Course Syllabus
Please set aside some time to review the entire syllabus below as it contains important information on course materials, assignments, grading, resources, and policies. In order to succeed in this class, you must familiarize yourself with the syllabus.
Course Description
This introductory art appreciation course surveys global artistic styles, including European, African, Asian, Oceanic, and American, from 1500 C.E. through contemporary times. The course focuses on the development, diversity, and interaction of art and cultural traditions and emphasizes comparisons of western and non-western visual expression as a reflection of differing cultural perspectives.
Student Learning Outcomes
Course Materials
There are no required textbooks or materials for this class! This class is an "Open Educational Resources" class, meaning that all course materials will be provided in the course. I have carefully selected top-notch, free, online resources for you to use in lieu of a textbook.
Go ahead and start a travel fund with the money you saved from not having to buy another textbook :)
Class Meetings
100% online and asynchronous, meaning that there are no required Zoom meetings at designated times. You will watch the lecture videos at your convenience as long as you do it before the weekly deadlines posted in the schedule at the very end of this syllabus.
Instructor Announcements & Emails
I will post announcements throughout the semester using the Canvas Announcement feature. Students are expected to read ALL instructor announcements and will be held responsible for the content of those announcements.
I will also send reminder messages that will appear in your Canvas Inbox to help keep you on track and to check in on your progress. Just please remember that reminders are a courtesy rather than an expectation. Make sure that you set in place your own personal reminders for upcoming deadlines, as well.
Canvas notifies students of instructor announcements and messages according to each student's preferred Notification Preferences. So, please set up your notifications to get these announcements in the way you prefer (email or text or both).
Instructor Contact
The best and quickest way to reach me is by using Canvas Inbox (see Inbox icon on the far-left menu). Please email me ONLY via Canvas Inbox for all course related issues. I respond within 24-48 hours to emails from 9 am through 5 pm except on weekends and holidays. You may address me as Prof. Saleh or Dr. Saleh :)
For information on how to use the Canvas Inbox feature to email your instructor, TAs, PALS, Librarians, and classmates, consult this guide.
I will also experiment with the brand-new Pronto messaging tool. It can be accessed in Canvas by clicking on the Pronto icon on the left side of Canvas or by downloading the Pronto app to your mobile phone and logging in via your SRJC email. This is a real-time communication tool that allows you to "text" me and/or the support team time-sensitive questions. I will be monitoring Pronto to answer your questions via direct message Monday - Friday from 9am to 5pm. As with all communication in the course, I expect you to behave appropriately and treat myself, the support team, and your fellow students with respect while using Pronto an accordance with SRJC's student conduct policies.
Office Hours
We want to be available for you when you need us most. So, please email me and/or your support team in Canvas to schedule a mutually convenient time for you and me to either chat or video-conference using the BigBlueButton (see link in the left drop-down course menu). Same day appointments are welcome, and we will do our best to accommodate your schedule.
I'm available to meet with you online MTWTh from 10am-4pm and in-person on Mondays from 10:30am-12pm on the Santa Rosa campus in the Art Gallery (ground floor of Doyle Library across from the Tutorial Center). Same day appointments are welcome and appointments outside this time-frame may be arranged if necessary. I'm here to support you, so let's find a convenient time to meet, chat, or video-conference!
Support Team Contact
We're grateful to have a support team in this class, which includes TAs, PALS, Teaching Fellows, and Librarians that you can reach out to in addition to myself. Please contact our outstanding support team via Canvas email in the same way you contact the instructor (see link to guide above). They're knowledgeable, experienced, friendly, and here to support YOU and to ensure that you have a productive and successful semester.
This semester, your support team includes:
TAs (Teaching Assistants): Amanda Liszewski and Alexandra Egland
TF (Teaching Fellow): Bianca Draffen
PALS (Peer Assisted Learning Specialist): Sofia Foster
Librarians: Loretta Esparza & Phyllis Usina
We host virtual office hours throughout the week where we can "meet" using the BigBlueButton (see link on the left). We're here to answer all your course related questions. If none of the posted times work for you, please send the instructor and/or any of the TAs or PALS a message via the Canvas Inbox or Pronto to request a time to chat or video-conference. We always appreciate seeing you, so please consider turning on your cameras. We also understand if you can't or don't want to, so do what works best for you... Same day appointments are possible for M-F, so please don't hesitate to ask. Just make sure to always offer at least 3 times that work best for you, and we'll do our best to accommodate your schedule. We look forward to supporting YOU!
