UMM Fall 2016
ArtH 3281:
Women & Art
Prof. Julia Dabbs
Office: HFA 5
Phone: x6232
Office Hours:
M/W: 3:30-4:30;
T/TH: 11:45-12:45; or by
appt.
Email: dabbsj@morris.umn.edu
Class Meets:
T/Th, 10-11:40, hfa
2
Class Website: http://facultypages.morris.umn.edu/~dabbsj/women.htm
[please note: this is
separate from the Moodle site]
Required texts: J. Dabbs, “Coursepack,”
available in UMM bookstore; and
W. Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society (Thames &
Hudson), 4th or 5th ed.
Also useful: Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About
Art; and D’Alleva, Look! The Fundamentals of Art History (both of which are on
reserve).
Scope and Objectives of the Course:
This course
will provide an historical survey of the contributions of women in the visual
arts in (primarily) Western Europe and the U.S., from antiquity to the
present. Beyond examining the works of
art they created, we will also consider the societal obstacles women faced in
daring to become professional artists, thus gaining a broader perspective on
the status of women over time. Close
reading of primary source materials (in translation) will further reveal how
these exceptional women were viewed by their contemporaries, as well as how
they perceived themselves. We will also
consider the visual representation of women throughout history, and art’s
reflection of cultural values.
UMM Student Learning Objectives met by this
course:
·
Knowledge
of Human Cultures through core studies in the liberal arts, in
particular in-depth study of art history from the perspective of the
contributions of women artists.
·
Intellectual
and Practical Skills, including inquiry
and analysis; critical thinking and
problem-solving; written, multi-media, and oral communication;
·
An
Understanding of the Roles of Individuals in Society, in
particular gender roles, as evidenced throughout the history of art.
·
Capacity
for Integrative Learning, including synthesis of ideas from readings,
research, and discussion; the
application of knowledge and skills to interpret art on one’s own; and lifelong skills in interpreting visual
media.
Grading: 3 exams (each 15%): 45%
Attendance and participation: 15%
Research paper OR 15%
Presentation + Annotated Bibliography
Reading Responses (2) 10%
Tea Party Installation project
5%
I follow the Univ. of Minnesota grading policy,
in which:
A=
achievement that is outstanding;
B=
achievement that is significantly above
level necessary to meet course requirements;
C=
achievement that meets course requirements (i.e. average);
(+/- grades will be
given to distinguish between levels of achievement within these categories)
D= worthy
of credit, but fails to meet fully the course requirements
F = fails course, either due to non-attendance, or for deliberate
academic dishonesty in any portion of the course).
S = Satisfactory (grade of C- or higher),
if you are taking the course S/N
*Incompletes will only be given in the
event of unusual circumstances, such as hospitalization.
Exams: will consist of approximately
10 slide IDs (artist/title/question concerning some important aspect of that work
of art), and an essay question (or 2). Potential essay questions will be
announced in class in advance of the exam so that you can prepare well! Exams will be based on what is covered in
class (lecture AND discussion, including any discussion of readings), so class
attendance, good note-taking, and regular review will be necessary. Images seen
in class will be posted for review on our course website, updated each week.
Please note:
- Exam content will not be
cumulative.
- Make-up exams will only be given if you have a reasonable excuse for
your absence, and have contacted me promptly. They should be taken within a
week of the scheduled exam, at a time convenient to student and professor.
Disability Accomodations will be made for any student with an identified disability, so long
as they have registered with the Disability Resource Center (Room 240 Briggs
Lib.). Please show me your accommodation letter early in the semester so
we can provide the assistance you need to succeed in the course. If you have, or
think you may have, a disa
bility (e.g., mental
health, attentional, learning, chronic health, sensory, or physical), please
contact Disability Services at 320-589-6178 to arrange a confidential
discussion regarding equitable access and reasonable accommodations.
Attendance and participation: This course will consist of
both lecture and discussion, and since you will be primarily tested on what is
covered in class, your attendance and participation are crucial (and will be
tracked throughout the semester). If you
must miss a class, it is your obligation to find out what you missed, and get
notes from a classmate (my notes are incomprehensible, so I don’t give them
out, sorry!). If you want your absence
to be excused, I would prefer documentation; but at the very least, please contact
me so I am aware of your situation and can update you on any assignments. *More
than one unexcused absence will negatively affect this portion of your
grade.
Class
participation is vital to the success of an upper-level seminar. The assigned discussion readings should be
read before the class in which they will be discussed; it is also useful
to preview the works of art to be seen (see course website) to stimulate your
thinking about them. Participation also
includes asking pertinent questions, and sharing your interpretations of the
art we are viewing. Have a goal of
making at least one contribution per class.
