AH 1700

Survey of Art History, Prehistory to the Middle Ages

Dr. Marguerite Mayhall

Kean University


Follow the Art History program

(hint: Instagram and Facebook have different content, all of it interesting)

Twitter is even more different!

Kevin Wilbraham

@KPW1453

Aug 19

A Neolithic human figurine from Orkney, named ‘Buddo’ - an Orcadian term for friend. Dating to 2900-2400 BC, Buddo was discovered at Skara Brae in the mid-C19th, and re-discovered amongst the archaeological collections at Stromness Museum in 2016. @StromnessMuseum #FindsFriday



You need to do 3 things before class starts (you get points for the Info form and the Padlet post):

Read the welcome email I sent (if you didn't get it, please email me at mmayhall@kean.edu.

Fill out the Learner Information form,

And make your first Padlet post to introduce yourself to the class (links in welcome package email).

Welcome! I'm Dr. Marguerite Mayhall and I will be your instructor for Survey of Art History, Prehistory to the Middle Ages. We're all under a lot of stress, from a lot of things, so I will be as flexible as I can to support you and help you learn. We're in this together.

 I made this video in August 2020, and as painful as it is to watch yourself, after I did I realized that everything I said in there is STILL true! So in the interests of time, I'm not going to remake it (I did manage to do something about that quarantine hair, though). Please take a couple of minutes to watch it and learn a little about me. One note: when I say I don't need to know your story, what I mean is, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. Of course I'd love the chance to get to know you better, but it's up to you. Check the Canvas page (or welcome package email) for your class for a link to the Padlet where you can (well, MUST) post something about yourself before the semester starts.

I'm using Google sites here because they are mobile friendly and I know at least some of you will be using your phone for class. We will be using Canvas as our home base, but this is so much more inviting to send out to students. I'll be updating it throughout the semester. Canvas is where you'll find all the chapters, images, announcements, and assignments.  All instructions are in Canvas - the syllabus is here, and also there.

I'll see you in class in a few days!

My commitment to you:

This is a really stressful time to be a student.  I understand that. Cut yourselves some slack when you can. Try your best, and remember that I am here for you. I promise to do as much as I can this semester to help you achieve academic success. You can do this! 

I'm committed to improving my teaching, and have spent the last 4 years learning as much as I can about teaching online, which I have carried over to teaching face to face. I'm white, so I acknowledge I cannot begin to understand the experiences of students from different racial or ethnic backgrounds - BUT - you need to know that I am absolutely committed to making this an environment where you can learn, feel safe, and are treated with dignity. As we go through the semester, I want to encourage you to let me know how things are going with the class, because I have a lot to learn, and hearing from you will help me do better.

Although we’ve all been through this before, we’re still learning, and you need to know this: if you have any trouble with the course because of stuff happening outside it (aka LIFE), I will not judge you, think less of you, or penalize you for ‘late’ work, because the deadlines are super flexible. I hope you can do the same for me.


Here are some basic rules I will honor during this weird semester:

       You NEVER owe me personal information about your health, whether mental or physical, but of course you can always come talk to me if you want!

       I will try my best to direct you to the proper resources if I can’t help you myself (I’ve been at Kean for a long time, and I KNOW things).

       If you need extra help, more time, have to miss class, just let me know. I will work with you! I promise. But you have to let me know.



Since we will be working together a great deal this semester, I want to establish generosity as a key principle of the course. This means a few things: 

•I will assume that you are each doing your best.

•I hope that you will give me and your classmates the same generous benefit of the doubt. 

•You are expected to show generosity by showing up ready to participate, by sharing your ideas, by treating each other with respect, and by working with each other. 


Keep scrolling to the bottom to see what some of the advice students in my fall 2020 sections wanted to give future students.

And don't forget to check out student comments under 'Home' above.

I've designed this class to introduce you to *some* of the important cultures in the ancient world. I decided not to try to include every possible culture so that you don't get overwhelmed with a ton of details.

It's still a lot, though, especially if you've never studied art or art history. Do not worry! This class is for people with absolutely no background knowledge - I've worked hard to design the class so we take it step by step.

I'm hoping you find these cultures as fascinating as I do. There's a lot here to learn, and we'll still only skim the surface.

I really want to make this class a place where you can meet other students and learn from and work with each other. If you think of things that can help us do that that we're not already doing, let me know, please.

Those cultures that we *will* be looking at we'll use in pretty deep ways - we'll get a sense of when they lived, where they lived, and their cultural position in the world at the time they flourished, and then use their art objects and images to 1) train our eyes to learn how to look at art in general, and 2) understand how art in these cultures was not made to be 'art' the way we think about it, but instead were objects that had purposes, or functions.

We'll also talk about museums because they are a big part of how we study art, and they are not perfect institutions. We'll look at how museums get the objects they display, and sometimes have to return them, what expectations we have about museums and how those expectations are changing, and why these issues matter to *you*.

Along the way, we'll consider how these people from the past struggled with issues we're still thinking about - what does it mean to be a human? what is life for? what happens when you die? are there gods? or a God? 


<---------This'll give you an idea of what the class is about.



Make sure you scroll allll the way down - I asked students in the fall of 2020 to give future students advice about this class (online), and I think their comments are still useful.

Also, check out the dropdown menu under 'home' up top - there you will find comments from those super-secret student evaluations you do at the end of class, so you can find out what students think about this class.

