Art, Aesthetics and Modern Technology
HSS 410, Fall 2022
Office: 413 Cullimore Hall
Hours: By appointment
Mail: HSS Dep't, NJIT, Newark, NJ 07102
Professor Burt Kimmelman
Phone: 973.596.3376, 3266
Fax: 973.642.4689
E-Mail: Kimmelman@njit.edu
Website: njit.edu/~kimmelma

COURSE  DESCRIPTION

This course aims to lay bare the interrelationships among technology and other human enterprises that shape a society, paying special attention to the arts, and thereby to understand society in terms of its various dynamics.  A central activity in the course is the pursuit of certain definitions; these definitions—of art, beauty, culture, aesthetics, sublimity, and technology—shade one into the other, as each helps to comprehend the others. This course will be conducted in hybrid format, with one face-to-face class meeting per week, and mandatory online discussions throughout the week in Canvas.

PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ARE NOT ADEPT AT READING IN ENGLISH, THEN YOU SHOULD NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS COURSE (INSTEAD, YOU SHOULD ENROLL IN A SENIOR SEMINAR COURSE THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE UNDERSTANDING ASSIGNED READINGS THAT ARE COMPLEX AND THEORETICAL). THE COURSE WILL ALSO REQUIRE BEING ABLE TO WRITE CLEARLY IN  ENGLISH.  

Prerequisites: HUM 102, with a grade of C or higher, and 6 credits at the 300-level History and  Humanities GER with a grade of C or higher.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course it is expected that you will have had the experience of thinking deeply into a narrowly focused subject area, in a nuanced way, and that you will have been able to communicate effectively about it both orally and in writing; furthermore you will have written an in-depth, narrowly focused, polemical, researched essay that will be fully documented, an essay of substantial length. As well, you will have been able, successfully, to write argumentative, substantive and informed essays in response to thematic questions posed to you in the form of a take-home examination. These abilities and generally the skills you will develop in this course are necessary for success in the present world, for any professional, and indeed they are salutary for any citizen. In this regard, this course comports with NJIT's mission as set out in its most recent mission statement.

Scroll further down to see the course schedule.

 

COURSE TEXTS

Books and Other Texts:

Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Illuminations. Tr. Harry Zohn. Ed. Hannah Arendt. New York: Schocken Books, 1969. (This essay must be downloaded at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm.)

 

Bullock, Alan. "The Double Image." Modernism 1890-1930. Eds. Malcolm Bradbury and James McFarlane. New York:  Penguin Books, 1991. 58-70.

 

Chaplin, Charlie. Dir. Modern Times. [United Artists, 1936.] Warner Home Video, 2003.

 

Heidegger, Martin. "The Origin of the Work of Art."  Off the Beaten Track. Ed. and Tr. Julian Young and Kenneth Haynes. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/burt/filmphilology/Heideggerworkofart.pdf

 

Eisenstein, Sergei M. Dir. Battleship Potemkin. 1925. http://www.openculture.com/2012/02/begin_your_cinematic_self-education_with_free_sergei_eisenstein_films.html

 

Faber, Monica. "Artistic Vision? Photographic Vision!" Brigitte Franzen, and Susanne Neuburger. Hyper Real. Köln : Buchhandlung Walther König ; New York, N.Y. : D.A.P. / Distributed Art Publishers, 2010. 374-81

 

Funkhouser, C. T New Directions in Digital Poetry. New York: Continuum, 2012.

 

Holmberg, Jan. "Ideals of Immersion in Early Cinema." Cinémas : revue d'études cinématographiques / Cinémas: Journal of Film Studies 14.1 (Autumn 2003): 129-47. http://www.erudit.org/revue/cine/2003/v14/n1/008961ar.html

 

Lang, Fritz. Dir. Metropolis. [Universum Film, A.G., 1927.]  Restored Authorized Version. Kino Video, 2002, 2003. (Available from NetFlix.)

 

Neuburger, Susanne. "Parallel Actions with Camera and Easel: Photorealism and Its Allies."

Brigitte Franzen, and Susanne Neuburger. Hyper Real. Köln : Buchhandlung Walther König ; New York, N.Y. : D.A.P. / Distributed Art Publishers, 2010. 323-31.

 

Rutsky, R. L. High Techne: Art and Technology from  the Machine Aesthetic to the Posthuman. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 1999. http://monoskop.org/images/c/c4/Rutsky_RL_High_Techne_Art_and_Technology_from_the_Machine_Aesthetic_to_the_Posthuman.pdf

 

 

Strickland, Stephanie, The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot (http://www.wordcircuits.com/gallery/sandsoot/frame.html)


____. Sea and Spar Between (http://winteranthology.com/?vol=3&author=montfort-strickland&title=seaandspar).

 

____, and Ian Hatcher, Liberty Ring! (http://www.stephaniestrickland.com/projects/liberty-ring/)

 

von Munsterberg, Hugo. The Photoplay. New York / London: D.  Appleton, 1916. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15383/15383-h/15383-h.htm
 

Various other readings are available in Canvas.