And while we’re on the
topic…
Policy on Personal Use of Electronic Devices in
the Classroom:
Per University
policy, students may only use electronic devices in the classroom for class
purposes, such as note-taking or translating. Once class has begun, any cell
phones, etc. need to be out of sight and silenced, and laptops ONLY used for
note-taking (you may of course use them during the class break). It really is a distraction to the
teaching/learning process when cell phones ring or are being checked during
class, so please be considerate of others.
(source:
www.policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education...)
Statement on
Student Well-Being:
As a student you may experience a range of issues that
can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased
anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down,
difficulty
concentrating and/or lack of
motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to
diminished academic performance and may reduce your ability to participate in
daily activities. University of Minnesota services are available to assist you.
You can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services
available on campus via the UMM Student Counseling website at:
http://www.morris.umn.edu/wellness/mentalhealth/studentcounseling
or phone at
320-589-6060. *Please also keep in communication with Prof. Dabbs so we can help
you we can help you manage your work for this course.
Other UM/UMM Policies to be aware
of:
·
Univ of Minnesota Student Conduct Code: please see: http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Student_Conduct_Code.pdf.
·
Scholastic Dishonesty: You are expected to do your
own academic work and cite sources as necessary. Failing to do so is scholastic
dishonesty. Scholastic dishonesty means plagiarizing; cheating on assignments
or examinations; engaging in unauthorized collaboration on academic work; and
other dishonest acts. If it is determined that a student has cheated, he or she
may be given an "F" or an "N" for the course, and may face
additional sanctions from the University. See further: http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/INSTRUCTORRESP.html.
·
"Sexual harassment" means unwelcome sexual
advances, requests for sexual favors, and/or other verbal or physical conduct
of a sexual nature. Such behavior is not acceptable in the University setting.
See further: http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/SexHarassment.pdf
·
Equity, Diversity, Equal
Opportunity, and Affirmative Action: the University
provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs and facilities,
without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age,
marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. See further: http://regents.umn.edu/sites/default/files/policies/Equity_Diversity_EO_AA.pdf.
·
Academic Freedom and
Responsibility: academic freedom is a cornerstone of the University.
Within the scope and content of the course as defined by the instructor, it
includes the freedom to discuss relevant matters in the classroom. Along with
this freedom comes responsibility. Students are encouraged to develop the
capacity for critical judgment and to engage in a sustained and independent
search for truth. Students are free to take reasoned exception to the views
offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of
opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any course of study
for which they are enrolled. See further: http://www.policy.umn.edu/Policies/Education/Education/SYLLABUSREQUIREMENTS_APPA.html
Reading Responses: two of these are
required for the semester, and will be your choice of any of the 6 essays
labeled “further reading” on the course outline (these fall in the second half
of the course; authors are P. Hose, K. Buick, A. Higgonet,
N. Broude, A. Chave, and P.
Mainairdi).
E-reserve readings can be accessed from the Briggs
Library electronic reserves with the password “dabbs3281.”
For your
response, be sure to identify the author and title of the reading somewhere in
your introduction. Then indicate the
scope of the essay, and state what you believe is the author’s main thesis;
next, summarize main points. Then, do some analysis of the reading: was the thesis well-developed, or did the
argument seem to stray? What kinds of
supporting evidence were used? What
interesting questions or issues were raised?
Do you agree with the interpretation of particular works of art
discussed, or did they seem forced? What insights did you gain regarding the
situation faced by women artists in that particular era or culture? Conclude with an overall assessment of the
essay (your personal opinion).
Expectations: approx. 2 pages,
double-spaced; well-written & organized; please turn in as a hard copy.
*Due in class, on the day
indicated for that reading on course outline. Late
critiques will be graded down unless there is a viable excuse that you have
mentioned to me in advance. Critiques will
not be accepted more than 7 days after the due date.
Worth: 5%
each
[you
can do an optional 3rd reading response by the last day of class
if you are seeking to improve an earlier reading response grade of B or below.]
The “Tea Party” installation project:
Taking our inspiration from Judy Chicago’s famous
Dinner Party installation project, we
will create our
own installation in HFA on Thurs. Dec. 8,
but doing a much simpler tea party theme. You will sign up for an artist of
your choice (it can be the artist you are researching for the presentation OR
paper) on the google drive sign-up sheet; then you will decorate a tea
cup/mug and small plate (you can find inexpensive ones at the local thrift
stores) that in some way reflects this artist’s style or subject matter. You
will accompany the place setting with a one page, 1.5 line-spaced installation text that, in your own words, provides some key background
on the artist and her achievements, and explains the aesthetic choices you’ve
made for your tea place-setting.
