Each week you will be provided with texts, videos, and images linked to that week’s material. You are responsible for (1) reading texts carefully; (2) watching the assigned videos; (3) looking at the assigned objects of art, design, and visual culture; (4) watching the assigned Powerpoint lectures. For all materials: take notes on key points and highlight any questions that you may have.
You are also responsible for (5) taking the short quizzes for each unit.
GTAs will lead optional discussion and study sessions once a week on Zoom, during which they will go over the key words and images, and that week’s material. TAs will email a summary of key discussion points to the entire class at the end of each session. Please attend all TA-led discussion sessions to get the most out of this course, but definitely plan to attend 5 sessions and/or Friday field trips in order to receive full participation credit.
This course will be delivered entirely online through Lisa Claypool's website and eClass. You will use your ualberta account to login to the eClass from the eCLass Login Page.
In eClass, you will access course texts and resources. Activities will consist of quizzes and participation sessions with the GTAs. as well as the museum field trips on Friday afternoon .
Appropriate conduct: See the
"Gu
If you need technical assistance at any time during the course or to report a problem with eClass you can:
● Contact your TA
● Seek assistance from the eClass Help Desk
Important Note: This syllabus, along with course assignments and due dates, are subject to change. It is the student’s responsibility to check the course website for corrections or updates to the syllabus. Any changes will be clearly noted in a course announcement or through email.
Further down on this page you will note the “Guidelines for Respectful Online Engagement.” Please be attentive to these.
When you have questions, please contact your assigned TA first. If they do not have the answer for you, they will ask the professor and get back to you. You should contact your professor directly if you have additional needs that your TA cannot address, or your TA tells you to.
Though we recognize that in today’s online era much communication is sent using text etiquette, please use formal email etiquette when contacting your professor and TA. Because this lecture course is a professional and formal environment, and there are roughly 200 students in this course, please be sure to (1) address each email with a “Dear X” at the beginning; (2) include the course number and your student number in the header of every email that you send your professor or your TA.
As a sign of respect, it is customary at the University of Alberta to address all professors with PhDs as “Dr” or “Professor” rather than “Mr.” or “Ms.” That said, some disciplines and some professors prefer to be on a first name basis with their students. My recommendation is that you ask your professor and your TA in each class that you take how they would like to be addressed. For my part, you may address me as Dr. Loveless, Professor Loveless, or Natalie. I am perfectly happy with either of these.
10% |
Participation (attend 5 discussion sessions and/or field trips) 5 sessions = A; 4 sessions = B; 3 sessions = C; 2 sessions = D; 1 session = F; 0 sessions = 0 |
10% |
Weekly Quizzes (10 graded quizzes / 1% each) |
10% |
Assignment #1: ART HISTORY Visual Analysis due Monday, February 15 by 5 pm |
10% |
Assignment #2: DESIGN Exploratory due Friday, March 19 by 5 pm |
10% |
Assignment #3: VISUAL CULTURE Museum/Gallery Exhibition Report due Wednesday, April 7, by 5 pm |
20% |
Midterm exam (multiple choice format through eClass February 22- March 1) |
30% |
Final Take Home Exam handed out on last day of class and due Thursday April 22 by 5 pm |
Policy for Late Assignments: All late assignments will be docked by 5% per day late, unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor.
Effective September 1, 2003, the University of Alberta uses a letter grading system with a four-point scale of numerical equivalents for calculating grade point averages. To view guidelines concerning this system please see www.grades.ualberta.ca Below is the scale used in this course as a guideline in determining letter grades. This course is graded on an absolute scale. Professor Claypool does not negotiate grades.
Grading scale: A+=98-100, A=94-97, A-=90-93; B+=87-89, B=83-86, B-=80-82; C+=77-79, C=73-76, C-=70-72; D+= 67-69; D=65-66; F=64 and lower.
First Assignment (10%): ART HISTORY VISUAL ANALYSIS 1 page + drawing (350-450 words)
This assignment has three parts: 1) choose an object that fills you with wonder, joy, enchantment. You will have to dwell with this object and engage in slow looking, so it should be one that moves you in one way or another; 2) a drawing of the object about which you are writing. As you draw, pay attention to what you draw first, what you draw next -- that is, pay attention to the ways that the object takes shape on the paper. I am asking you to do so because this also is the way the object should take shape through words in your textual visual analysis. If you started by sketching the contour outline of a shape, then that is where you should start your prose visual analysis; 3) Textual visual analysis. At the top of the document please note the name of the artist, title of the object, date, medium, and dimensions. In your prose analysis, follow the pathway you took when you drew the object. Find pleasure in your object, as that will be reflected in your words -- likewise, if you're bored by your object, that will be reflected in your words.
