HONS 1304 "Landscapes"

Instructor: Dr. Susan Tomlinson


McClellan Hall 201B

Office Hours: MW 1:00-4, or by appointment

742-0036 ext 239

susan.tomlinson@ttu.edu

Teaching blog: http://doctortteaching.blogspot.com/



MATERIALS REQUIRED:

drawing kit available from Varsity Bookstore

course reading packet available from Copytech



Course Description:



What is a landscape? How do landscapes shape us, and how do we shape them? This course explores these questions by looking at the many different landscapes around us (“wilderness,” parks, gardens, farms, cemeteries, food…) and their meanings through reading, discussion, writing, and art. Students will also study and think about landscapes through painting and drawing, and create landscape journals using book- and journal-making techniques. Students do not need artistic “talent” to benefit from this course, only a willingness to explore and work hard. This course includes required field trips around Lubbock. Students must have access to a bicycle. This course is reading and writing intensive.

This course satisfies the Texas Tech University core curriculum requirement in the visual and performing arts.

This course will cover three broadly-defined “Landscape” topics:

• Neighborhoods (the garage, homes, third places, main street, etc.)

• Nature (gardens, cemeteries, “wilderness,” the mall, etc.)

• Food (markets, farms, backyard gardens, kitchens, the table, etc.)



Readings will include works from:

John Stilgoe (Outside Lies Magic)

Ray Oldenburg (The Great Good Place)

William Cronon (Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature)

Virginia Scott Jenkins (The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession)

Jennifer Price (Flight Maps: Adventures with Nature in Modern America)

Michael Pollan (Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education)

Barbara Kingsolver (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life)

Amy Stewart (From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden)



Visual and Performing Arts Core Curriculum Objectives (TTU Catalog)



The objective of the visual and performing arts in a core curriculum is to expand the student’s knowledge of the human condition and human cultures, especially in relation to behaviors, ideas, and values expressed in works of human imagination and thought. Through study in disciplines such as the visual and performing arts, students will engage in critical analysis, form aesthetic judgments, and develop an appreciation for arts as fundamental to the health and survival of any society.



Competency Statement:

Students graduating from Texas Tech University should be able to: construct, present, and defend critical and aesthetic judgments of works in the creative arts.



Expected learning outcomes for this course are:

1) Identify and describe a body of works (individually and collectively) in the creative arts.

2) Explain and differentiate creative works as expressions of values within cultural and historical contexts.

3) Analyze and summarize aesthetic principles that structure creative works.

Learning Outcomes Assessment Methods

1) Identify and describe a body of works (individually and collectively) in the creative arts. 1) discussion-directed journal entries

2) mid-term and final papers/projects

3) short analysis papers

2) Explain and differentiate creative works as expressions of values within cultural and historical contexts. 1) discussion-directed journal entries

2) mid-term and final papers/projects

3)short analysis papers

3) Analyze and summarize aesthetic principles that structure creative works. 1) discussion-directed journal entries

2) mid-term and final papers/projects

3) short analysis papers

4)Demonstrate drawing basics such as: perspective, proportion, tonal value Drawing, paintings, and journal entries

5)Draw organisms in various formats (i.e., botanical illustration, field guide pages, ecological study) Drawings and paintings











Further explanation of expected learning outcomes:



Painting and drawing offer the World Observer (that would be you) an opportunity to slow down and examine the landscape carefully. Although “talent” is not a requirement for this class, given a little coaching and patient practice, most people are capable of a decent drawing or painting. Accordingly, I expect to see honest effort and demonstrable improvement in skills over the course of the semester.



• Students should learn to examine “landscapes” in a cultural context

o Students should be able to answer the following questions by the end of the semester:

 what are landscapes?

 how are they shape by human interaction?

 how does the physical environment shape human culture?

 what does the manner in which landscapes are depicted reveal about culture?

o Students should be able to make an aesthetic argument about a landscape by the end of the semester



Methods for assessing this expected learning outcome: weekly journal entries (drawings and paintings; discussion-directed writing); midterm and final papers



Students in this class are expected to master the ability to examine both landscapes and their artistic depiction and develop an original argument regarding their influence on culture and vice versa. Students will be expected to present these arguments through cogent discussion and writing.



 Students should develop an appreciation and their own understanding of different local “landscapes” by the end of the semester (and be able to draw and paint them)



 Students should master the art of observation



Methods for assessing this expected learning outcome: weekly journal entries (drawings and paintings; discussion-directed writing); midterm and final papers







Grading:



There will be a midterm and final writing project in this class that reflect the reading material and discussions covered in the class.



Students will also be given weekly assignments (read: homework!) that consist of journal assignments.



In the event that you must miss class for an unavoidable reason, please notify me immediately. A penalty will be assessed accordingly in the form of points deducted from that weekly grade.





Weekly assignments (cumulative) 50%

Exams 25% (each)





Project Due Dates:



Midterm project due: March 23

Final project due: May 8, 4:30 PM



Other Information:

You can expect to walk and sit/stand outside in any given class period. Please pay attention to the weather report and dress accordingly. We will go outside REGARDLESS OF WEATHER. We will walk and sit in rain, snow, sleet, dust, wind, and sunshine. Landscapes don’t occur only in fair weather. I’m not kidding. Ask any of my former students whether I’m serious about this. You can call me names when you’re sitting there in the snow in your shorts and T-shirt, but it’s your bad, because you were warned.



You might also consider bringing sunscreen, bug repellent and a Crazy-Creek-type ground cushion for sitting.



We also occasionally will take mini-field trips during the class period (to coffee houses, cemeteries, supermarkets, etc.). Transportation will be arranged in the class meeting prior to the class in which the trip will occur. Some of these field trips will be made by bicycle, so it is imperative that you have access to a working bike. Bikes can be rented for a very reasonable fee from the Outdoor Pursuits Center (OPC). Also, be aware that the TTU Credit Union now offers a $500 interest free loan toward the purchase of a bicycle. Other trips will require transportation by car, so for students mooching rides off your generous classmates, please express your appreciation by contributing gas money, a cup of coffee, the Enchilada Special, etc.



Finally: PLEASE wear a helmet. Though we will take all precautions when we are riding our bikes, nobody ever plans to have an accident.



NOTE: Please check the teaching blog before class each week for assignments and to note the location where we will meet: http://doctortteaching.blogspot.com/



Accommodation for Disabled Students:



Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the

course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary

arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor’s office hours. Please note instructors are not allowed to provide

classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability

Services has been provided. For additional information, you may contact the Student Disability

Services office at 335 West Hall or 806-742-2405.



Student Absence for Observation of Religious Holy Days



A student who is absent from classes for the observation of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence if, not later than the fifteenth day after the first day of the semester, the student had notified the instructor of each scheduled class that the student would be absent for a religious holy day.



Academic Integrity (TTU O.P. 34.12)



Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, misrepresenting facts, and any act designed to give unfair academic advantage to the student or the attempt to commit such an act. The university definitions of academic dishonesty and policies for dealing with it are laid out in the Code of Student Affairs and in University Operating Policy 34.12. You should be familiar with these definitions.



Cheating of any form, but especially plagiarism (i.e., the representation of someone else’s work or ideas as your own) will be dealt with harshly. At a minimum, the offending essay will receive a grade of 0, which will be averaged into your overall grade. Flagrant or repeated cases of plagiarism may result in a grade of F for the course. All cases of cheating will be reported to the appropriate academic dean and to the Honors College dean, who may take additional disciplinary action as they see fit.