Latin American and Latina/o Art 111

TuTh 3-4:15Kadema 145

Elaine O'Brien Ph.D.Office: Kadema 190

Office hours: Tu 4:30-6pm & W 12 :30-2pmeobrien@csus.edu

http://www.csus.edu/indiv/o/obriene/

Course Description: An overview of the history of Latin American and Latina/o art. After a video-based survey of Pre-Conquest cultures for an overview of Mesoamerican and Andean cultures, our focus shifts to Spanish and Portuguese colonial art, then to art of the independence era in the first half of the 19 th century, the rise of modernism across Latin America in the 1920s, and finally, contemporary Latin American and Latina/o art, including Chicana/o art. A field trip to see Diego Rivera’s Pan American Unity mural at San Francisco City College is planned on Saturday, November 6. If you are unable to meet me and the other students there at that time, you may complete the field trip project on your own, but clear it with me first. The geographical and historical breadth of the course allows us to ask what (if any) identifiable forms, attitudes, and concepts characterize “Latin American and Latina/o” art.

Note: This is a Writing Intensive Course. Completion of the University’s Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement is a prerequisite.

University expections for Writing Intensive Courses:A. The course must build on the basic skills and knowledge acquired by students in their

foundation courses in General Education or the major.B. The course must expand students' knowledge by examining complex issues.C. The course must expand students' abilities to reason logically and to write clearly in

prose.D. Students must be required to write not less than 5,000 words of clear and logical

prose (not to include simple narrative or diary writing).E. Instructors must work actively with students to sharpen analytical abilities and to

improve their writing styles.F. Writing assignments must be spread over the entire semester (with at least 3,000 of

the 5,000 words due before the last two weeks of instruction).G. Instructors must provide timely responses and evaluation of each writing assignment,

and evaluations and comments must not only be about the subject matter content but also about writing skills.

Course Objectives: Increased knowledge and appreciation of forms, contents, and contexts of Latin

American and Latina/o art and visual culture Advancement of skills in research and in the articulation of visual concepts

Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939, Oil on canvas, 67" x 67", Collection of the Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City

Advancement of information technology skills Development of analytic and critical thinking abilities Improved listening and public speaking skills Direct experience with artistic production via the field trip to the Diego Rivera

Pan American Unity mural A stronger grasp of the relationship between form and content of artworks and

why they look the way they do Appreciation of the various social roles of the artist

To help you achieve these objectives and excel in this and other courses: Dartmouth College Academic Skills website:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/index.html Another good academic skills website: http://www.studygs.net/

Required texts: Dawn Ades, ed., Art in Latin America: The Modern Era 1820-1980 (on syllabus as

“Ades”) Mary Ellen Miller, The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec, 4th edition (on

syllabus as “Miller”) Hard copies of readings accessed through the course website, URL links

embedded in the digital syllabus, and on reserve (R) in the Sacramento State University library reserve room

Sylvan Barnett, A Short Guide to Writing About Art, 10th edition (2008)

Course Requirements and Grade Basis:

Extra credit is earned by doing things you choose to do that educate you in art and art history, especially Latin American & Latina/o. Some opportunities are listed on the syllabus schedule. There are many other events and independent projects that would qualify, but ask me first. Note: extra credit points are separate from course requirements. I record extra credit points next to your name in the grade book. They raise the participation grade and can be used to make up an absence. Depending on how much extra credit you’ve earned, they can mean getting the higher rather than lower letter grade when you are between, for example, B+ and A-.

10% participation: Good participation is how much you help others learn: a positive, questioning, engaged attitude toward the material in the class. This is evident in attendance, being on time, attentiveness, and note taking. I recommend that you come to my office hours early in the semester and introduce yourself to me. This is much more important than many students realize.

Note taking : Some of this class is discussion, but information presented in lectures contains information that will be on quizzes. According to cognitive research, listeners only recall 50% of what they hear and that 20-30% is incorrect. Therefore, taking good notes is crucial for success in college. Please review these suggestion on note taking: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/docs/taking_notes.doc

Participation during small-group discussion : at times during the semester you will be asked to participate in small-group and class discussion. It is during

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these discussions that your participation (how much you help others learn) is most evident. Good and bad participation is noted and affects your grade.

o Never leave your group to talk with me individually or leave the classroom during small-group discussions.