This project does not require library research and you must not cut and paste anything you happen to find online (as that is not research). Rather, you are working with a primary source (the artwork) and working to develop your observational skills and ability to convey what you see in writing or orally.
This short essay is due on Monday, February 15, 2021 by 5 pm and must be submitted to eClass in Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced, paginated, with your name and student number in the header. Please include a picture of the object with your 1-page text. Points will be deducted for failure to follow formatting instructions.
When you upload your document to eClass, save as: "LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_STUDENT ID_ASSIGNMENT1 " Eg: “Claypool_Lisa_1122334_Assignment1”
ASSIGNMENT #1 Due Monday, February 15, by 5 pm
Second Assignment (10%): DESIGN EXPLORATORY - 1 page (350-450 words) essay
You will practice visual analysis by writing an exploratory about a designed object.
Choose an object. You can choose to write about anything from the realm of design--from COVID-19 masks to poster images to IKEA chairs.
In your short essay, first do a visual analysis (and keep in mind that subject identification is not the same as visual analysis), then at the end raise a question generated from that analysis – something you would like to explore in future.
That is to say, do not simply draft a generalized, simple statement of a question; I want to see evidence of your deliberate and reasoned approach to evolving a good question through the visual analysis itself. Why are you asking this question? and not another question?
Do NOT attempt to essay uninformed, generalized (and therefore uncompelling) answers to your own question.
This project does not require library research and you must not cut and paste anything you happen to find online (as that is not research). Rather, you are working with a primary source (the design) and working to develop your observational skills and ability to convey what you see in writing or orally.
This short essay is due on Friday, March 19, 2021 by 5 pm and must be submitted to eClass in Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced, paginated, with your name and student number in the header. Please include a picture of the object with your 1-page text. Points will be deducted for failure to follow formatting instructions.
When you upload your document to eClass, save as: "LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_STUDENT ID_ASSIGNMENT2 "
Eg: “Claypool_Lisa_0011122_Assignment2”Assignment #2 due Friday, March 19 by 5 pm
Third Assignment (10%): VISUAL CULTURE MUSEUM AND GALLERY EXHIBITION REPORT -- 1 page (350-450 words) or video
For this assignment, you have two options: 1) write the report; 2) film yourself reporting on the exhibition. You must go to a museum, gallery, art centre, or historic site ONLINE or IN PERSON (keeping in mind that you need to observe safety protocals and keep yourself safe). Some places to consider are the following: The Art Gallery of Alberta, the Royal Alberta Museum, the FAB Gallery, Latitude 53, SNAP Gallery. Check the Alberta Museums Project website
(http://albertamuseumsproject.com/index.html) for more ideas.This assignment is about your experience of an exhibition. While making your visit (virtually or in person), consider some of the following questions: In what sequence do you experience the objects on display? Where do you begin and end your visit? What formal elements (such as line, light, colour, texture or space) are used to direct you from one place to the next? What materials are used, where, and how? Do the curators try to tell a story in the gallery, and, if so, how do they do that? Is there an object in this place that seems to be more important than any others? How do you know it is important? What are the formal elements of this object?
If you're doing a video, you can record yourself making a Zoom presentation of an online site or bring a camera or cell phone into an actual gallery instead (if you are permitted to do so; ask first). Think about the same questions that are posed above, but instead of writing the essay, teach us about the exhibition by showing us your experience of it. Maximum length: 5 minutes.
This project does not require library research and you must not cut and paste anything you happen to find online (as that is not research). Rather, you are working with a primary source (the exhibition, museum, gallery, or site you have chosen to visit) and working to develop your observational skills and ability to convey what you see in writing or orally.
Your report is due Wednesday, April 7, by 5 pm, and must be submitted to eClass in Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced, paginated, with your name and student number in the header OR if you are taking the video option, please begin the video by introducing yourself by name. Points will be deducted for failure to follow formatting instructions.
When you upload your document to eClass, save as: "LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_STUDENT ID_ASSIGNMENT3 " Eg: “Claypool_Lisa_1122334_Assignment3”
Assignment #3 due Wednesday, April 7, by 5 pm
Midterm Exam (20%) multiple choice format through eClass February 22- March 1
Final Exam (30%):
The final exam is a take-home examination and it is cumulative. It is based on both the readings and lectures. It will be distributed on April 14 and is due on April 22 by 5 pm.
As this course is preparation for higher-level HADVC courses, this exam is going to test the basic skills and concepts you have learned this term. The exam will be a short essay format.