 

Electronic Literature Directory

UbuWeb

Writing Guides

Documentation Guides

Humanities Computing Links (various)

Modern Art and Art Movements Links

Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin

Metropolis by Fritz Lang

Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein
Benjamin Links
(also: http://web.njit.edu/~kimmelma/benjaminlinks.html)
Heidegger Links

Perloff Links

Rutsky Links

Baudrillard Links

Jameson Links

Lang Links

Chaplin Links

Early Cinema and Its Effects


 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• Oral/Visual Reports, one a group report on a weekly assignment, the other an individual report on the term paper project.

 Weekly Canvas postings (one original of 100 to 150 words, another 50 to 100-word response to someone else’s post).

 Final examination, comprehensive, essay in format, open-book.

 A two-staged research project culminating in a researched and fully-cited term paper (see writing and documentation guidelines above, listed with the course readings): a Term Paper Announcement (see below^) consisting of a Working Title, a one-sentence Thesis Statement (one sentence only if possible, though the sentence can be long and multi-claused and may use one semicolon), a detailed, step-by-step Description of your future paper’s Writing Strategy (i.e. how you will prove your thesis, not a summary of what will be in your paper), and a Bibliography (in MLA format--see the link to documentation guides, above) of at least three secondary sources, one of which must be a hard-copy source (for the purposes of this assignment course assigned readings, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks will not be considered as counting toward the requisite minimum number of secondary sources, although they can be used in your term paper project); and, a 1500 to 3000-word, fully-documented, original and critical, discursive, polemical (please look up this word if you don't really know what it means) and otherwise argumentative essay that must include at least some detailed analysis of the artifacts being discussed (see below^^), along with a bibliography of all sources (the bibliography will not be considered part of word count). The term paper topic is open (although the topic must have something to do with the subject of this course) but must be approved ahead of time by the instructor.

N.B.: The Term Paper can only be credited when it has been preceded by the Term Paper Announcement.

N.B.: Papers must be word processed using a 12’ font, double-spaced with one inch margins, spell-checked, and to the best of one's ability grammar-checked. Weekly Canvas posts should be single-spaced but otherwise must also be spell-checked and to the best of one's ability grammar-checked, and must be in standard English and adhere to standard formal writing protocols.

     As regards all writing submitted in  this course, please keep the following in mind. If on occasion use is made of the ideas or words of someone else in one's writing, then the source(s) of those ideas and/or words must be cited; that is, when appropriate, papers must be fully documented  in MLA format (you must cite sources--using footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical documentation, which include specific page numbers keyed to particular passages in your text, and complete bibliographical information). WRITTEN TEXTS NOT MEETING ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL NOT BE READ AND WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT. Students are expected to abide by the NJIT Honor Code.

     Papers must be submitted to the instructor via Canvas, as Word for Windows (preferably Word 2003) attachments, using a proper identifying subject line.

N.B.: Failure to participate in class discussions (especially online) at a minimally acceptable level will result in disqualification of end-of-term assignments such as the term paper and final exam; such disqualification must inevitably spell course failure. In order to pass this course a student must be consistently active in weekly class work starting from the beginning of the course term. Furthermore, only three unexcused absences will be allowed; more than these will mean automatic course failure.

N.B.: Failure to submit the final exam will result in the papers that are part of the term paper project being disqualified.

^Term Paper Announcement
Consists of 1) a descriptive paper title, and a subtitle to show focus and specificity, 2) a one-sentence thesis statement that includes the point of your argument, the breadth of that argument, and the argument’s significant concepts and details, 3) a detailed, step-by-step description of the writing or argumentative strategy to be employed in your paper, 4) a bibliography  of all sources both primary and secondary in MLA format and alphabetized. For the purposes of this assignment, use must be made of at least three secondary research sources (one of them hard copy) excluding assigned readings, textbooks, encyclopedias and dictionaries.  

A description and samples of the Term Paper Announcement are available at the course Canvas page.


^^Term Paper
Consists of: 1) a descriptive paper title, and a subtitle to show focus and specificity, 2) a full-length essay, 3) a bibliography in MLA format and alphabetized. For the purposes of this assignment, use must be made of at least three secondary research sources (one of them hard copy) excluding assigned readings, textbooks, encyclopedias and dictionaries. 
N.B.: At least one research paper source you use must be a scholarly, peer-reviewed, downloaded article from one of the NJIT Library's databases (it is best to check with the instructor about the suitability of your sources).

