Millsaps College :: Department of Art

SYLLABUS. Art 3770 (01). Junior Art History Seminar: Pre-Raphaelite Art
Fall 2002: TTh 10:00-11:15, W 12:00-12:50
Dr. Elise Smith (smithel@millsaps.edu)
AC 323 - 974-1432 (o); 354-2290 (h)(not after 10:30, please)
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-10:45, T 2:00-3:00, or by appointment or happenstance

Course Description: This course is designed as an upper-level seminar for any student who has had at least one previous art history course. The modified seminar format will require considerable reading and research. Active participation through class discussions and presentations will be central to the success of the course. The subject for this year's seminar is the art of the Pre-Raphaelites in 19th-century England, with a focus on Rossetti, Hunt, and Millais as well as later (or second-generation) Pre-Raphaelites such as Burne-Jones and De Morgan. Other women artists related to the movement, including Siddal, Cameron, Brickdale, and Spartali) will also be important as we strengthen our understanding of the period.

Texts: Barringer, Tim. Reading the Pre-Raphaelites. New Haven: Yale UP, 1999.
Marsh, Jan and Pamela Gerrish Nunn. Pre-Raphaelite Women Artists. Manchester: Manchester City Art Galleries, 1997.
Course Reader

Class Attendance and Participation: Regular class attendance is crucial since we'll be looking at various works of art that aren't illustrated in our texts, and we'll also be discussing points that aren't covered in either of our texts. I believe very strongly that your participation is essential to the learning process, plus it makes the class more fun for all of us, so I encourage everyone to ask questions, comment, disagree, elaborate, and otherwise join in the conversation with me.
Absences for whatever reason after the first two will adversely affect your final grade. I will count off one point from your final grade for each absence after the first two. If you are absent for an extended excused illness or family emergency or school sports, you may be able to make up those absences by doing additional writing assignments (it will be your responsibility to consult with me about this if the need arises).

Grades: Each of you will be evaluated on the basis of the following components of the course:
Participation in & leadership of discussion 10%
Reading responses 20%
Oral presentation 30%
Research paper (12-15 pp.) 40%

Oral Components of the Course: You will be a discussion leader once during the semester, for one of the texts in the Course Reader. As discussion leader you should prepare a handout to be distributed to each member of the class. In addition, you'll give an oral presentation (about 20 minutes in length) at the end of the semester, based on your research paper. For this, too, you should have a handout prepared for the class.

Reading Responses: During the course of the semester you'll be reading about 15 short texts (articles or book chapters) in addition to our two books. One-page responses to these short texts (in paragraph rather than outline form) should be brought to the class session for which the reading has been assigned. You should not try to summarize the reading, but should instead choose a particular key issue or idea about which to write. By the end of the semester you should have turned in 12 responses (thus you may choose two to miss, with no penalty).

Research Paper: Your paper should be narrowly focused around a clearly expressed and meaningful argument related to some aspect of Pre-Raphaelite art. Your thesis should be the result of substantial research, which will undoubtedly involve the use of interlibrary loan. Use MLA documentation, and build a bibliography that includes at least five specialized scholarly books and at least two relevant scholarly articles. For more information, see the handout "Tips for Writing Art History Papers" (ask me for a copy if you don't already have one).
Key Due Dates: T, 9/10 - Paper topic & preliminary bibliography
T, 9/24 - Preliminary bibliography with ILL requests
F, 10/11 - First draft
W, 10/16 - Peer responses
F, 11/15 - Second draft
M, 12/2 - Seniors' third draft due to all art faculty

Late Assignments: Late reading responses will not be accepted. Any other written assignment turned in late will be marked down 1/3 letter grade for each 24 hours that it's late unless prior arrangements are made (a serious, legitimate, justifiable reason is needed for me to consider granting a student extra time).

Learning Disabilities: If you have a learning disability and need special arrangements you must discuss it with Sherryl Wilburn (SC 307) and each of your instructors. In order for me to be able to accommodate your needs you must inform me within the first week of the semester.

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If you're having problems of any sort that are affecting your work in this course or as a student at Millsaps, please feel free to come talk to me about it, or write me an e-mail message.