Attendance policy Two unexcused absences reduce your grade by half a letter grade; three

reduce it by one letter grade; each subsequent absence reduces your grade by a whole letter. Five unexcused absences result in automatic failure. Chronic (more than 3 times) lateness or leaving early can reduce your grade by one letter.

Scheduled appointments, transportation problems, and job demands are not excused. Illness and family/childcare emergencies are excused. Absence due to illness requires a doctor’s note. You can get a medical excuse from the CSUS student health clinic. Inform me of family emergencies or any situation that will keep you from class or affect your ability to learn, whatever it is. Do not hesitate to come to see me during my office hours or make an appointment via email.

NOTE : Use of cellphones, laptops, all electronic gadgets and communication equipment is forbidden, mostly because it distracts other students. Please keep everything turned off and out of sight during class. Otherwise I will ask you to leave the class and count you as absent. Laptops are permitted in the first row and in seating along the steps, center and side.

NOTE : A dark art history room is conducive to napping. Sleeping in class, however, means you aren’t learning and it brings down class morale, including mine. I might wake you up and ask you to leave class. If you fall asleep more than twice it will affect your participation grade.

Please use the toilet before class and leave the classroom only in an emergency, in which case, don’t hesitate to leave (and come back if you can).

NOTE : No eating please. I will ask you to put the food away.

If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008, (916) 278-6955. Please discuss your accommodation needs with me after class or during my office hours early in the semester.

20% 1-page reading response papers: For each of the readings indicated on the syllabus,

1. Look up and write down the author’s education (as expert in subject)2. Find and quote the author’s thesis statement. Put the page number.3. Paraphrase the author’s thesis statement. 4. Write down 3 key points of the author’s argument from the beginning,

middle, and end of the reading. The “key points” are not just interesting; they are essential to the author’s thesis. Quote the author’s key points and paraphrase each one.

5. Conclude with the one most important question you got from the reading. These questions will be the basis of small group discussions.

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30% 10-minute quizzes:

Quiz dates are indicated on the schedule and changes are announced in class. After lectures are presented in class, I will make them available on the course website under “Lectures.” Use them to make flash cards for the quizzes. I will only ask you to identify works of art and architecture that are in the readings and also shown in the videos and class lectures.

Quiz format: You will be asked to identify an art work (or two artworks in a comparison) – name and nationality of artist, title of work, date of work – and respond to a question related to the lectures, textbooks and other readings.

30 % Research Paper : Select an artist as the topic for your paper from the list at the end of the syllabus. Use the internet to check out the artists below until you find one that interests you. You may choose an artist not on the list, but you must get my approval before writing your proposal.NOTE: Each student must write on a different artist.NOTE: The thesis question is the same for everyone in the class. The question is: In what way(s) is the oeuvre (entire body of work) by the artist you have selected “Latin American” or “Latina/o”? Does the artist identify him- or herself with a nation, like Mexico or Brazil, for example? After you have done some preliminary research, propose an answer to that question and write it up as your thesis statement. The research you do for the paper will be to find out if your answer is correct. If you later find out it is not correct, you can change your thesis.

N ote : Your research paper is eligible for the Witt prize for the best art history research paper, usually around $300, awarded at the Student Award presentation in February. Last year the award was won by a paper written in Art 111.

o Read Sylvan Barnett and use it as a resource throughout your research project. Your paper must show mastery of the information in Barnett, but no class time will be spent on it. We will have a library class in information literacy. I will be available during my office hours to instruct you. Please use my services! You can also get instruction at the Writing Center in Calaveras Hall, and University reference librarians are always available to help you at the desk on the second floor.

o Format (Chicago full endnote and bibliographical citation style only. Please do not use parenthetical citations ) : Follow Sylvan Barnett. Here is the CSUS online Chicago s tyle g uide :

http://library.csus.edu/guides/wangh/chicagostyle.htm Online quick guide to Chicago style citations:

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

For free, one-on-one help with writing in any class, visit the University Reading and Writing Center in Calaveras 128. The Reading and Writing Center can help you at any stage in your reading and writing processes: coming up with a topic, developing and organizing a draft, understanding difficult texts, or developing strategies to become a better editor. To make an appointment or a series of appointments, visit the Reading and Writing

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Center in CLV 128 or call 278-6356. We also offer real-time online tutoring and small-group tutoring. For current Reading and Writing Center hours and more information, visit the website at www.csus.edu/writingcenter.

