ARTH 306. Telling Tales: Narrative in Asian Art. Fall 2017.
Professor Lara Blanchard
tel: 781-3893
Art & Architecture Department, 208 Houghton House

Lectures: WF 1:25-2:50pm, 112 Houghton House
Office hours:  M 11:15am-12:15pm, Th 10:20am-12:20pm, or by appointment, 208 Houghton House

 

Course description:
The relationship between text and image assumes primary significance in the arts of Asia. Of especial import is the use of visual narrative, or the art of storytelling. This course traces the role of narrative in the arts of India, Central Asia, China and Japan, from the sculptural friezes at the Sanchi stupa to the murals at the Dunhuang caves to the handscrolls and picture scrolls produced by scholars and court artists. The course is designed as a series of case studies, through which we will examine both the special visual formats developed in Asia to facilitate the telling of tales as well as the specific religious, political, and cultural contexts in which narrative is deployed. The course is cross-listed with Asian Studies, Women’s Studies, and Media and Society. 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:
One objective is for students to hone their writing skills. A second objective is to gain practical skills useful in any study of art history, including how to analyze and conduct in-depth research on works of art or architectural sites as well as how to make an effective oral presentation of that research. More conceptual learning objectives include understanding how paintings and sculptures operate as historical artifacts that reveal current ideas on politics, religion, and society, and broader knowledge of the connections between and dissimilarities among different traditions of Asian art, architecture, literature, philosophies, and religious practices.

 

Books:

  • Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, trans. Royall Tyler (New York: Penguin Books, 2001)--required.
  • W. G. Archer, The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry (New York: Grove Press, 1960) —required. [Also available at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11924]
  • Zack Davisson, Yūrei: The Japanese Ghost (Seattle: Chin Music Press, 2015) —required.
  • Sylvan Barnet, ed., A Short Guide to Writing about Art, 11th ed. (New York: Longman, 2015)—recommended for students new to art history.

 

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

Aug. 30 (W).     Overview of course.

Sept. 1 (F).     Introduction to theories of narrative.

Sept. 6 (W).     Asian modes of organizing visual narratives.

Sept. 8 (F).       Asian modes of organizing visual narratives, cont.

  • Akiyama Terukazu, “Continuity and Discontinuity in the Pictorial Composition of Handscroll Painting,” trans. Juliann Wolfgram, Acta Asiatica 56 (1989): 24-45.

Sept. 13 (W).      Life of the historic Buddha in literature and art.

Sept. 15 (F).     Emblems, icons, and the life of the historic Buddha.

Sept. 20 (W).    How to research Asian art and write a longer research paper.

Sept. 22 (F).     Representations of jātaka tales at Indian stupas.

  • Āryaśūra, Once the Buddha Was a Monkey: Ārya Śūra’s Jātakamālā, trans. Peter Khoroche (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1989), xi-xix, 58–73, 178–192.
  • RESPONSE PAPER due.

Sept. 27 (W).    Representations of jātaka tales in Indian and Chinese cave murals.

  • Āryaśūra, Once the Buddha Was a Monkey, 5-17.
  • Schlingloff, Narrative Wall Paintings,6b-7a, 48b-50a.
  • RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL due.

Sept. 29 (F).     Goddess of the Luo River: the narrative.

  • Burton Watson, ed. and trans., The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984), 93-95, 116-121.
  • Hsio-yen Shih, “Poetry Illustration and the Works of Ku K’ai-chih,” in The Translation of Art: Essays on Chinese Painting and Poetry, ed. James C. Y. Watt (Hong Kong: Centre for Translation Projects, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1976), 6-29.

Oct. 4 (W).    Goddess of the Luo River: its political interpretations.

  • K. P. K. Whitaker, “Tsaur Jyr’s ‘Luohshern fuh,’” Asia Major, n.s. 4, no. 1 (1954): 36-56.

Oct. 6 (F).    Chinese women and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute.

[Oct. 7-10, Fall Recess ]

Oct. 11 (W).    Chinese women and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute, cont.

Oct. 13 (F).    Presentation workshop.

Oct. 18 (W).    The Tale of Genji in literature and art.

Oct. 20 (F).      PRESENTATIONS: The Tale of Genji in literature and art, cont.

  • Murasaki, The Tale of Genji, “Introduction,” plus chapters assigned individually.

Oct. 25 (W).    Japanese Buddhist tales: Miraculous Origins of Mt. Shigi.

Oct. 27 (F).    Japanese Buddhist tales: Miraculous Origins of Mt. Shigi, cont.

Nov. 1 (W).    Tales of Krishna’s life.

Nov. 3 (W).    Krishna in poetry and painting.

Nov. 8 (W).      Tao Yuanming and Chinese politics: The Peach Blossom Spring.

Nov. 10 (F).      The Peach Blossom Spring in Chinese art.

Nov. 15 (W).    Ghost stories and tales of demons in Edo Japan.

  • Davisson, Yūrei, 27–51, 87–97, 111–34, 171–73, 184–86, 196–99.

Nov. 17 (F).   Ghosts and demons in Japanese paintings and prints.

