ARTH 210. Women Artists in Europe and Asia, 1300–1750. Spring 2024.
Professor Lara Blanchard
tel: x3893
Art & Architecture Department, Houghton House 208

Class meetings: MWF 10:50–11:50am, Houghton House 212

Office hours: Mondays 1:30–3:00pm, Thursdays 10:15–11:45am, or by appointment, in person (Houghton House 208) or via Zoom (see Canvas for link)

 

Course description:
Written histories of art before the modern era have too often overlooked or marginalized women artists, even though they worked in the same media as men (painting, printmaking, illustration, calligraphy) and depicted similar subjects (portraits, religious themes, still lifes, and nature). This course examines European and Asian women artists between 1300 and 1750, with particular attention to the cultures of Italy and China after 1500. Topics will include the reasons for women’s omission from the canon of art history; women’s status as amateur or professional artists; and their identities as court artists, members of artistic families, courtesans, or nuns. The course is cross-listed with Media & Society, European Studies, Asian Studies, and Gender, Sexuality, & Intersectional Justice. It addresses two of the aspirational goals of the curriculum: a critical understanding of social inequalities (substantially), and a critical understanding of cultural difference (substantially).

 

Learning objectives:

  • Students will develop the ability to recognize, and be able to explain, significant themes, stylistic features, and genre conventions associated with women’s art in Europe and Asia in the late medieval through early modern periods.
  • Students will develop an understanding of, and be able to explain, how works of art operate as historical artifacts that reveal current ideas on religion, politics, and society.
  • Students will demonstrate broader knowledge of women’s roles in late medieval and early modern European and Asian societies.
  • Students will practice using academic sources for humanities research available through the HWS Library.
  • Students will show improvement in following “best practices” for accurately summarizing, synthesizing, and citing sources using Chicago-style citation.
  • At semester’s end, students will be able to demonstrate writing skills appropriate to art history, particularly how to craft and argue a thesis.

 

Books (available from the College Store or the Library):

Bal, Mieke, ed. The Artemisia Files: Artemisia Gentileschi for Feminists and Other Thinking People. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. ISBN-13: 9780226035826 (REQUIRED).

Straussman-Pflanzer, Eve, and Oliver Tostmann, eds. By Her Hand: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500–1800. Detroit, Mich.: Detroit Institute of Arts, 2021. ISBN-13: 978-0300256369 (REQUIRED).

Barnet, Sylvan, ed. A Short Guide to Writing about Art. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2015. ISBN-13: 9780205886999 (RECOMMENDED for students new to art history).

 

Certain supplementary materials will be available via Canvas:

  • Supplementary readings will be posted in the folder Files | Readings.
  • Image sheets and other daily handouts will be posted in the folders Files | Handouts (parts 1 and 2).
  • PowerPoint files will be posted in the folders Files | Image presentations (parts 1 and 2).
  • Assignments will be posted in the folder Files | Assignments.
  • Discussion questions that count toward participation will be posted on the Discussion Board.

 

Supplementary readings (available in the Library):

Addiss, Stephen. “The Three Women of Gion.” In Flowering in the Shadows: Women in the History of Chinese and Japanese Painting, edited by Marsha Weidner, 241–63. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1990.

Akiyama Terukazu. “Woman Painters at the Heian Court.” Translated by Maribeth Graybill. In Flowering in the Shadows: Women in the History of Chinese and Japanese Painting, edited by Marsha Weidner, 159–84. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1990.

Alpers, Svetlana. “Art History and Its Exclusions: The Example of Dutch Art.” In Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany, edited by Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard, 183–99. New York: Harper & Row, 1982.

Brusati, Celeste. “Stilled Lives: Self-Portraiture and Self-Reflection in Seventeenth-Century Netherlandish Still-Life Painting.” Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 20, no. 2/3 (1990–91): 168–82.