Worth: 5%
Semester Project Option 1:
Research paper (8-10 pages): this will involve inquiry and interpretation
concerning some aspect of a woman
artist’s work. For example, it may be a particular theme that you notice within
her oeuvre (body of work); or your
research could center on a particular work of art that you’ve seen, and want to
know more about. The artist ideally will be from the 19th, 20th,
or 21st century – see list below for some possibilities. A separate
hand-out with more detailed guidelines will be given in class, and there will
also be a research session on finding scholarly literature in the field of art
history.
Worth 15%
OR-OR-OR-OR:
Semester Project Option 2: Presentation + Annotated Bibliography:
Or, you can do an
approx. 15 minute presentation on some aspect of a woman artist’s work. Specific presentation dates
will be determined once students have signed up for topics, but in general
these will occur in the last two weeks of the semester. There will be more
discussion of this in class.
In addition, you will create an annotated
bibliography of sources utilized for your presentation research, summarizing
them in your own words. This will be due, at the latest, on Thurs. Dec. 15. I
will provide more guidelines on writing up the annotations and number of
sources in a later handout.
Worth: Presentation (10%); Annotated Bib (5%)
Some Possible Women Artists
to Research:
This list is not meant to be exclusive; instead,
it is meant to help you find a “doable” artist (in terms of research resources)
if you don’t know where to start.
Looking through Chadwick’s Women,
Art, and Society can help to pique your interest. You can also do any 19th
or 20th century artist on the course outline, but you will be
presenting on the day listed there. Let
me know if you’re needing any assistance in
choosing! And once you have chosen, sign up on the google drive sheet!
Tamara de Lempicka Louise
Bourgeois
Sonia
Delaunay Cindy
Sherman
Romaine
Brooks Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
Frida
Kahlo Eva
Hesse
Diane
Arbus Faith
Ringgold
Dorothea
Lange Judy
Chicago
Audrey
Flack Kara
Walker
Coco
Chanel Mona
Hatoum
Miriam
Schapiro Shirin Neshat
Alice
Neel (portraitist) Alison
Bechdel (cartoonist)
Maya Lin (memorials/installation)\ Jenny
Saville
Maria Martinez (ceramics) Kathryn Bigelow (film)
*fashion
designers, book illustrators, movie directors, architects, women working
professionally in any visual medium,
and about whom there is some published scholarship, are acceptable topics for
the paper/presentation!
WOMEN & ART Fall
2016
Course
Outline (Revised)
*
Please note: this outline provides a
framework for our course, and while I try to stay on schedule, it may be
necessary to make slight modifications due to unforeseen circumstances. Any changes will be announced in class.
The readings
listed “for discussion” are required,
and should be done for that class;
they will either be in this coursepack, or on
e-reserve.
The “further
readings” are recommended, and are the ones to respond to for written
reading responses (two required).
Background reading in Chadwick’s Women, Art, and Society (textbook; pages
based on 4th ed.) and Dabbs’ Life Stories
of Women Artists (print & e-reserve) can be done at your convenience,
but will be most helpful to do either before or soon after the relevant class
session.
*E-reserve readings can
be accessed with this password: dabbs3281
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Important
Dates at a Glance
(mark your calendars now!):
EXAM #1:
TU Sept. 20
Presentation OR Paper TOPIC due: Th Sept. 29
EXAM #2:
Th Oct. 13
Preliminary
bibliography/research status report: Th Oct. 27
EXAM
#3: Tu
Nov. 22
Tea
Party Installation Project: Th Dec. 8
Research paper OR annotated bibliography due: at the
very latest, Thurs.
Dec. 15, 10:30 am
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Th Aug. 25: Intro to
course
Tu Aug. 30: What
Women Artists?
[background:
Chadwick, pp. 7-42]
*for
discussion: L. Nochlin,
“Why Have There Been No Great Women
Artists?” in Women, Art and Power,
pp. 145-170 [on e-reserve]
Optional bonus assignment: looking for women
artists (due today)
Th
Sept. 1: Recovering the History of Women Artists
[Nat’l Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA);
Guerrilla Girls; Prof.
Dabbs’ book]
*For
discussion: S. Day, “A Museum for Women,” ArtNews (1986):
111-18
[e-reserve]; for background: websites for NMWA, Guerrilla Girls, see links
on crs website.