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PLAGIARISM - A Reminder

Always be careful about plagiarism, even in short writing exercises and take-home exams. Plagiarism, as you know from Liberal Studies and/or your other core courses, is the use of another person's ideas or words without proper acknowledgement.

Two of the most common forms of plagiarism are defined by Diana Hacker in The Bedford Handbook for Writers (Boston: St. Martin's, 1994) as
"(1) borrowing someone's ideas, information, or language without documenting the source and
(2) documenting the source but paraphrasing the source's language too closely, without using quotation marks to indicate that language has been borrowed" (477).

When should you document a source? In addition to citing the source of a direct quote, you should give a citation when you refer to an idea, opinion, hypothesis, or conclusion from one of your sources, or when you summarize or paraphrase a section of your source, or when you rely on one of your sources for a fact that would not be considered common knowledge for the audience of your paper (Hacker 477-78). The point of all this is to help the reader (and yourself as writer) to distinguish between your own ideas and those with whom you are entering into scholarly conversation.

What is meant by paraphrasing a source too closely? This is probably the kind of plagiarism that I most often see in student papers. It has often been considered "unintentional", but is nonetheless clearly recognizable as plagiarism. With the Honor Code now in place at Millsaps, and with a concerted effort being made by faculty and students alike to clarify the boundaries of academic dishonesty, you will no longer be able to plead lack of understanding but will be turned in to the Honor Council. If you're uncertain about plagiarism, I encourage you to read Hacker, pp. 467-79, on the process of taking notes in order to properly paraphrase your sources and on constructing and writing your essay in order to maintain a strong, clear voice.

You should be aware of the use and acknowledgement of your sources at all levels, from defining your thesis to organizing your ideas to writing individual sentences. Here is an exercise to help you think about plagiarism at the sentence level, excerpted from Hacker, pp. 478-79:

Which of the following, if any, are plagiarized from the original sentence, and which, if any, are acceptable? Put a "P" by what you consider a plagiarized sentence, and an "A" by what you consider an acceptable sentence.

Original version: "If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviorists." Davis, Eloquent Animals, p. 26

a) The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and startled animal behaviorists (Davis 26).
b) If the presence of a sign-language-using chimp was disturbing for scientists studying language, it was also surprising to scientists studying animal behavior (Davis 26).
c) According to Flora Davis, linguists and animal behaviorists were unprepared for the news that a chimp could communicate with its trainers through sign language (26).
d) When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise.
e) When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise (Davis 26).

Answers Acceptable paraphrasing and documentation: c, e
Acceptable paraphrasing, but no documentation: d
Unacceptable paraphrasing (words and/or sentence structure borrowed too closely): a, b
Source Cited:
Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook for Writers. Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1994.
HONOR CODE: The honor pledge signed by all students upon entering the College is as follows:
As a Millsaps College student, I hereby affirm that I understand the Honor Code and am aware of its implications and of my responsibility to the Code. In the interests of expanding the atmosphere of respect and trust in the College, I promise to uphold the Honor Code and I will not tolerate dishonest behavior in myself or in others.

Please pledge all your written work for this class with the written pledge: "I hereby certify that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment [Signature]." The abbreviation "Pledged" followed by your signature has the same meaning and is acceptable on assignments other than final exams.

Course Calendar:

Week 1

Th, 8/29 The Victorian Age
Sign up for a Discussion-Leader topic before Tuesday (sign-up sheet on my office door)

T, 9/3 Introduction to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
READ: Barringer, Intro. & Ch. 1; Reader: "The Beginnings: 1848- 1859, Letters, Diaries and Reflections" and "Reactions," An Anthology of Pre-Raphaelite Writings, ed. Carolyn Hares- Stryker (NY: New York UP, 1997), 36-64, 99-107

W, 9/4 Discussion of graduate school & careers

Th, 9/5 Rossetti's Girlhood of Mary Virgin
READ: Reader: Lynne Pearce, Woman Image Text: Readings in Pre-Raphaelite Art and Literature (Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1991), Ch. 1: "The Virgin: Solid Frames"

T, 9/10 DUE: Paper topic & preliminary bibliography

Th, 9/12 Millais's Isabella
READ: Reader: Pearce, Ch. 5: "Isabella: Sharp Differences"

4

T, 9/17 Millais's Ophelia & Ruskin
READ: Barringer, Ch. 2

W, 9/18 Discussion of research techniques

Th, 9/19 Millais, cont'd.