Eck, Xander van. Review of Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and Her World, by James A. Welu. Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 22, no. 1/2 (1993–94): 105–9.

Even, Yael. “Judith Leyster: An Unsuitable Place for a Woman.” Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 71, no. 3 (2002): 115–24.

Fister, Patricia. Japanese Women Artists, 1600–1900. Lawrence, Kans.: Spencer Museum of Art, 1988.

Gellman, Lola B. Review of Judith Leyster: A Woman Painter in Holland’s Golden Age, by Frima Fox Hofrichter. Woman’s Art Journal 13, no. 1 (Spring–Summer 1992): 34–36.

Honig, Elizabeth Alice. “The Art of Being ‘Artistic’: Dutch Women’s Creative Practices in the 17th Century.” Woman’s Art Journal 22, no. 2 (Autumn 2001–Winter 2002): 31–39.

National Museum of Women in the Arts. Italian Women Artists from Renaissance to Baroque. Milan: Skira, 2007 (excerpts on Caterina Vigri, Plautilla Nelli, and Diana Scultori).

Neri, Janice. “Stitches, Specimens, and Pictures: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Processing of the Natural World.” Chapter 5 of The Insect and the Image: Visualizing Nature in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1700, 139–80. University of Minnesota Press, 2011.

Russell, Margarita. “The Women Painters in Houbraken’s Groote Schouburgh.” Woman’s Art Journal 2, no. 1 (Spring–Summer 1981): 7–11.

Takeuchi, Melinda. “Ike Taiga: A Biographical Study.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 43, no. 1 (June 1983): 141–86.

Weidner, Marsha. “The Conventional Success of Ch’en Shu.” In Flowering in the Shadows: Women in the History of Chinese and Japanese Painting, edited by Marsha Weidner, 123–56. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1990.

Weidner, Marsha, Ellen Johnston Laing, Irving Yucheng Lo, Christina Chu, and James Robinson. Views from Jade Terrace: Chinese Women Artists 1300–1912. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1988.

Wetzel, Jean. “Hidden Connections: Courtesans in the Art World of the Ming Dynasty.” Women’s Studies 31, no. 5 (September/October 2002): 645–69.

Winston-Allen, Anne. “Observant Sisters.” Frieze, Sept. 8, 2016, https://frieze.com/article/observant-sisters.

 

Weekly schedule (please note: schedule may be subject to minor changes):

I. INTRODUCTION.

Jan. 22 (M).  Overview of the course.

Jan. 24 (W).  Women in art histories: Italy.

  • Sheila Barker, “Art as Women’s Work: The Professionalization of Women Artists in Italy, 1350–1800,” in Eve Straussman-Pflanzer and Oliver Tostmann, eds., By Her Hand: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500–1800 (Detroit, Mich.: Detroit Institute of Arts, 2021), 43–51.
  • Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, “Why Have There Been No Exhibitions of Early Modern Italian Women Artists in Hartford or Detroit?” in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 17–29.
  • Claude-Douglas Dickerson III, cat. nos. 31–32, in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 119–21.

Jan. 26 (F).  Women in art histories: the Netherlands.

  • Svetlana Alpers, “Art History and Its Exclusions: The Example of Dutch Art,” in Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany, ed. Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), 183–99.

Jan. 29 (M).  Women in art histories: China.

  • Marsha Weidner, “Women in the History of Chinese Painting,” in Marsha Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace: Chinese Women Artists 1300–1912 (Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1988), 12–29.

Jan. 31 (W).  Women in art histories: Japan.

  • Patricia Fister, “Introduction: The World of Women in Japan, 1600–1900,” in Japanese Women Artists, 1600–1900 (Lawrence, Kans.: Spencer Museum of Art, 1988), 9–16.
  • Akiyama Terukazu, “Woman Painters at the Heian Court,” trans. Maribeth Graybill, in Flowering in the Shadows: Women in the History of Chinese and Japanese Painting, ed. Marsha Weidner (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 1990), 159–84.

