Lectures: MWF 11:15am-12:10pm, 212 Houghton House
Office Hours: W 3:00-4:00pm, F 2:00-3:00pm, or by appointment, 208 Houghton House

This course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the arts of China from the Neolithic period through the twentieth century. We will consider examples of different media (including painting, calligraphy, woodblock prints, bronze vessels, lacquer ware, sculpture, ceramics, architecture and garden design) in the context of Chinese literature, politics, philosophies, and religions, with some attention to dialogues with other cultures. Broader topics will include notions of artists' places within specific social groups, intellectual theories of the arts, and questions of patronage. When appropriate, students will read and analyze Chinese primary sources in translation. No previous exposure to Chinese art or culture is required. The course is cross-listed with Asian Studies and Media and Society. It addresses Goals 5 (experience of a fine or performing art), 6 (an intellectually grounded foundation for the understanding of differences and inequalities of gender, race, and class) and 7 (knowledge of the multiplicity of world cultures).

Texts:
*Robert Thorp and Richard Vinograd, Chinese Art & Culture (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001).
*Diana Hacker, ed., A Pocket Style Manual, 4th ed. (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004).
*Sylvan Barnet, ed., A Short Guide to Writing about Art, 8th ed. (New York: Longman, 2004)—recommended for students new to art history.

Coursepack: Available from the Art Department. It includes:
· "Sacrifice," trans. Arthur Waley, The Book of Songs: The Ancient Chinese Classic of Poetry (New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1960), 209-17.
· "The Summons of the Soul," trans. David Hawkes, in An Anthology of Chinese Literature, ed. Cyril Birch (New York: Grove Press, 1965), 73-78.
· Han Yu, "Memorial on the Bone of the Buddha," in Sources of Chinese Tradition, comp. Wm. Theodore de Bary et al. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960), 426-29.
· Jing Hao, "Notes on the Method for the Brush," trans. Stephen H. West, in Ways with Words: Writing about Reading Texts in Early China, ed. Pauline Yu et al. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000), 202-13.
· Su Shi, "The Red Cliff, I and II," trans. A. C. Graham, in An Anthology of Chinese Literature, ed. Cyril Birch (New York: Grove Press, 1965), 381-84.
· Tang Hou, "Connoisseurship," in Susan Bush and Hsio-yen Shih, comp. and ed., Early Chinese Texts on Painting (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1985), 258-62.
· Lin Zexu, "Letter to the English Ruler," in Sources of Chinese Tradition, 666-71.
· Mao Zedong, "On Art and Literature," in Sources of Chinese Tradition, 928-33.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Week 1.          Aug. 28-Sept. 1.  Introduction and prehistoric period.
Text: 14-53.
Aug. 28.           Overview of the course.
Aug. 30.           Village societies; material culture.
Sept. 1.            Neolithic images of animals and humans.

Week 2.          Sept. 4-8.  Shang and Western Zhou dynasties.
Text: 55-87; coursepack: “Sacrifice.”
Sept. 4.            Early settlements; royal artifacts.
Sept. 6.            Elite crafts and ritual art; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.
Sept. 8.            Metropolitan and provincial cultures.

Week 3.          Sept. 11-15.  Eastern Zhou dynasty.
Text: 89-117.
Sept. 11.          City planning; elite crafts.
Sept. 13.          Bronze objects.
Sept. 15.          LIBRARY ORIENTATION (tentative). Meet at the Reference Desk (in the Lobby) of the Library at 11:15am.

Week 4.          Sept. 18-22.  Qin and Han dynasties.
Text: 119-49; coursepack: “The Summons of the Soul.”
*Quiz this week*
Sept. 18.          Imperial state and society.
Sept. 20.          FILM: The Immortal Emperor: Shihuangdi.
Sept. 22.          Luxury arts and elite tombs of the Qin and Han dynasties; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.

Week 5.          Sept. 25-29. Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties.
Text: 151-83.
Sept. 25.          Capitals and tombs.
Sept. 27.          The introduction of Buddhism to China.
Sept. 29.          Luxury arts: painting; calligraphy; ceramics, RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL DUE.

