Catalog Description

Formerly known as ART 1G
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: Study of various art forms of the cultures of Africa, the Americas, and Oceania from prehistoric times to the present. (C-ID ARTH 140) (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Analyze and differentiate the various functions served by art and architecture in Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.
  • CSLO #2: Analyze artworks in terms of how they reflect the specific religious, philosophical, political, and/or social beliefs of the culture that produced it.
  • CSLO #3: Critique images and scholarship in terms of western cultural relativism, paying attention to the ways in which social class, gender, racism, and the history of western colonialism influences the study and interpretation of non-western art.
  • CSLO #4: Demonstrate visual literacy by analyzing artworks using proper historical terminology and formal elements in both written and verbal form.
  • CSLO #5: Identify and differentiate major monuments and works of art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

Effective Term

Fall 2018

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

1. Analyze the history of Western colonialism and its impact on scholarship, aesthetics, and terminology in the study of African, American, and Oceanic art and cultures.
2. Analyze the arts of indigenous Africa in terms of history and development, function of objects, major media and techniques, architecture, and diaspora and contemporary arts.
3. Analyze the arts of indigenous South America in terms of history and development, function of objects, major media and techniques, architecture, and diaspora and contemporary arts.
4. Analyze the arts of indigenous Mesoamerica in terms of history and development, function of objects, major media and techniques, architecture, and diaspora and contemporary arts.
5. Analyze the arts of indigenous North America in terms of history and development, function of objects, major media and techniques, architecture, and diaspora and contemporary arts.
6. Analyze the arts of indigenous Oceania in terms of history and development, function of objects, major media and techniques, architecture, and diaspora and contemporary arts.
7. Compare and contrast major works of art and architecture from Africa, the Americas, and Oceania in terms of similarities and differences in function, context, and style.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Fine Arts
    • AA/AS - Multicultural Studies
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - C1 Arts
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 3A Arts

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Classroom Discussions
      • Example: Class discussions can be used as continual assessments of students' abilities to verbally analyze artworks and use proper terminology. For example, students may be asked to discuss how a work of art on the screen is typical of a specific cultural style (such as Olmec sculpture)--course objective #3. This will help instructor gauge where current student understanding and mastery exists, and identify any areas of confusion or lack of understanding.
    • Essay Examinations
      • Example: Essays exams may test students on application of knowledge and comparison of style, content, function, and context of works. Such as, an in class timed essay where the student is given two monuments or sculptures to compare in terms of style, content, function, and historical context. Students would be assessed in terms of ability to make connections between works, both in terms of similarities and differences, tying those similarities and differences to media, technique, and historical context. They would also have to demonstrate ability to use required terms and correctly identify style, media, and techniques in the images
    • Objective Examinations
      • Example: Objective exams may test students on basics of terminology and recognition of major artists and artworks/monuments. Such as, a fill in the blank quiz where students must identify major elements in floor plans, and image identifications (title, culture, and date). Example: with an image of a Bamana chiwara sculpture on the screen, ask the students to identify it.
    • Reports
      • Example: Reports in the form of assigned formal papers can be used to address specific themes in the course, such as asking each student to choose one major contemporary artist to research and in a paper analyze their connections to the past, involvement in international art scene, and ways in which they challenge colonial western bias. The final paper would be assessed for research methods and citing, ability to clearly organize and state information, and application of historical and aesthetic approaches to an artist and their products.

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. Instructor presents A. Visually oriented lectures, such as PowerPoint presentations, about artworks and their historical contexts. For example, a lecture on the ceremonial city of Teotihuacan discussing the major architectural types, how they adhere to earlier models and express current political, religious, and social values of the period. Students will build their ability to identify major representative works of architecture (CSLO 5), use proper terminology for elements (CSLO 4), as well as discuss historical context and cultural values (CSLO 2), and distinguish the function of architecture in Mesoamerica (CSLO 1).

    Distance Learning

    1. The instructor also creates B. Class and small group discussions (online and on ground) such as:
    2. Compare and contrast the floor plan of a Tongan fale to a Tlingit plank house. What elements do they have in common and what elements are different? What accounts for these similarities and differences?
    3. Analyze a primary document relating to social and cultural context of art making (contracts, artistic biography, historical art criticism)
    4. Work together to analyze an unknown object in terms of subject and style as if coming across an image in a museum or gallery setting. In these types of activities, students will actively apply their knowledge and skills to new situations, engaging with visual literacy and analysis skills, including CSLO 4 (Demonstrate visual literacy by analyzing artworks using proper historical terminology and formal elements) as well as the before mentioned CSLOs 1, 2, 3, and 5)

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    Reading Assignments

    1. Read provided primary document from instructor (such as reading on Postcolonial theory). Respond to the provided questions and post your response to the class discussion board and respond to at least three other student responses. 2. Read chapter in your text and select one object produced in West Africa. In a two-page, typed double-spaced paper, thoroughly describe the object in terms of medium, process, style, function, and who the most likely patron of the object would be.

    Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

    1. Selecting a ceremonial complex from a provided list, write a three-page, typed, and double-spaced paper, identify the significant architectural elements of the complex as well as its function and symbolism within the given culture. 2. You and your fellow classmates have been hired by a famous movie director as set consultants. An upcoming movie will feature a realistic recreation of a traditional Native American ceremony. It is your task to prepare a detailed written and illustrated description of elements that must be included in the re-creation. The movie executive knows very little about tribal ceremonies so it is important to explain the significance of all aspects of the ceremony.

    Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

    1. After visiting the Crocker art museum, choose one object to research and write a one to two page catalog description of the object for the museum visiting public. 2. Choose one contemporary work made by an African, Oceanic, North or South American artist. In a 3-5 page paper, discuss the work in terms of how it reflects traditional cultural themes, as well as how those themes might be transformed within a contemporary context.

    Required Materials

    • Art Beyond the West
      • Author: Kampen O'Riley, Michael
      • Publisher: Pearson
      • Publication Date: 2012
      • Text Edition: 3rd
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Art History
      • Author: Marilyn Stokstad
      • Publisher: Pearson
      • Publication Date: 2017
      • Text Edition: 6th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • Gardner's Art through the Ages
      • Author: Fred S. Kleiner, Christin J. Mamiya
      • Publisher: Wadsworth
      • Publication Date: 2009
      • Text Edition: 13th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.