Feb. 2 (F).  Research in art history.

Feb. 5 (M).  Guan Daosheng, amateur painter.

  • James Robinson, “Attributed to Guan Daosheng,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 66–70.

Feb. 7 (W).  Caterina Vigri and Sibylla von Bondorf, medieval European nuns.

  • Irene Graziani, “Caterina Vigri,” in National Museum of Women in the Arts, Italian Women Artists, 84–89.
  • Anne Winston-Allen, “Observant Sisters,” Frieze, Sept. 8, 2016, https://frieze.com/article/observant-sisters.

II. RENAISSANCE ITALY.

Feb. 9 (F).  Plautilla Nelli, nun.

  • National Museum of Women in the Arts, Italian Women Artists, 102–5.

Feb. 12 (M).  Sofonisba Anguissola (1532–1635), portrait painter.

  • Oliver Tostmann and Joneath Spicer, “Sofonisba Anguissola” (cat. nos. 1–8), in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 53–69.

Feb. 14 (W).  Diana Scultori (ca. 1547–1612), engraver.

  • Silvia Urbini and Jordana Pomeroy, “Diana Scultori (aka Ghisi),” in National Museum of Women in the Arts, Italian Women Artists, 126–33.
  • Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, “Diana Scultori” (cat. nos. 10–11), in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 72–75.

Feb. 16 (F).  Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614), professional painter.

  • Eve Straussman-Pflanzer and Babette Bohn, “Lavinia Fontana” (cat. nos. 12–19), in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 76–93.
  • RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL due.

III. MING CHINA.

Feb. 19 (M).  Miss Qiu (fl. ca. 1576), professional painter.

  • Ellen Johnston Laing, “Miss Qiu,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 70–72.

Feb. 21 (W).  Ming dynasty courtesans and Ma Shouzhen (1548–1604), courtesan painter.

  • Jean Wetzel, “Hidden Connections: Courtesans in the Art World of the Ming Dynasty,” Women’s Studies 31, no. 5 (September/October 2002): 645–69.
  • James Robinson, “Ma Shouzhen,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 72–81.

Feb. 23 (F).  CLASS CANCELLED. Work on your research projects or study for the first test!

Feb. 26 (M).  Xue Susu (fl. 1601–33), courtesan painter.

  • James Robinson, “Xue Susu (Wu),” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 82–88.

Feb. 28 (W).  Lin Xue (fl. ca. 1600–50), courtesan painter.

  • Marsha Weidner, “Lin Xue,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 94–96.

Mar. 1 (F).  Wen Shu (1595–1634), professional literati painter.

  • Ellen Johnston Laing, “Wen Shu,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 88–91.
  • RESEARCH WORKSHEETS due.

Mar. 4 (M).  Liu Yin, aka Liu Rushi (1618–64), amateur painter.

  • Marsha Weidner, “Liu Shi (Yin),” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 99–102.

IV. BAROQUE ITALY.

Mar. 6 (W).  Female subjects in Artemisia Gentileschi’s paintings (1593–1656).

  • Mary D. Garrard, “Artemisia’s Hand,” in The Artemisia Files: Artemisia Gentileschi for Feminists and Other Thinking People, ed. Mieke Bal (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005), 1–32.
  • Oliver Tostmann, “Artemisia Gentileschi” (cat. nos. 24–26, 28–30) in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 101–6, 112–18.

Mar. 8 (F).  Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith paintings (1593–1656).

  • Elena Ciletti, “‘Gran Macchina è Bellezza’: Looking at the Gentileschi Judiths,” in Bal, The Artemisia Files, 63–106.

Mar. 11 (M).  FIRST TEST.

Mar. 13 (W).  Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656) in art history.

  • Mieke Bal, “Introduction,” in The Artemisia Files, ix–xxv.
  • Nanette Solomon, “Judging Artemisia: A Baroque Woman in Modern Art History,” in Bal, The Artemisia Files, 33–62.

