Faculty Syllabus

This course examines art appreciation in contemporary society with a particular emphasis on digital media and how it is used to create, transmit, store, and view art. This class will examine how digital technology and unlimited access have changed how society perceives, appreciates, and creates art.

Online classes require more than the standard classroom hours to be successful.

Please be prepared to read, discuss, and submit assignments on time. This can require about 10-15 hours a week in an accelerated course.  

Please be prepared and communicate if you are having trouble keeping up with the readings and assignments.

This class is NOT self-paced. The due dates correspond to Modules, and some assignments require peer interaction.

Please refer to the Course Calendar for more information and the Late Work policy for guidance.

An introductory course designed to enhance a student's understanding and appreciation of the modes of communicating ideas and emotions through the visual and performing arts.

There are no course prerequisites for The Arts in Contemporary Society. A passing score or the equivalent on the writing and reading portions of the TSI is required.

There is a Course Calendar with WEEKLY DISCUSSIONS and ASSIGNMENTS.

Participation in online discussions and completion of assignments by the posted due date is imperative to success in this course.

GRADING SYSTEM

Blackboard posts an automatic grade based on points; this is NOT CORRECT.

This class uses weighted grades. There is a Current Grade Column under Grades.  Please use this letter grade to track your progress.

This is how your grades are weighted:

Orientation, Discussions, Media Share  30%

What Do You Find Beautiful Visual Project: 20%

Experience Art Field Work Project: 25%

Future of Art Visual Essay Project: 20%

Reflective Course Essay: 5%

REQUIRED TEXT

Freeland, Cynthia. But Is It Art? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

All other readings will be cultivated from online sources and articles will be added according to relevance and current events. All other required articles will be made available through Blackboard. 

Topic Description: Aesthetics in the Digital Age

This course examines art appreciation in contemporary society with a special emphasis on digital media and how it is used to create, transmit, store and view art. This course also provides students with an overview of aesthetics as it applies to the visual arts and investigates the methods by which humans create, experience, and evaluate the fine arts. 

Aesthetic, for the purpose of this class, is experiencing something that makes you feel connected to something larger than yourself. The Internet and Social media have made the monolithic catalog of human artistic expression readily available and easily accessible. This class will examine how digital technology and unlimited access have changed the way society perceives, appreciates, and creates art. 

Course Objectives/Outcomes

As a result of having taken this course:

1. Students will be able to identify a variety of significant contemporary works of art from around the world.
2. Students will demonstrate the ability to associate works of art with their cultural context.
3. Students will be able to discuss the relationship between the arts and human nature and values.
4. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between intercultural experience and the arts.
5. Students will demonstrate an understanding of aesthetics in a contemporary framework.
6. Students will demonstrate an understanding of technology and digital media and how it impacts the arts and humanities.

The use of GAI, or generative AI, which is software that produces text for you based on prompts, is not acceptable as a replacement for written assignments. You need to write your essays and assignments.. Can you improve them? Yes. Do you need to? No. This is an introductory class. Your writing is fine; trust yourself to write, and let me figure out what you mean. My assignments are designed to help you craft your academic voice through personal projects. Your opinion is what I want, not AI’s. See Syllabus Addendum for how AI-generated content can backfire and how easy it is to spot.

• Rationale- AI use is a growing requirement in the job market. We will use some AI tools in this class. I encourage you to use AI to generate ideas and find information, but be sure to double-check. AI hallucinates sources, misrepresents facts, and combines disparate topics. It is a skill to use it properly.
• Definition of GAI- Software that produces text for you based on prompts. (i.e., Chat GPT 1-5, Claude, Gemini, Co-pilot, Perplexity, Grammarly (generative), Abode, Alexa, Siri, Google AI summaries)
• Resources- Google Docs Assistive AI, and Grammarly Assistive AI.
• Assessment- None
• Penalties- DO NOT submit AI-generated text for a grade. It will be marked as a zero, and you will be asked to resubmit with a 20% penalty.
• Exceptions- Assistive AI and AI use for the generation of ideas and sources.
• Usage Permissions –
  • Prohibited- DO NOT submit AI-generated text for a grade. It will be marked as a zero, and you will be asked to resubmit.
  • Permitted - You may use AI to generate ideas, sources, and to edit/revise your own written work.  

Required- None