Week 6.          Oct. 2-6. Sui and Tang dynasties.
Text: 185-209; coursepack: “Memorial on the Bone of the Buddha.”
Oct. 2.             City planning, court life and imperial tombs.
Oct. 4.             Patronage of Buddhist art.
Oct. 6.             FIRST TEST.

[Oct. 9, FALL RECESS]

Week 7.          Oct. 11-13.  The Tang-Song transition.
Text: 209-32.
Oct. 11.           Elite arts, calligraphy and secular painting.
Oct. 13.           Art of “everyday life.”

Week 8.          Oct. 16-20. Song dynasty art, part 2.
Text: 232-57; coursepack: “Notes on the Method for the Brush.”
Oct. 16.           Ceramics.
Oct. 18.           The beginnings of landscape painting traditions; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.
Oct. 20.           Representations of the court.

Week 9.          Oct. 23-27. Song dynasty art, part 3.
Text: 257-77; coursepack: “The Red Cliff.”
*Quiz this week*
Oct. 23.           Representations of women and women’s art.
Oct. 25.           Literary art.
Oct. 27.           Religious art and architecture.

Week 10.        Oct. 30-Nov. 3. Yuan and Ming dynasties, part 1.
Text: 285-300.
Oct. 30.           Art and ideology; ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE.
Nov. 1.            Religious art and architecture.
Nov. 3.            Ceramics.

Week 11.        Nov. 6-10. Yuan and Ming dynasties, part 2.
Text: 300-15; coursepack: “Connoisseurship.”
Nov. 6.            Personal arts of the elite.
Nov. 8.            Professional artists and the urban environment.
Nov. 10.          SECOND TEST.

Week 12.        Nov. 13-17. Late Ming to mid-Qing dynasties, part 1.
Text: 317-56.
Nov. 13.          Literati painting in the Ming-Qing transition.
Nov. 15.          Commercial art.
Nov. 17.          FILM: The Forbidden City.

Week 13.        Nov. 20. Late Ming to mid-Qing dynasties, part 2.
Text: 356-65; coursepack: “Letter to the English Ruler.”
Nov. 20.          International arts; RESEARCH PAPER DUE.

[Nov. 22-24, THANKSGIVING RECESS]

Week 14.        Nov. 27-Dec. 1. Nineteenth- and twentieth-century art, part 1.
Text: 367-90.
*Quiz this week*
Nov. 27.          Self and community in art.
Nov. 29.          National-style painting.
Dec. 1.             Functional and popular arts.

Week 15.        Dec. 4-8.  Nineteenth- and twentieth-century art, part 2.
Text: 390-414; coursepack: “On Art and Literature.”
Dec. 4.             Political arts; RESPONSE PAPER DUE.
Dec. 6.             Transnational arts.
Dec. 8.             Arts of history.

Finals Week.  Dec. 12. THIRD TEST.

Course Requirements

1. Class Participation (15%). This includes regular and punctual attendance (see attendance policy) and participating in discussions in class or on the Blackboard discussion board. I grade participation on a daily basis, as follows: A for speaking up in class or on the discussion board (even to ask a question or to answer one of my questions incorrectly), B for showing up to class but not speaking, C for not paying attention or coming in late, 0 for not coming to class at all. In a week when there is an assignment from the coursepack, please bring it with you to class.

2. Quizzes (4%). Quizzes are available for one week on Blackboard, and missed quizzes cannot be made up; but I will drop one grade.

3. Response papers (16%). Throughout the semester you will write four one-page papers responding to some of the primary sources we will read in translation. More details to follow.

4. Research paper (20%), due Monday, Nov. 20. This is to be a short research paper based on a single Chinese object. More details to follow.

5. First test (15%), Friday, Oct. 6. The first test, covering material from Weeks 1-5, will last for 50 minutes and will consist of slide identifications and short, timed essays.

6. Second test (15%), Friday, Nov. 10. The second test will be in the same format as the first and will cover material from Weeks 6-10.

7. Third test (15%), Tuesday, Dec. 12, 7:00pm. The third test will be in the same format and of the same length as the previous two tests and will cover material from Weeks 11-15.

Office Hours
I am happy to meet with you outside of class during my office hours (see top of syllabus) or at another time that is convenient for you, in 208 Houghton House.  The best way to reach me to set up an appointment is by e-mail.

