Diversity in Criticism and Analysis of the Arts (PHIL 461-I*) (#11258)

California State University, Long Beach - Summer 2008

9:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. -- Monday - Thursday -- LA4-108

Three weeks: Monday, July 14 - Thursday, July 31, 2008

Julie Van Camp, Professor of Philosophy

TEXTS:

Terry Barrett, Criticizing Art, Second Edition (Mayfield/McGraw, 2000)

Phoebe Farris-Dufrene, Voices of Color: Art and Society in the Americas (Promethus/Humanities Press, 1997)

Beachboard: Course Documents: full texts of articles by Hooks, Gonzalves, Lowe, Hammonds, Ferguson, Calo

Unit One: Disciplines and methodologies for the Course

What is Philosophy? What is Philosophy of Art? What Is Art Criticism?

Monday, July 14:

Introduction to the Course: What is Philosophy of Art? What is Art Criticism?

Introduction to Beachboard and University Library Electronic Resources

Unit Two: The Nature of Art

Tuesday, July 15 [attendance point available-1]

Reading: Barrett, "Traditional Criteria" (pp. 143-146), "Formalism" (pp. 146-148)

Itami, "The Irony of Being American" (pp. 20-28) (Farris-Dufrene)
Wednesday, July 16 [attendance point available-2]

Reading: Barrett, "Instrumentalism" (pp. 148-149)

Joseph, "Reflections on the Inescapable Political Dimensions of Art and Life" (pp. 46-54) (Farris-Dufrene)
Thursday, July 17 [attendance point available-3]

Reading: Barrett, "Modernity and Postmodernity" (pp. 29-43)

Briscoe, "The Political Effects of Contemporary Art" (pp. 1-9) (Farris-Dufrene)

Hooks, "Postmodern Blackness," Postmodern Culture, 1:1, 1990) [Beachboard: Course Documents]

Short paper assignment available on-line on Class Beachboard site 8:00 a.m.

Unit Three: Critical Perspectives:

The elements of criticism and the significance of race, ethnicity, gender

Monday, July 21 [attendance point available-4]

Short papers due at classtime in Beachboard Turnitin (9:30 a.m.)

Deadline for posting discussion questions for readings Monday, July 21: 8:00 a.m.

Reading: Barrett, "About Art Criticism" (pp. 1-13), Critics Arlene Raven and Lucy Lippard (pp. 20-22), "Criticism: A Definition" (pp. 22-28), "Writing and Talking about Art" (pp. 155-
161) [D]
Tuesday, July 22 [attendance point available-5]

Deadline for posting discussion questions for readings Tuesday, July 22: 8:00 a.m.

Reading: Barrett:, "Describing Art" (pp. 63-67; 67-86), "Interpreting Art" (pp. 87-120), "Multiculturalist Aesthetics and Criticism" (pp. 53-62) [D]
Wednesday, July 23 [attendance point available-6]

Deadline for posting discussion questions for readings Wednesday, July 23: 8:00 a.m.

Theodore S. Gonzalves, "When the Walls Speak a Nation: Contemporary Murals and The Narration of Filipina/o America," J. of Asian American Studies 1:1 (1998), 31-63. [Beachboard: Course Documents] Also available: CSULB Electronic Databases (Project Muse) [D]
Thursday, July 24 [attendance point available-7]

Deadline for posting discussion questions for readings Thursday, July 24: 8:00 a.m.

Reading: Barrett: "Feminist Aesthetics and Criticism" (pp. 43-53)

Nadema Agard (Winyan Luta Red Woman), "Art as a Vehicle for Empowerment" (pp. 55-64) (Farris-Dufrene) [D]

Farris-Dufrene, "Reaching In and Taking Out: Native American Women Artists in a Different Feminism" (pp. 11-18) (Farris-Dufrene) [D]

Unit Four: Evaluation: the meaning of "good" to the critic and to the philosopher

Monday, July 28 [attendance point available-8]

Mid-term Assignment due in Beachboard Turnitin at 9:30 a.m.

Deadline for posting discussion questions for readings Monday, July 28: 8:00 a.m.

Reading: Lisa Lowe, "The Power of Culture," J. of Asian American Studies 1.1 (1998), 5-29. [Beachboard: Course Documents] Also available on CSULB Electronic Databases (Project Muse) [D]

Evelynn Hammonds, "Toward a Black Feminist Aesthetic," Sojourner: The Women's Forum 6:2 (1980), 7. [Beachboard: Course Documents] Also available on CSULB Electronic Databases (GenderWatch) [D]
Tuesday, July 29 [attendance point available-9]

Deadline for posting discussion questions for readings Tuesday, July 29: 8:00 a.m.

Reading: Barrett, "Judging Art" (pp. 121-143) [D]

Kennan Ferguson, "How Peoples Get Made: Race, Performance, Judgment,"Theory and Event 1:3 (1997). [Beachboard: Course Documents] Also available on CSULB Electronic Databases (Project Muse) [D]
Wednesday, July 30 [attendance point available-10]

Deadline for posting discussion questions for readings Wednesday, July 30: 8:00 a.m.

Reading: Mary Ann Calo, "African American Art and Critical Discourse Between World Wars," American Quarterly51:3 (1999), 580-621 (text only) [Beachboard: Course Documents] Also available on CSULB Electronic Databases (Project Muse) [D]

Freida High, "Chiasmus-Art in Politics/Politics in Art: Chicano/a and African American Image, Text, and Activism of the 1960s and 1970s (pp. 118-165) (Farris-Dufrene) [D]

Review for final exam
Thursday, July 31 FINAL EXAM: open-book essay exam: 10:00 a.m. -12:00 noon

[attendance point available]: Available for in-class attendance points

[D]: Available for discussion question points posted on Beachboard Discussion Board

Last updated: July 5, 2008 - subject to change until the start of class July 14, 2008