Standards of Conduct
Students are required to abide by the SRJC Student Conduct Code and Academic Integrity Policy:
SRJC's statement on Academic Integrity
Violation of these standards is basis for referral to the Vice President of Student Services or dismissal from class or College.
Collaborating on or copying of quizzes, papers, extra credit, discussion posts in whole or in part will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and result in a grade of 0 for that assignment. Receiving a 0 on any assignment in this class for any reason makes you ineligible to submit extra credit work at the end of the semester.
Acts of academic dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Cheating: Any act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work through the use of dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means.
- Plagiarism: Any act of submitting the work of another, in whole or in part, as one’s own without properly referencing the source. This includes use of direct quotations, paraphrases, ideas and facts which are not common knowledge, whether the sources are published or unpublished.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): The use of any AI tools is not permitted in this class. Representing work created by AI as your own is plagiarism and will be prosecuted as such.
- Collusion: Any act where a student knowingly or intentionally helps or is helped by another student(s) to commit an act of academic dishonesty.
- Other Academic Misconduct: Any act such as stealing, altering grades, forging, sabotaging the work of others, lying or any other acts of academic dishonesty as deemed by instructor.
Consult this link on Plagiarism:
UCLA Best Practices for Avoiding Plagiarism
Acknowledgement of Diverse Course Content
Each of us identifies in multiple ways, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, language, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, health, age, religion, culture, socio-economic status, political affiliation, veteran status, etc... And each of these diverse identities, along with many others not mentioned here, shape the perspectives our students, faculty, and staff bring to our campus. At SRJC, we work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion not only because this approach fuels compassion, understanding, and collaboration, but also because a diverse atmosphere encourages intellectual growth and innovation.
Critically examining and assessing our most basic assumptions and values is one of the tasks vital to the college experience and our growth as human beings. This course requires the study of artworks and images that may include nudity, violence, and sensitive content, which may reflect religious, political, sexual, cultural, and economic opinions that differ from your own worldview. As part of your college journey of learning and exploration, you are expected to maintain an open mind and to work to understand differing viewpoints (especially when dealing with topics that you may find uncomfortable). By enrolling in this class, you have given your informed consent to exposure to such topics and materials.
Quizzes
There is a required multiple-choice quiz at the end of each module. Questions come from the class lectures and suggested readings. Each module will include a list of all the important images and vocabulary terms to help you focus and prepare for the quizzes.
You are allowed to take each quiz up to 5 times, and your highest score will be recorded. Make sure that you set aside time (without distraction) to take the quiz and submit it on time. Quizzes submitted after the deadline will lose 5% for each day submitted late, so please weigh the pros and cons or re-taking a quiz after the deadline.
Discussion Board Posts
You will participate regularly on the discussion board, which is a significant component of your grade. The discussions are important to your retention of important themes and concepts and will help keep you on track with the course materials. It's also a great way to engage in course-related dialogue with your classmates. Please be polite and sensitive to each other- let's work constructively as a community!
For each module, you'll be expected to post your answer to the prompt and make one comment of any length on a classmate's post. In order to get full credit, your post and peer reply must be submitted at the same time. So, if you're working ahead, and no one else has posted anything, you'll need to leave us a note in the assignment comment box (not in your response) that you're the 1st in your group to post. We'll deduct the point for missing a peer comment; but as long as you come back to the discussion and post your peer comment before the assignment deadline, you'll be able to earn back that missing point.
Please follow the instructions for each prompt very carefully! Your discussion posts must be unique to you, so you can't repeat something that another student already shared. Also, your discussion posts must be 100% your own thoughts, ideas, and words. If/when references are made, they must be cited correctly. A plagiarized discussion post will result in 0 points and no chance to re-submit.
You will be allowed to re-submit your post once to correct any deductions (except missing a peer comment), but late penalties will apply if you re-submit after the assignment deadline. If you chose to resubmit your discussion posts, you must delete your original post and notify us using a comment on your own assignment that alerts us that you've submitted a corrected version of your post and that you're requesting that we re-grade it based on the changes that you've implemented. We'll never know that you made corrections and are requesting a grade modification, unless you inform us by leaving a comment (not a reply) on the assignment. The comment can be a simple "made corrections, please re-grade" or something similar.
