (This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required)"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2022
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Karen Georgi
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor
OFFICE HOURS: T 11:-12:30
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
For decades the question "What is American about American art?" stood at the center of American art history. American painting consequently has been studied and interpreted for its putative relationship to American identity or to aspects of national self-image. Though this paradigm is now questioned, it remains deeply embedded in the study of American art. By studying the paintings along with key essays, the course will examine the historiography of American art as well as the artworks. It will analyze the paintings and the debates about their relationship to socio-political contexts that are thought to be particularly American. It will also consider the significant influence on American art by Italian artistic traditions and American ex-patriot artists.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Because notions of national identity are deeply rooted in the discipline's own founding myths, and because any conception of a"national" character is already ideologically suspect, the course proposes a critical focus on questions of American art's relationship to "American identity." How has an unproblematically collective identity been constructed in the historiography? How do major genres and styles from the late 18th to the early 20th Century American painting--genres such as landscape painting, images of the West, the "painting of everyday life"--and various forms of realism and trompe l'oeil that recur throughout these centuries-- perhaps tell different stories? With an investigation of a wide range of pictorial practices, canonical figures, lesser-known artists, and the themes that have ostensibly made American art American, the course aims to foreground complex and contested identity politics that might just as accurately define American image-making as the narratives that seek to construct nationhood.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students who conscientiously apply themselves will become familiar with the key artists and movements of 19th century American art and with the critical debates of the period as well as those in our modern historiography. 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, the ways it does or does not intervene in key issues such as identity politics, and the discipline's role in creating the categories by which art is evaluated and historicized. 
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
Reading American ArtDoezema and Milroyxxxxxxx  
xSee syllabus for AH 385. In addition to the extra text below, Honors readings will come from specialist journals.xx  

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
midterm examessay exam25
final examessay exam30
term paper and presentation10-15 page paper; class presentation of paper topic25
class preparation and participation written abstracts of selected readings and class discussion of assigned texts20
Additional Honors readings and summariesFrom a selected bibliography to be distributed in class to Honors students, you will choose four (4). These texts correspond to topics covered on the syllabus, and they all provide different interpretations from the other assigned texts. For each of the four texts you choose, you will write a summary that focuses on comparing interpretations. Consider: What is the thesis of each? What main question does each try to answer? How do these questions differ? Compare the interpretations and their methodologies. 20 (as in standard AH 385)
Additional Honors presentationClass presentation of one of the additional texts (see Additional readings and summaries assignment)as in AH 385

-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 course
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

The course outline will be distributed in class. Topics will include:

Identity and American Art History

Looking for Origins: 18th century artists and Europe

Art and Invention: Science and Art in the Early Republic

Identity and Difference: Imaging "Others," Representing Native Americans

Identity and Place: Hudson River School Landscape Painting

The Material World and the Ideal: Transcendental Nature 

Genre Painting and Typing: Antebellum Imagery and Modern Historiography

Racializing Identity: Whitenss and American art and art history

Representations of the Civil War

Images of the Frontier: Manifest Destiny, Geographic surveys, Photography

Western Landscape and Eastern Enterprise

Identity and Gender: Antebellum domesticity to Gilded Age Aestheticism

Artistic Identity: Modernity and Display