Mar. 15 (F).  Giovanna Garzoni (1600–70), professional portrait and still life painter.

  • Oliver Tostmann, “Giovanna Garzoni” (cat. nos. 35–37), in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 126–29.

(Mar. 16–24, Spring Break)

Mar. 25 (M).  Elisabetta Sirani (1638–65), professional painter.

  • Babette Bohn, Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, Oliver Tostmann, and Jamie Gabbarelli, “Elisabetta Sirani” (cat. nos. 40–48), in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 136–53.

Mar. 27 (W).  Rosalba Carriera (1673–1757), professional miniature painter.

  • Oliver Tostmann and Eve Straussman-Pflanzer, “Rosalba Carriera” (cat. nos. 52–58), in Straussman-Pflanzer and Tostmann, By Her Hand, 161–71.

V. THE NETHERLANDS AND GERMANY.

Mar. 29 (F).  17th- and 18th-century Dutch amateur artists.

  • Elizabeth Alice Honig, “The Art of Being ‘Artistic’: Dutch Women’s Creative Practices in the 17th Century,” Woman’s Art Journal 22, no. 2 (Autumn 2001–Winter 2002): 31–39.

Apr. 1 (M).  17th-century Dutch professional artists.

  • Honig, “The Art of Being ‘Artistic,’” 31–39.

Apr. 3 (W).  Writing workshop.

Apr. 5 (F).  Dutch artists in an 18th-century art historical text.

  • Margarita Russell, “The Women Painters in Houbraken’s Groote Schouburgh,” Woman’s Art Journal 2, no. 1 (Spring–Summer 1981): 7–11.

Apr. 8 (M).  Clara Peeters (1594–after 1657), still-life painter.

  • Celeste Brusati, “Stilled Lives: Self-Portraiture and Self-Reflection in Seventeenth-Century Netherlandish Still-Life Painting,” Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 20, no. 2/3 (1990–91): 168–82.

Apr. 10 (W).  Judith Leyster (1609–60), professional artist.

  • Yael Even, “Judith Leyster: An Unsuitable Place for a Woman,” Konsthistorisk Tidskrift 71, no. 3 (2002): 115–24.
  • Xander van Eck, Review of Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and Her World, by James A. Welu, Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 22, no. 1/2 (1993–94): 105–9.
  • Lola B. Gellman, Review of Judith Leyster: A Woman Painter in Holland’s Golden Age, by Frima Fox Hofrichter, Woman’s Art Journal 13, no. 1 (Spring–Summer 1992): 34–36.
  • RESEARCH PAPER DRAFT due.

Apr. 12 (F).  Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), naturalist and illustrator.

  • Janice Neri, “Stitches, Specimens, and Pictures: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Processing of the Natural World,” Chapter 5 of The Insect and the Image: Visualizing Nature in Early Modern Europe, 1500–1700 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011), 139–80.

VI. QING CHINA AND EDO JAPAN.

Apr. 15 (M).  Chen Shu (1660–1736), professional literati painter.

  • Marsha Weidner, “Chen Shu,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 117–20.
  • Marsha Weidner, “The Conventional Success of Ch’en Shu,” in Flowering in the Shadows, 123–56.

Apr. 17 (W).  Yun Bing (fl. ca. 1747), professional literati painter.

  • Marsha Weidner, “Yun Bing,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 122–29.

Apr. 19 (F).  Ma Quan (fl. ca. 1723–46), flower-and-bird painter.

  • Marsha Weidner, “Ma Quan,” in Weidner et al., Views from Jade Terrace, 130–36.

Apr. 22 (M).  Ono no Ozu and Ryonen Genso: calligraphers.

  • Fister, Japanese Women Artists, 25–32.

Apr. 24 (W).  HWS Day. Come check out the Student Art and Architecture Show in Houghton House!

