This course is an introduction to contemporary visual culture and art history. It will examine modern art movements and the impact of new technologies on art. Students will learn to identify artworks by style, artist, and historical context. They will expand their art vocabulary and compare different works. The course involves class lectures, activities, exams, a research project, and attendance at a cultural event. Students will be evaluated based on participation, assignments, the research project, exams, and attending an approved cultural event with a written response. The syllabus provides the weekly schedule, assignment due dates, and policies on submissions, late work, academic honesty, technology use, and students with disabilities.

1. Art AppreciationProfessor Will Adams • wadams5@valenciacollege.edu
Osceola Campus – Building 1, Room 232 • Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:00 – 11:15 AM
Course Description
This course serves as an introduction to contemporary visual culture, its current controversies and its
historical roots. The avant-garde movements of the modern period and the impact of new technologies
and media will be examined within a rich historical context. Topics will include international exhibitions,
selling art, art and popular culture, censorship, and the relation between words and images.
Course Objectives
▪ Identify works of art by style, artist, period, and medium.
▪ Place artworks within social and historical context.
▪ Expand art vocabulary, including architectural terms.
▪ Identify architectural elements in conjunction with specific cultural developments.
▪ Compare and contrast various works of art.
▪ Understand a historical timeline and its relationship to the art of the time.
Required Text
Mark Getlein’s Living With Art
Student Evaluation Formula
1. Attendance & Class Participation 10%
▪ Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting, and count as part of the at-
tendance & participation grade.
▪ The professor should hear each student’s voice at least once per class meeting.
▪ Please be aware that, under Valencia’s Attendance Policy, there is no such thing as an “excused
absence”.
2. In-Class Assignments, Activities, & Homework 15%
▪ Throughout the term, we will have various in-class assignments and activities.
▪ Additionally, homework will be assigned to deepen understanding of in-class discussions.
3. Cultural Event with Written Evaluation 15%
▪ You will be required to attend one cultural event throughout the class’s duration.

2. ▪ A two-page “reaction” (i.e. non-research) paper is required. Be sure to answer the following
questions: What did I do? What did I think of it? What did I learn?
▪ Proof of attendance at said event must be furnished (i.e. ticket stub, program, souvenir, etc).
▪ The instructor throughout the class’s duration may suggest various events to you, but it is ulti-
mately your own responsibility to find and attend an approved cultural event.
4. Research Project 25%
▪ One 4-page written research project is required.
▪ Proper MLA style citation should be used for all written assignments.
▪ One draft may be turned in for the professor’s perusal two weeks prior to the due date.
▪ Plagiarism = A grade of zero. No exceptions.
▪ Wikipedia = A grade of zero. No exceptions.
▪ All research projects should be stapled or bound by the student
▪ A detailed research project description will be distributed at a later date.
5. Examinations 35%
▪ Four long-form examinations will be administered.
▪ Examinations will not be cumulative in their subject matter.
▪ Study guides will be provided for exams.
Grading Scale
100 – 90% = A
89 – 80% = B
79 – 70% = C
69 – 60% = D
59 – 0% = F
Weekly Schedule & Due Dates
Date Task
Tuesday, August 28 Activity: Introduce class, distribute & discuss syllabus
Thursday, August 30
Lecture: Paleolithic cave art
Activity: Cave painting
Tuesday, September 4
Lecture: Egyptian Embalming & funerary architecture
Homework Assigned: Sarcophagus Lid
Thursday, September 6 Lecture: The Cycladic & Minoan Civilizations
Tuesday, September 11
Lecture: Classical Greek Architecture
Homework Assigned: Architectural Sketch
Thursday, September 13
EXAM #1
Homework Due: Architectural Sketch
Tuesday, September 18
Lecture: Etruscan Art & Architecture
Activity: Tufa Carving
Thursday, September 20 Lecture: Early Roman Art & Architecture: Part I
Tuesday, September 25 Lecture: Early Roman Art & Architecture: Part II
Thursday, September 27 Lecture: Pompeii: Roman Time Capsule

