ARTH 325 Syllabus
ARTH 325: Native American Art History
Fall 2007
Instructor: Dr. Valerie A. Kidrick, Ph.D.
Email: kidricv@scc.losrios.edu
Office Hours: MW 10:30 am – 1 pm; TTH 12-1 & by appointment
Office & Phone #: FA7; 916-650-2942
Course Description: The course is intended to provide the student with an introduction to and an historical/cultural overview of the visual arts of pre-contact peoples of the Americas, with special emphasis on native North American peoples, from the prehistoric times through the modern day period.
Students in this course will be expected to:
• demonstrate an understanding of the wide variety of Native American cultures.
• identify and evaluate the visual culture of Native American peoples.
• demonstrate an understanding of the role of art in Native American culture throughout history.
• critique and anaylze the contribution of Native American artists in contemporary arts.
• compare, contrast, and critique the artistic products of individual Native American cultures and artists, as well as compare, contrast, and critique the artistic products of Native cultures with more Eurocentric cultures.
Required Texts
North American Indian Art, by David W. Penny
Recommended Texts
• All Roads Are Good: Native Voices on Life and Culture, Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1994
• Native North American Art, Janet Catherine Berlo and Ruth B. Phillips
Grading
Grades are based on the following criteria:
• 5 unit quizzes @ 75 points each
(Lowest quiz automatically dropped) = 300 points
• A Term Paper or Presentation,
on a topic which must be cleared with me = 100 points
• Attendance and Participation = 100 points
TOTAL points possible = 500 points
Final course grades will be assigned according to the following percentages:
500-445 A
444-380 B
379-315 C
314-270 D
269 and below F
Instructional Methods
This class is taught in a slide lecture format. Discussion is encouraged; this may, of course, require us to deviate slightly from the planned syllabus.
Exams, Lectures, and Reading Assignments
Five tests will be given throughout the semester. They will cover materials presented in class and material from your text book. I will provide materials NOT in your texts, and, conversely, will not cover everything which is in the text in class lectures. You are solely responsible to obtain any information you may have missed when absent from class, as well as doing the reading before the topic is discussed in class.
Writing assignments
One formal writing assignment will be expected in the semester. Generally it is between five and eight pages long. I will call for your topics sometime around the 1st of November, and you must be able to present me with a precis (i.e., a brief written synopsis or description, with a bibliography, of your topic) so that I can provide you with additional suggestions and texts, authors, or other sources for your research. If you are stuck for a topic, please see me, so that we can discuss some options. A handout on the appropriate format for your paper will be given to you, also around the first of October. For this assignment, I highly recommend you take a look at Sylvan Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing About Art. The author provides some very useful suggestions for writing a clear and coherent paper.
Attendance policy
This class is about visual culture, and much of what you will need to know to pass the class is presented in class and through the lectures. Therefore, attendance is required. Points will be deducted from your point total in the following manner for absences:
1-4 absences (miss up to 2 weeks): no deduction
5-6 absences (miss up to 3 weeks): - 50 points
7-10 absences (miss up to 5 weeks): - 120 points (an automatic “C” or lower)
11-12 absences (miss up to 6 weeks): - 200 points (an automatic “D” or lower)
13 absences and up (miss 7 weeks or more): - 250 points (an automatic “F”)
Plagiarism
Plagiarism occurs whenever you use someone else’s ideas or words as your own, whether in writing or speaking. If you copy materials from any source, published or unpublished, and do not properly cite your source, that is plagiarism. If you use ideas from a source or paraphrase it closely without acknowledgement, that is plagiarism. If you present another student’s paper or other work as your own, that is plagiarism. If you get so much help that the result is quite different from your own work, that is plagiarism. As you can see, the term covers much more than simple copying of someone else’s written material. Suffice it to say, not only do I know it's the worst thing a student can do, so does the College. Anyone who is caught cheating or plagiarizing on a test or a paper will not be allowed to do the assignment over, will be given an “F” on that assignment, and will be referred to the appropriate college official.
Late Work
No late work will be accepted. No exams are given after the time they are scheduled on the syllabus for any reason. I will give early alternate exams and quizzes.
Special Issues
Sacramento City College complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need any accommodations due to a documented disability, please contact me immediately. All information is strictly confidential and released only upon your permission. In other words, any student who has special needs, in testing, note taking, or other areas which might impact his or her performance in this class (as documented by the testing center or ADA office), should see me immediately. (as in as soon as class is over today.)No kinds of harassment will be tolerated in this classroom. If you feel you are being harassed by a class member, please see me. I expect everyone in my classes to be respectful of each other, while encouraging diversity in beliefs and opinions. Cell phones, pagers and their ilk MUST be turned off while in class. If you use a computer in class, please be prepared to show me your screen when asked, to ensure that you are complying with classroom decorum rules. (in other words, please don’t use your computer to surf the internet while in class, as I will ask you to disconnect if you are.)
Syllabus
NB: This syllabus is tentative; discussion and other circumstances may lead us slightly astray.
WEEK ONE
Introduction to Class: Syllabus, Text, Assignments, etc.
Why Study Native American Art?
Reading: Penny, p. 9-25
WEEKS TWO - FOUR
UNIT # 1: EASTERN PEOPLES
Woodlands (Archaic) Woodlands (Adena & Hopewell)
Mississippian
The "Five Civilized Tribes" (Creek, Chicasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, Cherokee) ; Iroquois Confederacy (Huron, Seneca, Ojibwa, Pottawotami, Mohawk, Algonquin, Meskwaukie & Delware)
Reading: Penny, p. 26-78
UNIT EXAM # 1: September 18th
WEEKS FIVE- SEVEN
UNIT # 2: SOUTHWESTERN PEOPLES
Southwest: Basketmaker/Anasazi
Southwest: Anasazi
Hohokam/Mimbres-
Mogollon
Navajo
Hopi/Apache Pima/Papago, Zuni; Reading
Reading: Penny, p. 79-107
Unit Exam # 2: October 11th
WEEKS EIGHT-TEN
UNIT # 3: The Plains
The Plains: Sioux, Cheyenne ,Crow, Blackfoot, Mandan ,Lakota, Kiowa, Arapaho
Reading: Penny, p. 107-141
Unit Exam # 3: October 30th
TERM PAPER TOPIC ABSTRACT DUE: November 1st
WEEKS ELEVEN - THIRTEEN
UNIT # 5: NORTH & NORTHWEST COAST PEOPLES
Arctic: Inuit, Aluet, & Yup'ik
Sub Arctic: Athapaskan (Athabaskan) & Cree;
Northwest Coast: Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Kwakuitl
Reading: Penny, p. 166 -188
Unit Exam # 4: November 20th
WEEKS FOURTEEN - SIXTEEN
UNIT # 4: Far West and Northwest Coast
Far West: California Pomo, Washoe 2Oth Century Native American
Reading: Penny, p. 141 – 165; AND 189- 212
Unit Exam # 5: December 11th
FINAL PAPER DUE: December 18th, between 8 and 10 am
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