Samples of the Term Paper are available at the course Canvas homepage.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE* (full descriptions of readings mentioned below can be found in the list of course texts above)

WEEK 1: Overview of course homepage and Introduction to the course, in Canvas. Two online discussion forum postings: a self-introduction, and a brief interpretive comment on "The Double Image" by Alan Bullock; both due by the day before in-person class meeting. Before this meeting, identification of assigned written texts, art, photographs and films in the course, in order to prepare a list of preferred class meetings in which to participate in a group presentation. (A schedule of group reports for the semester will be created when the class meets in person.)

WEEK 2: Creation of groups and group reports schedule. Overview of course homepage and an introduction to how this course will operate. Discussion of Artistic Modernism's emergence, early modern painting and sculpture, photography and film (with particular refereence to The Photoplay by von Munsterberg, and "Ideals of Immersion in Early Cinema" by Holmberg, as prelude to our next class meeting).

WEEK 3: Discussion of the assigned films by Eisenstein, Lang, and Chaplin.

WEEK 4: Discussion of Benjamin essay.

WEEK 5: Discussion of Heidegger essay.

WEEK 6: Discussion of Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art.     

WEEK 7: Discussion of Hyperrealism, and Conceptual Art.  

WEEK 8: Discussion of Digital Poetry with special references to New Directions in Digital Poetry (Chapters 2 and 6) as well as The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot and Sea and Spar Between.

WEEK 9:  Discussion of High Techne (Introduction, Chapter 1). TERM PAPER ANNOUNCEMENT DUE.

WEEK 10: Discussion of High Techne (Chapter 2).

WEEK 11: Discussion of High Techne (Chapter3). 

WEEK 12: Discussion of High Techne (Chapter 4). 

WEEK 13: Discussion of High Techne (Chapter 5). 

WEEK 14: Individual oral/visual reports on term research projects.

WEEK 15: Individual oral/visual reports on term research projects.

* All work must be prepared prior to class meeting. For specific due dates etc. see details of assignments at the course Canvas homepage.

                                                                                             COURSE GRADE

          Final Examination: 35%                                                 
Term Paper: 20%                                                         
Term Paper Announcement: 10%                                    
Class Participation online (initial, originating posts - graded weekly): 10% (5% if late)
Class Participation online (responses to classmates' posts):  5% (3% if late)
Follow-Up Questions and Comments: 5%
Portfolio of Eight Best Posts online:   5%
Group Report: 5%
Individual Report: 5%
Extra Credit: Essay on Visit to Art Show (appropriate shows listed in Canvas; preapproval required): 5 points

 
 
ABBREVIATIONS  FOR MARKING PAPERS


Key: Abbreviation - Meaning
A  -    
Agr  -  
Awk -  
CS  -  
Dic  -  
Exp   - 
FS  -   
RO  -  
SF  -  
Sp  -  
SS   - 
Syn  -  
Tr   - 
Un   - 
Uncl   - 
Us  -  
V  -  
Va    -
VF  -  
VT  -  
WF -  
WW -  
Article
Agreement
Awkward
Comma Splice
Diction
Explain
Fused Sentences
Run On Sentence
Sentence Fragment
Spelling
Sentence Structure
Syntax or Word Order
Transition
Unclear
Unclear
Usage
Verb
Vague
Verb Form
Verb Tense
Word Form
Wrong Word
   
   

SUGGESTED PROTOCOL FOR TEAM ORAL REPORTS

Introduction

Spokesperson for group (preferably Speaker #1 or #4) puts up first viewgraph (topic of report) and defines:

A. Topic of the group report
B. Introduces self and other members of the team (both first and last names)--Viewgraph #2
C. Explains briefly how the topic has been broken down and what aspect of the topic each speaker will address.
D. Introduces Speaker #1.

Speaker #1:

A. Thanks spokesperson
B. Restates his/her particular topic (with viewgraph)
C. Addresses topic (with viewgraphs)
D. Introduces Speaker #2

Speaker #2:

A. Thanks Speaker #1
B. Restates his/her particular topic (with viewgraph)
C. Addresses topic (with viewgraphs)
D. Introduces Speaker #3

Speaker #3:

A. Thanks Speaker #2
B. Restates his/her particular topic (with viewgraph)
C. Addresses topic (with viewgraphs)
D. Introduces Speaker #4

Speaker #4:

A. Thanks Speaker #3
B. Restates his/her particular topic (with viewgraph)
C. Addresses topic (with viewgraphs)
D. Asks for Questions (or reintroduces Spokesperson)

Question and Answer Period:

A. Spokesperson asks if there are questions
B. Recognizes questioner and directs question to appropriate member of team
C. Allows any other member of team to comment
D. After last question, thanks audience.