Assignments and Grading

Assignments in this course are intended to help you achieve the learning objectives and outcomes. It is not my intention to fail you or curb your grades; if you work and show interest, you will succeed in this class. The assessment scheme for the course is as follows:

Attendance10%
Participation15%
Quizzes25%
Short Paper and Collective Feedback20%
Final Exam30%

Grading Scale

Letter GradeNumerical GradeGPA
A+97–100%4.0
A93–96.99%4.0
A-90–92.99%3.7
B+87–89.99%3.3
B83–86.99%3.0
B-80–82.99%2.7
C+77–79.99%2.3
C73–76.99%2.0
C-70–72.99%1.7
D+67–69.99%1.3
D63–66.99%1.0
D-60–62.99%0.7
F0–59.99%0.0
 

 

Assignments in Detail:

 
 
Dozens of multicolored birds of various sizes are arranged around a stout tree in this horizontal landscape painting. At least two dozen species of birds perch along the branches and crowd around the base. For example, there are birds with gold bodies, cobalt-blue wings, and hooked beaks in the upper left-hand branches. In the branches to the right a tomato-red bird with long, blue tail feathers is surrounded by small light brown and gray birds. An owl, peacock, ostrich, and turkey painted in muted browns and blues gather with other green, blue, red, and dark gray birds on the left side of the tree to look at an open book resting against the trunk. The bank with the birds is separated from a second grove of trees by the waterway, which splits near the lower right corner of the painting and winds into the distance to both the left and right. The grove across from us has slender green trees with feathery leaves among a bank of tall reeds. In the river in the lower right corner, ducks, swans, and a tall heron stand and float among lily pads. A few birds take flight while one comes in for a landing in the near distance, to our right. The sky above this area is slate blue. Ghostly touches of white along the river to our left suggest tall birds standing in the water. Beyond them, a hazy, peanut-brown field with tall trees marches into the distance under an overcast sky.
Kessel, Jan van, the Elder, circle of. Concert of Birds. 1660/1670. Oil on copper, 13 x 18 cm (5 1/8 x 7 1/16 in.). Gift of John Dimick.

 

 

Attendance: Attendance is required. I understand, however, that unexpected events can occasionally prevent you from attending class. You can miss up to three classes without penalty and without the need to provide an excuse. After the third-class threshold, one point will be deducted for each time of unjustified absence. Do note, however, that it is your responsibility to obtain notes for the classes that you miss.

 

Participation: I will design in-class activities that will give you many chances to share your thoughts and develop your communication skills, and there will be many ways to contribute to the conversation. Remember this, please: you are learning. We are not here to show how much we know, and this class is not a competition. There are no dumb questions in my classroom—as far as I am concerned, if you have a question, it is very likely that others will also have a similar doubt, so go for it! I will always answer to the best of my abilities, but I will be candid when I don’t know the answer. You will find that participation is much easier when you read the materials.

Two crowds made up of dozens of men each clash on the dirt floor of an outdoor arena in this horizontal painting. The scene is loosely painted and most details are indistinct. Many of the men wear black caps and have peach or brown-colored faces. The group to our left surges near a flagpole. The group to our right eddies around a dark brown bull that stamps front feet firmly on the ground. Both groups are enlivened by swirls of buttercup yellow, scarlet red, powder blue, and bright white. One man wearing white crouches, bare bottomed, on the ground in front of the bull. More people gathered on the far side of the arena and beyond its walls pare painted with strokes and dabs of pearl white, rust red, golden brown, dark gray, ochre yellow, and black.
Villamil, Eugenio Lucas. The Bullfight. c. 1890/1900. Oil on canvas, 73.9 x 109.9 cm (29 1/8 x 43 1/4 in.). Gift of Arthur Sachs.

Quizzes: Starting from the second week, there will be quizzes. One each two weeks. These quizzes will be based both on the readings and the lectures, and they will be intended to test your knowledge on the very basics of the class. The quizzes will include fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, and true-or-false questions. They will always be announced (there will not be surprise quizzes), and I will design extra quizzes for extra points for those who want to improve their grades.

 

Short Paper: This will be our midterm exam. This is a two-pronged assignment. First, you will write one short essay (around 800 words) answering one question. You will have 24 hours to do this. You will be able to choose one question among several that I will propose. Please do not let any generative artificial intelligence take from you this opportunity to write and think. Then, in class, you will be assigned to review one of your classmates’ works, and you will provide feedback highlighting one thing that you think works and one thing that is missing or requires improvement. In both cases, you will argue your feedback. I will give more instructions about this when we get closer to the midterm.

This painting shows a woman in profile, sitting at a wooden table strewn with papers, her body angled away from us. She has pale skin and rosy cheeks, and her light brown hair is tied up and adorned with a light blue headband. She wears a light colored gown that appears mostly white, but also has streaks of light pink, yellow, pale green, and light blue. She is writing on one of the sheets of paper that is scattered on the table. Six potted plants with long green stems and white flowers line the edge of the table across from her. She sits in a room with a brownish-gray wooden floor and pale green walls. There is a bookshelf to the left of the woman, with a framed photograph, a small bowl, and three long white candlesticks of varying heights on top of it. Above the bookshelf is a tall window ledge which is also lined with leafy plants in pink, yellow, light blue, and white pots. White light shines in from between the plants, casting a bright glow on the back of the woman and faint shadows below the table and the chair she sits on. The brushstrokes of the painting, especially those in the background, are visible, giving the painting a slightly hazy quality.
Titcomb, Mary Bradish. The Writer. c. 1912. Oil on canvas, 76.2 × 63.5 cm (30 × 25 in.). Gift of Funds from James and Christiane Valone in honor of Nancy K. Anderson.

 

 

 

 

Final Exam: This will be a blue book exam. Two to three weeks before the exam, I will post potential exam questions so you can guide your study and preparation. The questions you will find on the day of the exam will be a selection from those earlier presented. While this is an in-class exam, you will be allowed to bring printed notes and materials.