There may be multiple sections of this course, in which case student names and published coursework may be visible to students in another section.
Feedback
Your grades are available for you to review in your Gradebook, which includes comments that explain why you missed points and what you need to do to regain those points: How do I View Assignment Comments from My Instructor?
Late Policy
Late submission of required assignments will be deducted 5% off for each day past the due date. Late submissions are not allowed for the last module and extra credit work. And no work will be accepted after the last day of class.
Due Dates
All due dates are subject to change. Some due dates may be moved to an earlier time, while others may be pushed to a later time. Due date changes will be sent through instructor announcements in Canvas.
Grading Policy
| A | 90% or more |
| B | 80-89% |
| C | 70-79% |
| D | 69-60% |
| F | 59% or less |
Course grades are assigned automatically and will not be rounded-up under any circumstance. If you feel that you're on the border-line between one grade to the next, make sure that you complete extra credit work that may be able to bump your grade up
Pass‐No Pass (P/NP)
If you are taking this course on a pass/no-pass basis, then you must earn at least a C letter-grade to receive credit for the course.
Dropping the Class
If you decide to discontinue this course, it is your responsibility to officially drop it through your student portal. I will keep an eye on your participation and check in with you via email if you have not participated in the course for more than three weeks. Based on the situation, I will either recommend that you drop the class using this petition or set up an educational plan to help you get back on track. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to drop the class if you're no longer interested in it and/or no longer participating.
Extra Credit
After you've completed ALL the required assignments and received no 0s (for any reason) on the required assignments, you will have an opportunity to improve your final grade by submitting extra credit work during finals week. There will be a variety of options to select from, and they will all be listed in the Extra Credit Module (the last module located at the very bottom). Please note that the Extra Credit Module will be locked until all the required Modules have been completed. Once you've completed all the requirements for the class, the Extra Credit Module will unlock and reveal detailed instructions and submission links.
Extra credit work is not a substitute for missing required work. Use the extra credit option to improve grades on certain assignments, rather than "make-up" for missing work.
Physical & Mental Health
Should you experience any physical or mental health issues, know that all of us at SRJC care about your well-being. SRJC’s Student Health Services (SHS) has nurse practitioners and mental health therapists available. Confidential sessions are provided via secure Zoom or in-person. Sessions are free for SRJC students taking credit or non-credit classes, and some providers can converse with you in Spanish if you prefer. SHS also has on-site COVID rapid testing and vaccinations available at no cost.
To start the process for any type of physical or mental health appointment contact Student Health Services at 707-527-4445 or email studenthealthservices@santarosa.edu
Disability Resources Department
It is the mission of SRJC to support inclusive learning environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of achievement, please notify me as soon as possible.
Students are also welcome to contact the Disability Resources Department (DRD). DRD is a resource for students that provides authorization for academic accommodations, training and access to assistive technology, and collaborates on strategies for academic success.
Lanzamiento for Latinx Students
The Lanzamiento initiative is designed to support academic achievement among Latinx and first-generation college students. Students who enroll in Lanzamiento sections have dedicated resources available to them. Themes of bilingualism, transnational experiences, immigrant communities, Latinx authorship, academic scholarship, and activism are relevant to the Lanzamiento initiative. Interested students need to enroll into the program via this Lanzamiento (HSI) form and a counselor will reach out to them.
Umoja for African & African-American Students
The Umoja program assists students of African descent in completing their Associates degree and transferring to a 4-year university by providing support resources that include: access to free books and school supplies; application waivers; transfer assistance and college tours; dedicated counselors and a support team; among other benefits. Join the Umoja community by submitting this Umoja interest card, and an umoja counselor will reach out to you.
Intercultural Center
In addition to the resources mentioned above, please check out the Intercultural Center, which offers a supportive community for Native American, Asian Pacific Islander, and LGBTQA+students, faculty/staff, and their allies. I'm also proud to be a co-founder of the MENAA (Middle Eastern & North African Association), and if you identify as MENAA or have interest in the region, please let me know so that we can welcome you into our community.
IMPORTANT: The course summary below is a chronological list of assignments to help you keep track of due dates. It does NOT contain links to course learning materials. Please access the course materials through the modules.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|