Note: Except for excused absences (see above), late papers are marked down half a letter grade for each class day they are late.

Paper proposal and research bibliography: Due September 23 Proposal: A one-page (250-word) thesis statement. For definitions of these

terms, see Sylvan Barnett and website tutorial: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml.

I highly recommend that you see me during my office hours for help choosing a topic and formulating a question and hypothesis. You can also email me your research question and thesis statement up to one week before the due date if you want my help. Research bibliography: This is a complete list in correct Chicago style

format for every source of information available on your topic. The bibliography is the starting point of your research and tells you whether or not your thesis about the topic has already been published. It should be at least 4 pages and include everything published on your subject in books, articles, films, documentaries, and the web. Primary sources – interviews and unpublished archival research – are cited too. Look in books, catalogues, art encyclopedias, and articles for the citations of their sources and copy them into your research bibliography. You will not use most of the resources you find. The “research” bibliography is a “complete” not a “selected” bibliography. See Sylvan Barnett. Refer to CSUS library art history research resources:

http://csus.libguides.com/arthistory Use full-text peer-reviewed articles only. (definition:

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/lsl/help/modules/peer.html Use WorldCat (OCLC) for resources in libraries worldwide that can be

ordered through Interlibrary Loan. Allow a minimum of two weeks. Recommended databases: Art Full Text, JSTOR, Project Muse,

Academic Search Premiere, Oxford Art Online Consult the bound Art Index (Library 2nd floor reference area) for

magazine articles as far back as a century ago.

First and Second (final) draft have exactly the same requirements: First draft due October 28 Peer Review: Follow directions in Sylvan Barnett. The Barnett peer review

worksheet is available on my homepage, left hand side: due November 18 Second (final) draft due December 1

A 10-page (2500 word, 12 font, double spaced) research paper, including footnotes, “Works Cited” bibliography, and a cover page with your name, title of paper, course name, and date

Reproductions of all artworks referred to in your paper with figure citations.

Staple in upper left corner (*Please do not use plastic sleeves. I’ll want to make notes on the pages.)

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Submit the final second draft in a sturdy, new, flat, 2-pocket file. Include all the work you’ve done: the original (marked) proposal, the research bibliography, and first draft. Submit all parts together. Your grade will be based on overall quality, effort, and presentation from start to finish.

Grading rubric: o Strength and clarity of thesis: 10 points o Logic of argument development (composition): 2 5 points o Strength of visual evidence: 15 pointso How clearly and concisely the conclusion sums up the argument and

evaluates the thesis: 5 pointso Quality of scholarly sources: 1 0 points o Accuracy of citation usage and format (footnote and bibliography): 10 pointso Quality of writing (grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling, etc.) and overall

presentation = 2 5 points o 100 total points: 100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-60=D.

NOTE: This class adheres to CSUS policy on plagiarism. Please review the policy: http://library.csus.edu/content2.asp?pageID=353 Cite quotations and all information that is not general knowledge. Web sources must have full bibliographical information or they cannot be used in your paper. Wikipedia is excellent for figuring out your thesis and for preliminary searches, but it cannot be cited as a source for research papers because the authors are anonymous.

15%: Class presentation of your paper: 10-minute illustrated talk. You are required to practice your presentation with me at least one week before you present it to the class. You are responsible for scheduling the practice session.

Schedule of assignments (subject to change)

August 31: Introductory Assignment: print out a copy of the syllabus from the course website and study the requirements for the syllabus quiz on September 14. Send me (eobrien@csus.edu ) an email with “Art 111” in the subject line for the course distribution list. No message is necessary..

