Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AS 110-5"
COURSE NAME: "Drawing - Rome Sketchbook"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2026

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Michele Tocca
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: W 9:00- 11:45 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course makes use of the unparalleled resource that is the city of Rome itself; each class meets at a different site around the city. Students work in sketchbook form, creating over the course of the term a diary of visual encounters. Instruction, apart from brief discussions of the sites themselves, focuses on efficient visual note taking: the quick description of form, awareness of light and the development of volume in space. With practice and growing experience, students become capable of producing drawings governed by conscious intention.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Within a long lineage of itinerant sketchers, from the XVII Century to now via the Grand Tour, this course aims at a thorough understanding of the multiple possibilities of on-site sketching as a tool for research (art, architecture, archaeology, psychology...) and per se. Students will be presented with a number of cultural and historical references as well as with technical processes to come to terms with the variety of the visual world onsite. Every location visited will therefore become 'a place', a way to deal with one or more aspects and material approaches. Wider philosophical ideas implied in itinerant and urban sketching will be involved in order for the students to discover their own personal responses. The course also offers a way to immerse in Rome's complex history, delving into the layers of its urban and artistic developments.

Additional information:
1. The course involves working from direct observation.
2. The course may include visits involving an entry fee. These visits are held to a minimum and should not cost you more than a total of 25 euros over the semester.
3. The core activity is drawing directly from observation. You will not be able to meet the requirements of the course without working many hours outside of class.
4. The class meets rain or shine.
5. The course is meant to be a framework allowing very free individual artistic choices. The lessons are meant to help students get started, but there is always room for creative alternatives.
6. Students must come to class on time because that is when the site is explained, and the day's drawing problem and other announcements are given.
7. Students need to dress appropriately: proper footware, no bare shoulders in churches, hats and sunscreen, warm clothing when the weather turns cold. Decorous behavior in public spaces.
8. No earbuds allowed during class time, as they diminish concentration and impede communication.

Materials:
Students buy their own art supplies. You need a sketchbook not less than 24 x 34 cm. The drawing instruments are up to you, but most students begin with a variety of pencils, or soft, dark graphite. You should include a minimum of 3 mediums to use during class.

Art supply stores: Poggi (two locations, one in Trastevere on Via Merry del Val, just off Viale Trastevere, and the other on Via Pie’ di Marmo, near the Pantheon), also Vertecchi, a chain with many branches, including one near Piazza di Spagna. Drawing supplies are also commonly found in stationary stores (cartoleria). Show your JCU student card at Poggi to receive 15% discount.

MIC Card:

The MIC Card (Musei in Comune) costs 5 euros, and allows you to enter for free to the majority of public museums in Rome for the duration of 12 months. Check if you are eligible: (https://www.museiincomuneroma.it/it/infopage/mic-card)

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental cultural and art-historical traditions and possibilities implied in onsite sketching and apply these with growing skill.

Demonstrate a growing ability to experiment and use sketching techniques and strategies within your work.

Demonstrate an ability to give a personal touch to the use of sketchbooks as a tool and a source for your own studies and research.

Demonstrate an ability to critically reflect upon your own work and the work of others via group critiques and visits to museums and galleries.

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Final Sketchbook	Students are required to present at least one sketchbook that reflects an awareness of their identity and potential as practitioners, giving evidence of their commitment to their specific areas of interest. Evaluation criteria include: experimentation, resourcefulness, inventiveness, expressiveness, acuity of observation, concision, complexity, improvement, intentionality, clarity, awareness of historical models, and other aspects of technical skill and artistic quality.	50%
Attendance, participation and contribution to group critiques	Attendance is mandatory. Independent work will be expected from each student. Students should expect to spend at least three days a week on developing and finishing projects.	15%
Group Critiques	Assignments and independent projects will be given throughout the course and will be presented and assessed during group critiques. There will be a first major critique when students are required to present their work to the class and to answer questions about their work by the professor. Students will be encouraged to comment on the work of their classmates. Attendance is mandatory. Failure to be present will result in a significant drop in assessment at the end of the term.	25%
Written Test	This is a written test combining both practical tasks and cultural questions. It offers an opportunity to demonstrate the students' basic knowledge of art-historical facts and specific aspects of drawing.	10%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality shows excellent mastery of the course content along with exceptional levels of technical skill, artistic awareness, originality, resourcefulness, commitment, quantity of work and improvement. There has been excellent collaboration and leadership in group projects, and there have been no attendance problems.
BA highly competent level of performance with work that directly addresses the content of the course, with a good quantity of work produced.
CAn acceptable level of performance: the work shows awareness of the course content, but is very limited in quantity, quality, commitment and skill.
DThe student lacks a coherent grasp of the course material and has failed to produce much work.
FNegligent in attendance, academic honesty, engagement with the course content, or production of work.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

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

1.Week (Meeting in the Studio)

.Introduction to course – Rules, Aims and Evaluation

.Drawing Exercises

2. (Meeting in the Studio)

.Lecture: Rome Sketchbook: History and Developments in the Arts

We delve into the history of urban sketching since its beginning rooted in XVII C Rome and the Grand Tour.

.Getting the Tools

From view-finders (the making and use of grids and mirrors to frame and sketch views proportions, negative and positive space, perspective and flatness) to the choice of a sketchbook.

3. (Meeting in the Studio)

.Learning through Drawing: Technicalities and Methods for a Visual Diary

.First trip to Castel S. Angelo (Focus: Proportion & Measuring)

4. (Meeting outside Spagna Metro Station)

.The Spanish Steps: The Old First Gate to Rome

Inspired by studies made by seminal artists like Corot and Turner, we draw around the area of the Spanish Steps with a focus on 1-3-point perspective.

5. (Meeting at Colosseo Metro Station)

.Oppian Hill

From Thomas Jones, via de Valenciennes, to Granet, we use the studies made by these artists around the Colosseum to focus on negative space. Both the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Arch of Constantine and the Severian Aqueduct serve to study the rendition of negative spaces.

.Caelian Hill (Meeting at Colosseo Metro Station)

The 'Museum of the Forma Urbis' becomes the background to focus on shading, shadow and cast shadow.

.Students are introduced to the field of Psychogeography and walking as an artistic tool, by a presentation of the notion of 'dérive'.

Piramide (Meeting under the Pyramid of Caius Cestius)

We work in the Non-Catholic Cemetery, under the famous Roman pyramid, surrounded by Ancient Roman Walls and the tombs of British Romantic poets Keats and Shelley. The day serves as a recap of all the topics introduced so far in preparation for midterm.

Midterm Test

9. (Meeting outside Guarini)

Botanical Garden

We use the gardens to study texture, benefitting from a variety of natural species and an enchanting, pensive surround.

.Individual midterm feedback and identification of sketchbook projects

10. (Meeting at the Musei Capitolini entrance)

Sketching in a Museum: The Marcus Aurelius Exedra

We use one of the best museums in the world as a background to reflect on the rendition of the human and animal form by studying Ancient Roman statues.

11. (Meeting at the Pantheon)

Pantheon

Group Project: Focus on Architecture and Urban Sketching

12. (Meeting at Barberini)

Sketching People and Motion (fountains, wind, cars...)

13. (TBA)

Creative Final Project: Your Psychogeographic Map of Rome's Drifts

14. (Meeting outside Circo Massimo Metro Station)

Janiculum

Final Project 1: Vedutas of Rome

15. (Meeting in the Studio)

Final Critique and Assessment

*The schedule may vary according to weather conditions