3. Tuesday, October 2 RESEARCH PROJECTS ASSIGNED & LIBRARY VISIT
Thursday, October 4 Film: Pompeii
Tuesday, October 9 Film: Pompeii, Cont’d
Thursday, October 11 Lecture: Romanesque & Gothic Art & Architecture
Tuesday, October 16
EXAM #2
Film: Modern Marvels: Gothic Cathedrals
Thursday, October 18 Lecture: Rebirth: The Italian Renaissance
Tuesday, October 23
Lecture: Fooling the Eye: Brunelleschi, Alberti & Linear Perspective
Activity: Drawing in Two-Point Perspective
Homework Assigned: Perspective City Block
Thursday, October 25
Lecture: The Northern Renaissance
Homework Due: Perspective City Block
Tuesday, October 30
Lecture: The Noble Stillness: Baroque Still-Life Painting
Homework Assigned: Baroque Vanitas Still-Life
Thursday, November 1
Lecture: The Art of Romanticism
Homework Due: Baroque Vanitas Still-Life
Tuesday, November 6 Lecture: The Art of Impressionism
Thursday, November 8
Lecture: The Wildness of the Fauves
Activity: Fauvist Painting: B&W -> Color
Tuesday, November 13 EXAM #3
Thursday, November 15 Lecture: Pablo Picasso & Cubism
Tuesday, November 20 Lecture: The Scene Inside: Abstract Expressionism
Thursday, November 22 NO CLASS – Thanksgiving Holiday
Tuesday, November 27 RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Thursday, November 29
Lecture: Pop! Goes the World
Homework Assigned: Endangered Species Pop Art
Tuesday, December 4
Lecture: A Delicate Balance: The Work of Frank Lloyd Wright
Activity: Cantilevering Group Exercise
Homework Due: Endangered Species Pop Art
Thursday, December 6
CULTURAL EVENT DUE
FINAL EXAM – 10:00 AM
Submission Guidelines
All written submissions should be set in Arial 12-point font, with double spacing and standard 1” page
margins, and submitted as either .docx or .pdf format. Additionally, each submission should begin with
the following header, placed at the top, left side of the first page:
Your First & Last Name
ARH1000 – 10:00 AM
Prof. Will Adams
Assignment Due Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

4. Finally, minimum page totals for any written assignment require that the written page be filled in its
entirety to count as one page. In other words, if a written assignment requires 2 pages, but the student
only writes 1.5, the student will not earn all possible points for the assignment.
Late Work Policy
No late work will be accepted without the instructor’s explicit consent.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism is intellectual theft and will not be tolerated. Presentation of the ideas and words of others
as if they are your own work constitutes plagiarism. This includes use of material from books, the inter-
net or any other source. The student is expected to perform his or her own research and present his or
her own thoughts. Direct use of another author’s words or ideas, as well as paraphrasing must be cited.
Plagiarism in any work will result in a grade of zero for that assignment.
Technology Use Policy
Use of computers in the Business, IT, and Public Service classrooms is restricted to those activities des-
ignated by the instructor to enhance the class materials. Any other use is strictly forbidden. Inappropri-
ate use includes, but is not limited to:
• Use of computer to send E-mail or access Internet sites not specifically assigned in class.
• Use of computer for job, internship, homework or other activities not assigned in class.
• Modifying any hardware or software system configuration or setting.
• Activities not in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct
• Use of computers in the departmental open lab is limited to those activities involved with pre-
paring homework or coursework in this department and is subject to the same restriction as
listed above.
Computer use is remotely monitored; any student using computers inappropriately may be subject to
dismissal from class or banishment from the lab. Subsequent offense may be sent to the campus ad-
ministration for further disciplinary action.
Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities who qualify for academic accommodations must provide a notification from
the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) and discuss specific needs with the professor, preferably
during the first two weeks of class. The Office for Students with Disabilities determines accommoda-
tions based on appropriate documentation of disabilities.
Disclaimer
This outline may be altered, at the instructor’s discretion, during the course of the term. It is the respon-
sibility of the student to make any adjustments as announced.