T, 9/24 Rosa Brett & Anna Howitt
READ: Marsh & Nunn, 10-98 (and relevant catalog entries throughout the semester)
DUE: Preliminary bibliography including ILL requests

W, 9/25 Discussion of methodology & theory
READ: 1) Reader: Marcia Pointon, History of Art: A Student's Handbook (4th ed.; London: Routledge, 1997), Ch. 4, "The Language of Art History," 80-100;
2) Reader: Laurie Schneider Adams, The Methodologies of Art: An Introduction (NY: HarperCollins, 1996), 133-61

Th, 9/26 Elizabeth Siddal
READ: Reader: Griselda Pollock, "Woman as sign in Pre- Raphaelite literature: the representation of Elizabeth Siddall," in Vision and Difference: Femininity, Feminism and the Histories of Art (London: Routledge, 1988), 91- 114

6

T, 10/1 Morris's Queen Guenevere
READ: Reader: Pearce, Ch. 7: "Guenevere: Emergent Heroines"

Th, 10/3 Other Arthurian & Medieval Images

T, 10/8 Millais's Mariana
READ: Reader: Pearce, Ch. 3: "Mariana: Gorgeous Surfaces"

W, 10/9 Discussion of your resumé or CV (curriculum vitae)

Th, 10/10 Hunt's Awakening Conscience & Rossetti's Found
READ: Barringer, Ch. 3; Reader: Kate Flint, "Reading The Awakening Conscience rightly," Pre-Raphaelites re-viewed, ed. M. Pointon (Manchester: Manchester UP, 1989), 45-65; and Rossetti, "Found," in An Anthology of Pre-Raphaelite Writings

F, 10/11 DUE by noon in my office & in peer readers' P.O. boxes: First draft of research paper

T, 10/15 The 'Fallen Woman', cont'd.

W, 10/16 Writing Workshop
DUE: Peer responses

Th, 10/17 Hunt & Religious Imagery
READ: Barringer, Ch. 4; Reader: Marcia Pointon, "The artist as ethnographer: Holman Hunt and the Holy Land," Pre- Raphaelites re-viewed, 22-44

T, 10/22 Fall Break

Th, 10/24 No Class: I'll be at the Southeastern College Art Conference

T, 10/29 Rossetti
READ: Barringer, Ch. 5; Reader: Pollock, "Woman as sign: psychoanalytic readings," Vision and Difference, 120-54; D. G. Rossetti, "Astarte Syriaca," "Proserpina," "The Portrait," "Soul's Beauty," "Body's Beauty," and Christina Rossetti, "In an Artist's Studio," in an Anthology of Pre- Raphaelite Writings

W, 10/30 Discussion of methodology & theory
READ: Reader: Adams, The Methodologies of Art: Chs. 9-10, 179-210

Th, 10/31 Rossetti's Beata Beatrix
READ: Reader: Pearce, Ch. 2: "Beatrice: Hazy Outlines"; Rossetti, "The Blessed Damozel," An Anthology of Pre-Raphaelite Writings

T, 11/5 Cameron & Spartali

Th, 11/7 Hunt's Lady of Shalott
READ: Reader: Pearce, Ch. 4: "The Lady of Shalott: Cracks in the Mirror"

12

T, 11/12 Burne-Jones's Laus Veneris
READ: Reader: Pearce, Ch. 8: "Venus: Pyrrhic Victory"

Th, 11/14 Burne-Jones
READ: Reader: Larry D. Lutchmansingh, "Fantasy and arrested desire in Edward Burne-Jones's Briar-rose series," Pre- Raphaelites re-viewed, 123-39

F, 11/15 DUE by noon: Research paper (including all reader comments)

T, 11/19 De Morgan
READ: Reader: Elise L. Smith, "Evelyn Pickering De Morgan's Allegories of Imprisonment," Victorian Literature and Culture (1997): 293-317

Th, 11/21 De Morgan
READ: Reader: Elise L. Smith, "Myth as Spiritual Allegory in the Art of Evelyn De Morgan," The Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies (Fall 1998): 53-73

T, 11/26 Stillman, Brickdale, Bunce

15

T-Th, 12/3-5 Oral Presentations