Apr. 26 (F).  Kiyohara Yukinobu (1643–82) and Sasaki Shogen: atelier professionals.

Apr. 29 (M).  A painter of courtesans and a courtesan artist: Yamazaki Ryujo and Ohashi.

  • Fister, Japanese Women Artists, 47–52, 69–71, 76–77.

May 1 (W).  Kaji, Yuri (1694–1764), and Tokuyama Gyokuran (1727/28–1784): a female lineage.

  • Stephen Addiss, “The Three Women of Gion,” in Weidner, Flowering in the Shadows, 241–63.
  • Fister, Japanese Women Artists, 69–90.

May 3 (F).  Tokuyama Gyokuran and Ike no Taiga: a marriage.

  • Melinda Takeuchi, “Ike Taiga: A Biographical Study,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 43, no. 1 (June 1983): 141–86.

(May 4–6, Reading Days)

May 8 (W).  SECOND TEST, 8:30–11:30am.

 

Course requirements:

  1. Response papers (10%). You will be required to attend and write short responses to five (5) events related to art, Europe, Asia, or women (exhibitions, speakers, films, performances, readings, etc.) before the end of the term. More details to follow. I will maintain a list of such events on Canvas. I grade response paper assignments as follows: A+ (100) for thoughtful commentary; C (75) for a response that suggests some misunderstandings; zero (0) for lack of completion.

  2. Class participation (10%). This constitutes responding to questions on the Canvas discussion board and short writing assignments. I grade participation assignments as follows: A (95) for thoughtful commentary that is analytical in nature or synthesizes material from readings and/or other classes; B (85) for answering a prompt briefly; C (75) for a response that suggests some misunderstandings; D (65) for a disruptive or disrespectful response; zero (0) for lack of participation.

  3. Research project (35%), with assignments due throughout the semester, culminating in a paper (1500–2100 words) focusing on a single woman artist from the period 1300–1750. More details to follow.

  4. First test (20%), Monday, Mar. 11. The first test will cover material through the end of the third unit (Ming China) and will include slide identifications and short, comparative essays. More details to follow.

  5. Second test (25%), Wednesday, May 8, 8:30am. The second test will cover the fourth through sixth units (from Baroque Italy onward) and will include slide identifications and short, comparative essays. More details to follow.

 

Communications:
I am happy to meet with you outside of class at a mutually convenient time, in person or via Zoom (see Office hours above). The best way to reach me to set up an appointment is by e-mail, but please note that I might not check my e-mail before 9:00am or after 4:30pm. If I need to contact students, I generally will do so via HWS e-mail and through Announcements on Canvas (see Websites below). You should develop the habit of checking both on a regular basis (I recommend doing so daily).

 

Guidelines for academic success:
 In this course, you are expected to attend three hours of lectures weekly and complete eight hours of homework weekly—reading, writing, and looking—in preparation for those lectures. (This adds up to 45 hours of faculty-led instructional time and 120 hours of homework over the course of the semester.) Attending class regularly and engaging in discussions with me and your peers is important for your learning. If, however, you need to miss a class (for reasons including celebration of your religion, athletic participation, field trips for a different class, or illness), I expect you to notify me as soon as possible. Attendance counts toward your grade as follows: everyone is allowed three missed classes with no penalty. After that, for each class missed, your final grade will drop by three points. You can make up for an absence, though, by writing a 300- to 600-word discussion of the assigned reading for the missed day.

In addition to the above, you are required to attend five events related to art, Europe, Asia, or women over the course of the semester and to complete a written assignment about what you learned (adding up to five hours of equivalent academic activities). Please consult the Related Events schedule on Canvas and plan in accordance with your interests and availability. Alternatively, you may substitute a meeting with me or with Writing Fellows at the Center for Teaching and Learning about your research project for any of the events.

