AHST 2331 – Understanding Art

Fall 2010
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 8:30 – 9:45
RM: JO 4.102

Instructor: Debra DeWitte

Office Hours: Thursdays 10 - 11 and by appt.
Office: JO 4.134
Please contact via email: theartprofessor@tx.rr.com OR djd011500@utdallas.edu
(Do not use the email within Elearning.)

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

AHST 2331 is an introduction to visual artworks made from a variety of time periods and
cultures. Students will learn how to investigate works of art both formally, or visually, and
contextually, as representative of the time in which they were made. Through this approach,
students will learn that artworks are multifaceted and can be interpreted and appreciated in a
variety of ways.

No prerequisites.

Throughout this semester, students will:

Demonstrate the skills needed to read and critique a work of art using the elements and
principles of art.
Identify historical periods in which artworks were made.
Recognize that a work of art reflects not only the ideas of the artist, but also the social
and cultural context in which it was made.
Distinguish the processes and materials used in making different kinds of artworks.
Analyze how architectural spaces are designed for the activities and beliefs of human
beings.
Design the context, organization, labels, and media for an exhibition.

Requirements

Textbook: Exploring Art: A Global, Thematic Approach, 3rd edition (Wadsworth

Publishing, 2007)
by Margaret R Lazzari and Dona Schlesier
Visit a local museum to perform formal analysis and a study a visiting exhibition.
Specific details to be given during the semester.
Access the eLearning site for this course – please contact UTD Helpdesk with technical
problems: 972-883-2911.

Course Syllabus- AHST 2331 Page 1

Grading Policy

Grades are based upon a variety of assessments that total 100 points:
A+ 98 – 100 A 94 – 97 A- 90 – 93 B+ 88 – 89 B 84 – 87 B- 80 – 83
C+ 78 – 79 C 73 – 77 C- 71 - 72 D+ 68 – 69 D 63 - 67 D- 60 – 62 F below 60

Assignments:

Quiz 1 (15 pts.)

Quiz 2 (15 pts.)
Final (15 pts.)
One extended Art/Journal Project (10 pts.)
Two Individual Presentations (15 pts.)
Group Presentation (20 pts.)
Museum Project (10 pts.)

*All class lectures will be posted online. Quizzes will also be taken online.
**Assignment details will be posted online at the appropriate time.

Attendance - Due to the visual nature of the material under discussion, it is important that you
attend every lecture. Students will be excused for one class only. Each unexcused
absence will take one point off of your total final grade.

There will be no extra credit offered.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

Calendar

August 19 Introduction

August 24 Language of Art

Read Chapters 1-2

August 26 Media
Read Chapter 3

August 31 History of Western Art – Part I

Prehistoric and Ancient Art
Read Chapters 5 & 6 for Quiz 1

September 2 Middle Ages

Course Syllabus- AHST 2331 Page 2

September 7 Renaissance (Italian and Northern)

September 9 Perspective
(Project #1 assigned)

September 14 Quiz 1 (includes all previous lectures and Chapters 1-3,5,and 6.)

September 16 History of Western Art – Part II

Baroque, Rococo, Romanticism and Neoclassicism

September 21 Different Approaches to an artwork: A study of Las Meninas.

Read chapter 4

September 23 Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism

September 28 Please bring Project #1 to class.

(Project # 2 assigned and begun in class.)

September 30 20th century

(Project #3 assigned)

October 5 Art and Belief: Religion and Sacred Spaces.

Read chapters 9 & 10

October 7 Art and Belief Please bring Project #3 to class.

October 12 Art and Belief

October 14 Quiz 2 (includes lectures from Sept. 16-Oct. 12, and Chapters 4, 9, and 10)

October 19 Nature in Art: Landscape, Food, and Cycle of Life

Chapters 7, 8 & 15

October 21 Nature in Art

October 26 Art and Power: Rulers, War, and Social Protest/Conscience

Read chapters 11 & 12

October 28 Art and Power

November 2 Art and Power

November 4 Exhibition Presentations

November 9 Exhibition Presentations

November 11 Exhibition Presentations

November 16 Exhibition Presentations

November 18 Art and Identity (Body, Gender, Race, and Self-Expression)

Course Syllabus- AHST 2331 Page 3

 Read chapters 13 & 14.

November 23 Christo and Jeanne-Claude

November 25 Holiday

November 30 Art and Identity

December 3 Art and Identity

December 14 Final Exam 8:00am (includes lectures from Oct. 19- Dec. 3, and Chapters 7,
8, and 11-15)

University Policies

Students are responsible for knowing University policy at

http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies

In particular, students should be aware that Scholastic Dishonesty will not be tolerated:
“Scholastic Dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit
of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an examination for
another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts.”

Course Syllabus- AHST 2331 Page 4