Make plans to free your schedule for the class trip on Saturday, November 6 to San Francisco to see the Diego Rivera mural

Reading: Ades pp.1-5; Ella Shohat & Robert Stam, “Unthinking Eurocentrism” (website “readings”) Bring a hard copy of the reading and your response paper to class

Sept. 2: “Guns, Germs and Steel”Reading: Urs Bitterli “Cultural Collisions: Spaniards on Hispaniola,” Bartoleme de Las Casas, “Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (1542),” Christopher Columbus, “Journal” (1492) (website) Bring a hard copy of the readings and your response paper

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Assignment: Study the map at the end of this syllabus. Be able to fill in names of all the countries on a blank map for the quiz. For map game/study: http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/South_America_Geography.htm

Sept. 8: 7pm: Extra credit opportunity: lecture by art historian Felipa Irene Lugo, La Raza Galleria Posada, 22nd between J & K Streets, Midtown. As a part of La Raza Galería Posada's Mexican Bicentenial Celebrations, Felipa Lugo will present an analysis of the International Art Faire that took place in Mexico City as a part of the Centennial celebrations of 1910. Contact La Raza Galería Posada at 916.446.5133 or info@larazagaleriaposada.org to RSVP and for more information. To get extra credit, write down one good question, your name, the title of the lecture, the lecturer, and the date. Turn it in to me in class.

Sept 7: Taino (tī'nō) / Discussion of readings, Bitterli, Las Casas, and ColumbusAssignment: Study map. Read Miller, Chapter 1 (no response paper)

Sept 9: Teotihuacán // video: “In Search of History: Mexico’s Great Pyramids” (non-print 372.897.Ae1me 1997) Assignment: Miller, Chapters 2 & 4 (no response paper)

Sept 16th, 7pm: Extra credit opportunity: Michael Luis Medrano, poet and author of Born in the Cavity of Sunsets, is featured for a Mexican Independence Day reading, presented by Escritores del Nuevo Sol/Writers of the New Sun. Medrano will read both published and unpublished poems and will answer questions on topics of interest to those attending. Contact La Raza Galería Posada at 916.446.5133 or info@larazagaleriaposada.org to RSVP and for more information.

Sept 14: Map and Syllabus quiz // “Maya, the Blood of Kings” Assignment: Miller, chapters 6 & 7 (no response paper)

Sept 16: Class meets in Library 2024 for information instruction with Tamara Trujillo, the university arts librarian. video:

Assignment: Miller, chapters 8 & 9 (no response paper)

Sept 21: “The Aztec Empire” (Video 004291)Reading: “Moche Portraits: Masterpieces from Ancient Peru,” Christopher Donnan, from Retratas: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits (course website) Bring a hard copy of the reading and your response paper.

September 25th: Extra credit opportunity: “Everything You Wanted to Know About El Día De Los Muertos”: An all-day conference with speakers, workshops, food, drink and live art-making. Curtis Hall in the Sierra 2 Community Center in Curtis Park, Sacramento. $20 donation and reservations are requested. Contact La Raza Galería Posada at 916.446.5133 or info@larazagaleriaposada.org to RSVP and for more information.

Sept 23: Research paper proposal and bibliography due Video: “Inca: Secrets of the Ancestors”

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Sept 28: Quiz on Pre-Conquest art: see general quiz description under “course requirements.” Be able to recognize images shown in class lectures and videos that also appear in Miller and other readings.

Ades 6 – 61; Reading: “Eyeing the Other: The Indigenous Response,” from Gauvin Bailey, Art of Colonial Latin America (course website) Bring a hard copy of the readings and your response paper

Sept 30: Ades 63-123; Reading: Natalia Majluf, “’Ce n’est pas le Perou,’ or the failure of authenticity: Marginal cosmopolitans at the Paris Universal exhibition of 1855” (website)Bring a hard copy of the readings and your response paper

Oct 5: Quiz Reading: Jose Marti, Our America 1891 (website)Stacie G. Widdifield, “Dispossession, Assimilation, and the Image of the Indian in Late-Nineteenth-Century Mexican Painting” (website)Bring a hard copy of the readings and your response paper