  • Brenda Jordan, “Yūrei: Tales of Female Ghosts,” in Stephen Addiss, ed., Japanese Ghosts & Demons: Art of the Supernatural (New York: George Braziller, 1985): 25–33.
  • Jamie Lillywhite and Akira Y. Yamamoto, “Snakes, Serpents, and Humans,” in Addiss, Japanese Ghosts & Demons, 139–53,

[Nov. 22-26, Thanksgiving Recess]

Nov. 29 (M).    Writing workshop.

Dec. 1 (F).      Writing workshop, cont.

Dec. 6 (W).      PRESENTATIONS: research project.

Dec. 8 (F).      PRESENTATIONS: research project, cont.; conclusions.

Dec. 12 (Tu).     RESEARCH PAPERS due, 11:30am.

 

 

Course requirements:

1.         Class participation (20%).  This includes regular and punctual attendance (see Attendance policy below) and participating in discussions in class or on the Canvas discussion board. I grade participation on a daily basis, as follows: check-plus-plus (95) for thoughtful commentary in class or on the discussion board that is analytical in nature or synthesizes material from readings and/or other classes; check-plus (85) for speaking up in class or on the discussion board on a topic relevant to the course material (even to ask a question or to answer one of my questions incorrectly); check (75) for showing up to class but not speaking; check-minus (65) for not paying attention or coming in late; zero (0) for not coming to class at all.

2.         Response papers (25%).  Throughout the semester you will write four 300-600-word papers responding to some of the assigned readings. More details to follow.

3.         Presentation (10%), Oct. 20.  This will be a presentation focusing on the narrative content of chapters of The Tale of Genji. More details to follow.

4.         Research project (45%), with final presentations and final paper due Dec. 6-12. This project includes a paper proposal, annotated bibliography, research worksheets, paper draft, short presentation, and finally a longer research paper (roughly 10-15 pages) on a narrative topic in Asian art. More details to follow.

 

Communications:
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, but please note that I regularly read e-mail only between 9:00am and 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).

 

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 (including celebration of a religious holiday, athletic participation, a field trip for a different course, or illness), I expect you to notify me as soon as possible—preferably in advance—and to turn in a one-page essay on the topics covered on the day of your absence, ideally within a week. Not doing so will directly impact your participation grade. If you are absent three times or more, you should be prepared for me to notify the Deans about your performance. I will be taking attendance regularly.

 

Format for written work:
Please follow these guidelines when you write your papers.

  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, and
    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.

You can submit written work via Canvas. Please upload a Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx), Rich Text Format file (.rtf), or a PDF file (.pdf): these are the only formats that Canvas will accept. Alternatively, you can turn in a stapled hard copy to me 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’ Principle of Academic Integrity and General Academic Regulations (http://www.hws.edu/catalogue/policies.aspx) and the Handbook of Community Standards (http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/pdf/community_standards.pdf), p. 15, 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, 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:
Grading:
Presentations and research project assignments will receive numerical grades. Class participation, discussion, response papers, and make-up written assignments will receive a check-plus-plus (95), check-plus (85), check (75), check-minus (65), 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 talk to me 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

 

 

A note about 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 12 departments, Study Mentors help you manage your time and responsibilities, Writing Fellows help you think well on paper, Q Fellows support you in courses that require math, 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 at http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/index.aspx.

The CTL resources of most use for this class include Teaching Fellows, Writing Fellows, and Study Mentors. CTL works with the Art & Architecture Department to offer one resource that will be essential to your learning in this course, the Art History Teaching Fellows. The Teaching Fellows are accomplished art history majors and minors who are paid to assist other students. They hold regular study hours Sunday–Thursday (I will post this term’s hours as soon as they are available). To get the most out of this resource, I recommend that all students in this course begin attending the Teaching Fellow hours next week and attend once or twice weekly (to study, to ask questions) throughout the semester.

 

Disability accommodations:
If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations, you should self-identify, provide appropriate documentation of your disability, and register for services with Disability Services at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Disability-related accommodations and services generally will not be provided until the registration and documentation process is complete. The guidelines for documenting disabilities can be found at the following website: http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/disability_services.aspx

Please direct questions about this process or Disability Services at HWS to Christen Davis, Coordinator of Disability Services, at ctl@hws.edu or x3351.

 

Websites:
There are two websites for this course: one at my homepage, http://people.hws.edu/blanchard/ARTH3406/; and one at Canvas, https://canvas.hws.edu/. This syllabus, paper assignments, and links to online resources for Asian art can be found at both. The Canvas site also has a course calendar, daily handouts, discussions, and an online gradebook; I plan to post presentations 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 relatively short Quick Reference Guides (https://community.canvaslms.com/community/answers/guides/canvas-guide/getting-started/pages/student), the more thorough Canvas Student Guide (https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10701), and—for visually oriented people—the Video Guide (https://community.canvaslms.com/community/answers/guides/video-guide). Alternatively, contact the Help Desk of Instructional Technology at x4357 or helpdesk@hws.edu. The Help Desk is located in the Library on the first floor in the Rosensweig Learning Commons and is staffed by students as follows: until 1:00am Sunday through Thursday, and until 11:00pm on Friday and Saturday.