Tu Sept. 6:
Artistic Forerunners: Ancient
Greek & Roman Women Artists
*For discussion: Coursepack,
pp. 18-19 (“Pliny
the Elder”)
Th
Sept. 8 1)
Medieval & Renaissance Women Artists
[Chadwick, pp. 43-65]
*For discussion: Coursepack, pp. 20-22 (“Christine de Pizan”)
2) “A Very Great Miracle of Nature”: Renaissance
Sculptor Properzia
de’ Rossi
*For discussion: Coursepack, pp. 23-26
Tu
Sept. 13: Painter to the Court of Spain: Sofonisba Anguissola;
And 1st History Painter: Lavinia Fontana
[Chadwick, pp. 77-86; 91-96 and Coursepack
p. 27]
Th Sept. 15: “I’ll
show you what a woman can do”: Artemisia Gentileschi
[Chadwick, pp. 105-113; and
coursepack, p. 28]
*Further
reading: Gentileschi’s
letters (in Slatkin, Voices of Women Artists, pp. 3-11, on e-reserve).
Tu Sept. 20: EXAM
#1
Th Sept. 22*:
Tu Sept. 27*: 1) Dutch
Women Artists (Leyster, van Oosterwijck)
[Chadwick, pp. 114-138]
*For discussion: Coursepack, pp. 29-31
2) Asian Women Artists (Early Modern): Li Yin
*For discussion: Coursepack, pp. 32-34
Th Sept. 29: Presentation TOPIC DUE; Library research
session
Tu Oct. 4: 1) Sculptor
to the King of Spain: Luisa Roldán
[not in Chadwick;
background in Dabbs, Life Stories, 192-198,
e-res]
2)
Rococo Pastellists:
Rosalba Carriera
& Henrietta Johnston
[Chadwick, pp. 139-143]
*For
discussion: Coursepack, pp.
35-38.
Th Oct. 6:
Portraitist to Marie Antoinette:
Elizabeth Vigeé-Le Brun
[Chadwick, pp.
164-66]
Tu Oct. 11:
1) The Woman Who Loved Animals: Rosa Bonheur
[Chadwick, pp.
192-196]
2) The Godmother of Photography: Julia Margaret Cameron
[not in Chadwick!]
Further reading: P. Hose, “Milkmaid Madonnas: an Appreciation of Cameron’s Portraits of Women,”
(web reading; see link from class website)
Th Oct. 13: EXAM
#2
Tu Oct. 18: FALL
BREAK
.
Th Oct. 20: American
Women Sculptors of the 19th C.:
Harriet Hosmer &
Edmonia Lewis
[Chadwick, pp. 214-26; for background on Wright, see Dabbs, Life Stories, 421-429, e-res (not doing this]
*Further
reading: Kristen
Buick, “The Ideal Works of Edmonia Lewis,” in Reading American Art, pp.190-207 [e-res]
Tu Oct. 25 & Th Oct. 27:
“Camille Claudel” (motion
picture)
[Chadwick, pp.
294-95]
Oct. 27: preliminary bibliography/research
status report due
Tu Nov. 1: Claudel
film discussion; and her works
*Further reading:
A. Higgonet, “Myths of Creation: Camille
Claudel and Auguste Rodin,” in Chadwick, Significant Others, pp. 14-29. [e-res]
Th Nov. 3: Women
& Impressionism, Part I: Berthe Morisot
[Chadwick, pp.
231-41]
Tu Nov. 8: Women
& Impressionism, Part II: Mary
Cassatt
[Chadwick, pp. 241-42]
*further reading:
N. Broude, “Mary Cassatt: Modern Woman or the
Cult of True Womanhood?,” Woman’s Art Journal, Fall 2000, 36-43 [e-res].
Th Nov. 10:
American Art Critics & Patrons:
May Alcott Nieriker & Isabella Stewart
Gardner
*for
discussion: Alcott Nieriker,
“Letter from an Art Student in London,” (coursepack,
pp. 12-15).
Tu Nov. 15:
Georgia O’Keeffe
[Chadwick, pp. 302-07]
*further reading: A. Chave, “O’Keeffe and the
Masculine Gaze” in Reading American art, pp. 350-70 [e-res].
Th Nov. 17:
1) Kathe Kollwitz
[Chadwick, pp. 290-92]
2) Women &
the Decorative Arts
*Further reading:
P.
Mainardi, “Quilts: The Great American Art,” in Feminism and Art History, pp. 330-346
[e-res].
Tu Nov. 22: EXAM
#3
Th Nov. 24:
Thanksgiving holiday!
Tu Nov. 29/Th Dec. 1: Presentations [t.b.a.]
Tu Dec. 6: more
presentations, OR artist’s talk
Th Dec. 8: Tea
Party Installation Project
REMINDER: Research paper OR annotated bibliography must
be turned in by the very latest Thur Dec. 15, 10:30 a.m. (hardcopy, to my office)