Those of us meeting in person all share responsibility for the health and safety of all in the classroom environment. In the event that you find yourself experiencing symptoms of illness, I request that you do the following:

  • Stay home! This is best way to prevent spreading COVID-19 as supported by scientific evidence.
  • I expect that you will contact me to discuss missed coursework. In the case that you are not able to make up missed coursework by the end of the semester, we will need to consider options that may include a medical withdrawal or incomplete for the semester, which will be done in consultation with your class Dean.

Be assured that I will do what I can to work with students to facilitate their successful completion of the course. I encourage you to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

 

Format for written work:
Please follow these guidelines for all written assignments.

  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. Put your name and the date on the first page.
  6. Check that your spelling, grammar, and punctuation are correct—these are crucial to effective communication of your ideas. Your grade will drop if you have excessive errors.
  7. If you cite another source, you must use
    a.) parenthetical references or footnotes, as well as
    b.) a list of works cited, as explained in The Chicago Manual of Style (http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html), the documentation style typically used by art historians. (See A note about cheating and plagiarism below.)
  8. Include pictures (with captions) of works of art that you discuss.

For written work that can be submitted via Canvas, please upload a Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx) or a Portable Document Format file (.pdf): these are the only formats that Canvas will accept. Alternatively, you can turn in a stapled hard copy, plus copies of any earlier drafts, during the class period. PLEASE NOTE: I do not accept papers via e-mail.

 

A note about cheating and plagiarism:
I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. It destroys 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 or plagiarized 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. If a case goes to the Committee on Standards, I follow the Committee's recommendation; if it also finds evidence of cheating or plagiarism, the recommendation is usually failure of the course at a minimum.

In accordance with the Colleges’ Academic Policies (https://www.hws.edu/catalogue/policies.aspx) and the Handbook of Community Standards (https://www.hws.edu/offices/campus-life/pdf/community_standards.pdf), pp. 10, 41–42, I define cheating as giving or receiving assistance on any assignment for this course, including all papers and tests, except as directly authorized by me. The Colleges define plagiarism as “the presentation or reproduction of ideas, words, or statements of another person as one’s own, without due acknowledgment.” In application, this means that in any written assignment, 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, or including information from a text in your paper, you don’t need the quotation marks but you do still need the parenthetical reference or footnote. In addition, all sources that you cite need to be included in a list of works cited at the end of the assignment. 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:
Tests and the research project assignments receive numerical grades. Response papers and participation assignments receive letter grades, as described under Course requirements above, or zero (0). 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.

I mark down three points for each calendar day that an assignment is late. If you think you will need an extension, you should ask for one via e-mail as early as possible.

My grading scale is as follows:

 

 

A+  97–100

A  93–97

A-  90–93

 

 

B+  87–90

B  83–87

B-  80–83

 

 

C+  77–80

C  73–77

C-  70–73

 

 

D+  67–70

D  63–67

D-  60–63

 

 

 

F  0–60

 

Final grades are subject to reduction for lack of attendance as explained in the Guidelines for Academic Success above.

 

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL):
At Hobart and William Smith Colleges, we encourage you to learn collaboratively and to seek the resources that will enable you to succeed. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is one of those resources: CTL programs and staff help you engage with your learning, accomplish the tasks before you, enhance your thinking and skills, and empower you to do your best. Resources at CTL are many: Teaching Fellows provide content support in 13 departments, Study Mentors help you manage your time and responsibilities, Writing Fellows help you think well on paper, and professional staff help you assess academic needs.

I encourage you to explore these and other CTL resources designed to encourage your very best work. You can talk with me about these resources, visit the CTL office on the 2nd floor of the library to discuss options with the staff, or visit the CTL website: Center for Teaching and Learning | Hobart and William Smith (hws.edu).

The CTL resource that will be most essential in enhancing learning in this course is the Writing Fellows program. Writing Fellows help students develop their writing by providing feedback on essay drafts, offering strategies for the writing process, and enhancing students’ understanding of what good college writing means. In this class, Writing Fellow assistance with our research project will be extremely helpful to you, and I suggest that you make an appointment on the CTL website by Wednesday, Apr. 3 to begin work on the research paper draft.