Attendance Policy
I consider attendance at lectures to be mandatory. Asian art history is a challenging subject; don’t make it impossible by skipping class! That said, if you have a reasonable excuse for missing a class (illness, religious holiday, etc.), I expect you to notify me as soon as possible—preferably in advance—and to turn in a one-page synopsis of the material covered on the day of your absence, within a week. Not doing so will give you a 0 for participation for that day. If you are absent four times or more, you should be prepared for me to notify the Deans about your performance. I will be taking attendance regularly. NOTE: leaving early for or returning late from Fall Recess or Thanksgiving does not count as an excused absence.

Format for Written Work
One of the things you will learn in an art history class is the importance of presentation. This applies to your written work as well:

1. Type all work in a 12-point font.
2. Double-space.
3. Leave one-inch margins on all sides.
4. Number your pages.
5. Staple your work.
6. Put your name on every page and the date on the first page.
7. Check that your spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct--these are crucial to effective communication of your ideas. I will lower your grade if you have excessive errors. A Pocket Style Manual has helpful chapters titled "Clarity," "Grammar," "Punctuation," and "Mechanics." Read them.
8. If you cite another source, use either parenthetical references or footnotes. (See A Note about Cheating and Plagiarism below.) Make sure that you follow one of the documentation styles explained in A Pocket Style Manual (MLA, APA or Chicago-Style).
9. Include pictures with captions if appropriate (and please attach them to a clean sheet of paper--do not give me loose postcards, illustrations torn from magazines, or copies of the books you found the pictures in. Black-and-white photocopies are okay).

A Note about Cheating and Plagiarism
I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. Not only does it destroy the trust that I have in you to do your best, it is unfair to the other students, and obviously you will not learn anything if you resort to cheating. If I find that you have cheated on a test or on a written assignment, you will receive a zero for the assignment and I will contact the Deans and/or the Committee on Standards about your case.

Now, just in case you are not clear about what plagiarism is: plagiarism is the use of someone else's words or ideas without giving that person credit. In application, this means that in your writing assignments, you need to cite your sources. When quoting directly from a text-say, five words or more in succession-you need to put those words in quotation marks and include a parenthetical reference or footnote citing the source. When rewriting a passage from a text in your own words, you don't need the quotation marks but you do still need the parenthetical reference or footnote. If you don't understand exactly what constitutes plagiarism, or how to use parenthetical references or footnotes, please ask me. I would prefer to explain what it is and how to avoid it before it happens rather than after.

Grading
PLEASE NOTE:  I mark down one-third of a grade (for example, from A to A-) for each calendar day that a paper is late. I also mark down one-third of a grade for every ten mechanical errors (except on the first assignment to be turned in); notice what kinds of mistakes you tend to make on that first assignment, and try not to repeat them.

All tests, quizzes and the research paper will receive a letter grade. Response papers will not receive a letter grade, but a check, check-plus or check-minus. Make-up written assignments, which count as part of your participation grade, will receive a check or a check-minus. If you are unsatisfied with a grade, please prepare a written statement explaining what grade you think you should have received and why, and submit it to me along with the assignment for review.

Assignments are due during the class period on the due date. You may bring your assignments to class or send them to me via e-mail before class (not during, and not after!). Again, I mark down for lateness. If you think you will need an extension, you should talk to me as early as possible. If you have trouble printing out your paper, you should use the e-mail option instead.

A Note about the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)
Hobart and William Smith Colleges encourage you to seek the academic collaboration available to you to demonstrate your best work. Students who would like to enhance their study skills or writing skills or have any academic inquiries can contact the CTL. If you are a student with an identified disability and you would like to receive accommodations, please provide me with the notification form from the CTL at the start of the semester, so that I can best accommodate your needs (students with disabilities have to register at the Center). CTL staff encourages every student to stop by Harris Hall to learn what is available to you at this academic resource. Please contact the CTL at x3351 to make an appointment or stop by the second floor of Harris Hall (on South Main, next to Merritt Hall) to meet with Center Staff.

Website
There are two websites for this course: one at my homepage, and one at Blackboard. This syllabus, paper assignments and links to online resources for Chinese art can be found at both. The Blackboard site also has a course calendar, daily handouts, a discussion board, and an online gradebook.