October 5 at 6:30pm: Extra Credit Opportunity, Mendocino Hall 1005Free public film screening of Unveiled Views: Muslim Women Artists Speak OutA film by Alba Sotorra, 2009, 52 minutes, Bosnian, Turkish, Farsi, Urdu, English subtitles, Audience response and discussion after the filmhttp://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/pages/c781.shtml (film trailer & description of film)

Oct 7: Ades 125-149; Reading: Oswald de Andrade, "Manifesto Antropofago" 1928 (Cannibalist Manifesto) and translator’s introduction (website) Bring a hard copy of the readings and your response paper

Oct 12: Quiz / No assignment

Oct 14: Ades 150-179 “Mexican Mural Movement” Reading: Siqueiros, “Three Appeals for a Modern Direction to the New Generation of American Painters and Sculptors” (Ades, 322-323)

Oct 19: Modernism Assignment: Ades 180-193

Oct 21: video: “The Frescos of Diego Rivera” (video 1307)Assignment: Ades 195-213

Oct 26: No Class – SF City College field trip make up class

Oct 28: First draft of Research Paper dueAssignment: Ades 215-239

Nov 2: Quiz

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Nov4: No assignment

Nov 9: Reading: Ades 240-283, and manifestos, “Arturo,” “The Problem of the Frame in Contemporary Art.” No response paper

Nov 11: Veterans’ Day, No Class / No assignment

Nov 16: Quiz Reading: Guy Brett “Lygia Clark: In Search of the Body” (website) Bring a hard copy of the reading and your response paper

Nov 18: Peer review dueReading: Mari Carmen Ramirez, “Blueprint Circuits: Conceptual Art and Politics in Latin America” (R) Bring a hard copy of the reading and your response paper

Nov 23: Quiz

THANKSGIVING

November 30: Final draft of research paper dueReading: Alicia Gaspar de Alba, “There’s No Place like Aztlan: Embodied Aesthetics in Chicana Art” (website) Bring a hard copy of the readings and your response paper

Dec 2: term paper presentationsDec 7: PresentationsDec 9: Presentations and class discussion of “What is Latin American and Latina/o art?” Bring all of your reading response papers to class as the basis of the culminating discussion.

Dec. 14: No final exam

List of artists for research papers:Use the internet to check out the artists below until you find one that interests you. You may choose an artist not on the list, but you must get my approval before writing your proposal.NOTE: Each student must write on a different artist.NOTE: The thesis question is the same for everyone in the class. The question is, In what way(s) is the oeuvre (entire body of work) by the artist you have selected “Latin American” or “Latina/o”? Does the artist identify him- or herself with a nation like Mexico or Brazil, for example? After you have done some preliminary research, propose an answer to that question and write it up as your thesis statement. (See syllabus page 5 for more information on writing the thesis statement and proposal.) The research you do for the paper is directed at finding out if your answer is correct. If your research shows that it is not correct, you can change your thesis for the paper itself.

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ArgentinaLucio FontanaXul SolarGuillermo KuitcaBrazilLygia ClarkAdriana VarejãoTarsila do AmaralAnita MalfattiVik MunizHelio OiticicaCildo MeirelesChileAlfredo JaarRoberto MattaEugenio DittbornColombiaFernando BoteroDoris SalcedoBeatriz González CubaWifredo LamManuel MendiveJose BediaLatina/oCoco FuscoJudy BacaCelia Alvarez

Yolando LopezAna MendietaRoyal Chicano Air Force artists Guillermo Gómez-PeñaPepón OsorioMexicoRufino TamayoJuan O’GormanGerardo Murillo (Dr. Alt)Nahum ZenilLuis Barragon (architect)Gabriel OrozcoJose Luis CuevasRemedios Vara

Leonora CarringtonMaria IsquierdoPeruJosé SabogalFrancisco LasoUruguayLuis CamnitzerJoaquín Torres GarcíaVenezuelaJesús Rafael SotoArmand ReveronMarisol EscobarArthuro Herera Gego (Gertrude Goldschmidt)

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