A study list of artworks and key terms will be provided a week before the exam.
Guidelines for Respectful Online Engagement
Be Respectful. We have students from many different cultures and places participating in the course. Respectful disagreement is fine and encouraged. Sexist, racist, homophobic comments and other inflammatory remarks are not conducive to learning in our course, and absolutely are not permitted. As this is a University of Alberta course, all participants are governed by the Code of Student Behaviour.
Be Mindful. In our readings, lectures, and online discussions we will engage with many controversial topics. However, we will do so in a respectful and a considered manner. So, for example, when we discuss the legacies of colonialism, we as a community must remember that some students suffer with the consequences of colonialism everyday more so than others — though we all bear responsibility for addressing that legacy. When our course materials examine sexual violence, we must engage with those materials knowing that members of our community have themselves survived such violence. And when we explore questions of racism, we do so knowing that members of our community experience very different realities because of systemic and personal prejudices faced each and every day.
Be Safe. If you are witness to or the target of abusive or offensive behaviour in our course, please inform your instructor immediately. If you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to your instructor, you do have other options. You could contact your department’s Undergraduate/Graduate Advisors, Associate Chairs, or Chair. If you do not feel heard within your department then you can address your concerns to the Associate Dean (Student Programs) in the Faculty of Arts. You could ask a trusted friend to contact your instructor on your behalf. If you are put into a student group — a breakout room on Zoom, a group project, a forum conversation — that leaves you feeling highly uncomfortable or unsafe, request a change from your instructor.
Academic Integrity
It is critical for all of us who are involved in academic and intellectual endeavour to abide by standards of academic integrity. This means that students must inform themselves of what academic honesty and integrity entails, and how it is defined at the University of Alberta. Please watch the "Avoiding Plagiarism" tutorial that is available at the University library website. Please also read the University's policy about plagiarism detailed in this contract, inform yourself of what your responsibilites are in any writing and/or creative project, and then fill out the Academic Honesty contract, sign the contract, and turn it in to Lisa Claypool by Wednesday, January 20. Students who add the course after January 20 must submit the contract within one week of enrolling in the course. You can scan/take a photo of the printed version/electronically sign the PDF and email it to Lisa Claypool at claylisa@ualberta.ca
University of Alberta Code of Student Behavior
Inappropriate Academic Behaviour (from section 30.3.2 of the Code of Student Behaviour)
30.3.2(1) Plagiarism
No Student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the Student?s own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation or poster in a course or program of study.
30.3.2(2) Cheating
30.3.2(2) a No Student shall in the course of an examination or other similar activity, obtain or attempt to obtain information from another Student or other unauthorized source, give or attempt to give information to another Student, or use, attempt to use or possess for the purposes of use any unauthorized material.
30.3.2(2) b No Student shall represent or attempt to represent him or herself as another or have or attempt to have himself or herself represented by another in the taking of an examination, preparation of a paper or other similar activity. See also misrepresentation in 30.3.6 (4).
30.3.2(2)c No student shall represent another's substantial editorial or compositional assistance on an assignment as the Student's own work.
30.3.2(2) d No Student shall submit in any course or program of study, without the written approval of the course Instructor, all or a substantial portion of any academic writing, essay, thesis, research report, project, assignment, presentation or poster for which credit has previously been obtained by the Student or which has been or is being submitted by the Student in another course or program of study in the University or elsewhere.
30.3.2(2) e No Student shall submit in any course or program of study any academic writing, essay, thesis, report, project, assignment, presentation or poster containing a statement of fact known by the Student to be false or a reference to a source the Student knows to contain fabricated claims (unless acknowledged by the Student), or a fabricated reference to a source.
30.3.2(3) Misuse of Confidential Materials
No Student shall procure, distribute, or receive any confidential academic material such as pending examinations, laboratory results or the contents thereof from any source without prior and express consent of the Instructor.
30.3.2(4) Research and Scholarship Misconduct
30.3.2(4) a No Student shall violate the University of Alberta Research and Scholarship Integrity Policy, as set out in the Research and Scholarship Integrity Policy in UAPPOL or any other University regulation concerning academic matters. (CLRC 24 MAY 2012)
30.3.2(4) b Where a Student is charged with the academic offence of research and scholarship misconduct, the special requirements for communication and documentation imposed by Research and Scholarship Integrity Policy in UAPPOL shall constitute part of the procedures outlined below.(CLRC 24 MAY 2012)NB: Per Section 23.4 University of Alberta calendar:
"The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University". (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
Audio or video recording of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Recorded material is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the instructor.