Cañada College
MUS115
music,
art & ideas SYLLABUS
- FALL 2009
Professor: David
Meckler, Ph.D.
office hrs: Mon & Tues, 12-2, Room 3-242
Email: (start
subject header with “MAI” or “AMI” to get my attention) Voice-mail: (650) 306-3439
The course will present some European and American art & music from the past 2500 years in the historical context of related ideas, and provide a vocabulary to talk about this art and music.
Required book: Philip E. Bishop, Adventures
in the Human Spirit, 5th Edition, CD included. Additional
listening may also be posted on the WebAccess site
(http://smccd.mrooms.net/) for this class: log in using your G number and
6-digit birth date, MMDDYY, no spaces or hyphens, or CDs will be on
reserve in the Learning Center. Plan on 30-60 minutes of listening per
week & chapter. (Earlier editions
may also be used; if you do so, indicate this in your work. Earlier editions are on reserve in the
library.)
Attendance is absolutely vital. Please no late arrival, early departure, sleeping in class, cell phone interruptions, doing non-course related computer work or reading non-course related materials in class. Be emotionally present, not just physically present! Miss a class for a good reason? Only WRITTEN excuses accepted. It is your responsibility to drop the class if you miss more than 3 class meetings.
Grading and Assignments: There are a total of 9 equally-weighted grades: exams 1-3, museum and concert attendance reviews (BOTH – one concert review AND one museum review), 2 assignments; final exam, multiple choice portion; and the final exam, essay portion. Standard grading percentages apply (A = 90%). An art museum visit and concert attendance are required. Details & requirements are provided on the course web site. Exams 1-3 are primarily multiple choice, with a written response prepared in advance.
Extra Credit
Recognizing that life events interfere with perfect class attendance, extra credit may be earned by attending performances, lectures, exhibits, concerts, etc. The extra credit activity must be approved by me in advance, and written & oral reports will be required, with a written & signed (by you) explanation for missing class. Limit ONE. Due on last regular class day, 9 Dec (NOT at the final exam).
Exams and Quizzes
There will be a final exam. Exams may use Scantron forms for multiple-choice answers and may also include brief answer and essay questions. Exams will cover material in the textbook and on the supplemental CDs, particularly the material emphasized in class lecture.
Academic & Personal Integrity (It is the same thing!)
You must do you own work unless specified. Severe penalties, outlined in the Student Handbook, will be used in case of cheating or copied work without proper attribution. Plagiarism on any assignments or exams will result in zero credit for that assignment.
Schedule
Introduction & Concepts, Greek, Roman, Early Christian (Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5)
Assignment #1 due
Week 3
Assignment #2 due Week 4
EXAM #1 – Week 5 (exams will usually be the 3rd week of each month)
Medieval, Renaissance (Chapters 6-9)
EXAM #2 – Week 7 or 8 –
Baroque, Classical, Early Romantic (Chapters 10-12)
EXAM #3 – Week 12 --
20th-Century, Postmodernism (Chapters 13-15)
FINAL EXAM
14 Dec 2009 8:10 a.m. NOTE THAT IT IS DIFFERENT FROM CLASS START TIME
Other Dates
1 Sep - Last day to
ADD a semester length course
11 Sep - Last day
to drop a semester length course without a “W”
The past does not influence me, I influence it.
-- Willem DeKooning (artist)
Student Learning Objectives
SLO 1 - Students will be able to identify selected key
works of art and music by artist, composer, period or other relevant
information.
SLO 2 - Students will be able to compare works of art
and music and discuss the relation of the works to ideas from their historical
context.
SLO 3 - Students will be able to describe significant
changes in art and music from successive stylistic periods.
SAMPLE POSSIBLE FINAL EXAM ESSAY QUESTIONS
(review these monthly)
1.
Describe your favorite work covered in this class, identifying it and
associating it with a style or period.
What makes it an example (or counterexample) of its style or
period? What ideas or historical
developments are connected with it?
Why do you like it?
2.
Describe the period in which you feel art & music to be most closely
related. Contrast that with a period in
which you perceive art & music to be less related to each other. Identify and explain specific examples.
3. Identify and describe the way the
notion of Classicism (Ancient Greek or Ancient Roman ideas) recurs in different
historical periods (discuss two examples).
Name specific works that illustrate your point, referring to artist and
title, if applicable; explain how they illustrate your point.
4.
Describe a trait of Romanticism that carries on into Modernism. How is it changed or intensified? Name a Romantic work and a Modernist work to
support your point.
5.
Explain a key difference between Modernism and Post-Modernism, and
describe specific works that illustrate your point.
6.
Describe two contrasting attitudes from history about the body, and
describe works of art or music that reflect those contrasting attitudes.
7. Which transition between two periods seems to you to be the sharpest break? Explain your reasons for thinking so, and explain the historical factors behind the change.