To schedule a meeting, click here: Log in Appointments (hws.edu).

 

Office of Disability Services:
It is the policy and practice of Hobart and William Smith Colleges to create inclusive learning environments. If you are a student with a disability and there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that present barriers to you, please begin the process of registering with Disability Services by completing the Intake Form on Accommodate (click here).

Students are always welcome to contact the Disability Services team: Shanelle France, Associate Director of CTL for Disability Services and Thom Mascia, Disability Services Accommodation Manager are the main contact staff for Disability Services. E-mail: CTL@hws.edu Phone: 315-781-3351.

Additional information can be found on the Disability Services webpage.

 

Websites:
There are two websites for this course: one at my homepage and one at Canvas. This syllabus, paper assignments, and links to online resources can be found at both. The Canvas site also has a course calendar, daily handouts, discussions, and an online gradebook; I plan to post PowerPoint presentations used in class there as well.

To use Canvas, log in with your campus username and password. Once you have logged in, you should see, at the left of the screen, a link for Courses you are enrolled in, as well as links for your Account, Dashboard, Calendar, Inbox, Commons, and Help.

It is essential for you to get in the habit of logging into Canvas regularly, as one way I will communicate with the class is via Canvas announcements, and I will post assignments and other course materials there. If you click on the Account link and then on Settings, you can set up Canvas to notify your e-mail or your cell phone about recent activity. I strongly recommend that you set Canvas to send you notifications of announcements ASAP.

For further assistance with Canvas, click on the Help link at the bottom left, and then on “Canvas Resources for Students.” You should look for the Canvas Student Guide (https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/tkb-p/student) or—for visually oriented people—the Video Guide (https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/tkb-p/videos). Alternatively, contact the Help Desk of Instructional Technology through the Client Portal (https://hws.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1889/Portal/Home/), at x4357, or at helpdesk@hws.edu.

 

Technology policy:
Some learning materials will be provided via online platforms such as Canvas (regularly) and Zoom (infrequently). Because of this, your access to a strong internet connection regularly is imperative to your success. I understand that we do not all have access to the same set of resources when not on campus. If this requirement sets up a currently unattainable goal for you, please contact me, your Dean, or the Office of Academic and Faculty Affairs for additional assistance.

Because this class may occasionally use Zoom, please be sure you have Zoom installed on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Zoom classes may not be recorded or distributed by anyone other than me, the instructor. Below are tips for participating in a Zoom session:

  • join the meeting early and test speaker, microphone, and camera settings;
  • keep speakers away from microphones to avoid feedback;
  • mute your microphones upon entry to the meeting; and
  • do not join a meeting from multiple devices.

I encourage you to bring a laptop or tablet with you to class as it may be useful to you in note-taking, but please remember: using personal electronic devices in the classroom can also be a distraction for you and for other students. Therefore,

  • please silence notifications on all devices so that your work is not interrupted;
  • please be respectful and do not use your devices for non-class related tasks, such as e-mail; and
  • please minimize device use during whole-class, in-person discussions.

Please let me know if there are reasons you cannot follow the above guidelines.

 

Intellectual property statement:
My course materials, including this syllabus, lectures, presentations, tests, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. I am the exclusive owner of copyright for those materials that I create. I encourage you to take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not, however, reproduce or distribute notes or course materials publicly without my express written consent, nor may you knowingly allow others to do so. This includes providing materials to commercial course material suppliers such as CourseHero, Chegg, and other similar services. Students who publicly distribute or display copies or modified copies of an instructor’s course materials, or help others to do so, may be in violation of Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ policies on intellectual responsibility, found in the Handbook of Community Standards, pp. 8–9.

 

©2024 Lara C. W. Blanchard. All rights reserved.