The cultures and topics we'll be looking at include:

Prehistoric  Europe

Ancient Near East

Ancient Egypt

Museums, Looting, and Repatriation

Ancient Greece

Ancient Rome

Classic Period Maya (Mexico and central America)

Early and High Middle Ages in Europe

Describing and analyzing art

 Generative AI

We won't be looking at the Inca (they live much later) or Japan, China, India, or Africa. The European Renaissance is later, too, so it's included in the second half of the art history survey (AH 1701). In this class, we're also training our eyes to look intensively at images, which is not something we're used to doing. This takes time, and I don't want to overload you with too much information. And I'll be honest - it takes a lot of time and research to be able to teach a civilization well, and I can't do it all. Lastly, the techniques of looking at art that we'll be learning are best applied to 'western' art, and it's a lot.

One of my specialties is Pre-Colombian Mesoamerica so the Maya is something I can teach. Also, if you're thinking the periods/civilizations above are not multi-cultural then you're in for a surprise!

That said, I know I can do better. The art history program is in the midst of redesigning the survey courses to give students more exposure to under-studied areas of global art history.

We do offer classes in all of these areas in the art history program, if you're interested, and more besides. --------->



The art history program offers courses in:

 

Byzantine Art

Greek and Roman Art

Medieval Art

Modern Art

Contemporary Art

Modern Latin American art and architecture

Pre-Columbian Art of the Americas (south and central America and Mexico)

Sacred Space and Sacred Landscape

History of Western Architecture

African American Art

Art of Africa

Art of India

Art of China

Art of Japan

Ancient Egyptian Art


We also offer courses in the history department that have substantial visual components. Check out their listings to see what's offered this semester.


If there's something else you're interested in that we don't offer, you should know that we also do Independent Studies, which are courses designed by the student and the instructor together. I've taught independent studies in wildly different areas: the history of the handbag, the history of jewelry, mid-century modern art and design, textile processes and history, and Neolithic architecture, just to name a few.

 


Some of the things you need to know right off the bat -


Textbooks?: There is no required textbook for this class. In the fall of 2020 I 'wrote' chapters for you using OER (Open Educational Resources, which are freely available and adaptable sources on the web). There is a chapter for each section, and they run about 20 pages each, and incorporate images and study questions as well as maps and diagrams (in other words, they're less than 20 pages of reading). Every once in a while the chapter may be bigger (ancient Egypt, for example).

You'll also have a Powerpoint with images, and some things called VoiceThreads to look at, which are short recorded lectures using images, primarily at the beginning of the semester. 

Both the chapter and the Powerpoint are available in Canvas, and you can download everything, print it out, write all over it, or use it as a Word/pdf  or Google Slide document. 

Check the syllabus for the dates for each civilization/culture - I have them arranged as modules on Canvas, but there may be some overlap. The Canvas classroom will be completely open at the beginning of the semester, so you can see ahead, if you want.

Fall 2024 Syllabi

AH 1700-1 and AH 1700-2 is the left one, AH 1700-3 is the one on the right.

AH 1700-1 and 2 syl F2024.docx
AH 1700-3 F2024 Syl.docx

Our commitments to each other

What you can expect from me:

What I will expect from you:

(borrowed, with permission,  from Michelle Pacansky-Brock, my online teaching hero)

Students are strongly encouraged to register for the University's emergency notification system (http://www.kean.edu/campusalert) in order to be informed of campus emergencies, weather notices, and other announcements.  Kean Ocean students would sign up via the following link: 

https://ocean.sendwordnow.com/LicensePage.aspx 

How to contact me:

EMAIL:  mmayhall@kean.edu

If you want to talk to me individually, I have student hours set up in Google at the link below. You can sign up for a slot, or you can email me - we can do a Zoom meeting, Google Hangouts Meet, or a phone call. Monday through Friday I will try to respond within 24 hours. Weekends may take a bit longer - we should all be taking breaks sometime.

I will also open up a Google Chat during student hours so that you can drop by if you want. You will be automatically invited.

https://calendar.app.google/GmvVuhygJkNpMjWKA



Advice from students in fall 2020 classes:


Hello, whats your name? Ok nvm. Ummmm.. Starting remote is really really hard. I had a really mego breakdown the second week in because its a very difficult thing to do mentally. BUT if you made it through this semester you can do it a again! I believe in you. I think balancing your mental health is MEGA IMPORTANT. Talk to your teachers, you'd be surprised how many are feeling the same way you do and GET IT. We're all going through it together don't make yourself more alone than you gotta be.

*****

Don’t worry she cares about ya! Just don’t hesitate on asking for help.

*****

take notes and pay attention to individual starred paintings missing a lecture really puts you at a disadvantage

*******

Future Student,

Keep your notes handy and it always helps to define terms. Another helpful thing is to bullet-point basic facts about the pictures you’re responsible for and add some points made during the review class.

*****

Good luck you’ll do great!

My advice to students is this, the course becomes easier if you connect with the content, find what you love about art or humanity and use that to connect with the art you see. Then art history will feel more alive and vibrant. Art has always been an expression of human experience and that will never change, try to experience the art in a raw and vulnerable way. Remember that the artist and society/civilization had a purpose to make these things. Then this course will feel like just a litany of stories on the human experience.

*****

If you can take art history by Dr. Mayhall do it! Even if you're not interested, Dr.Mayhall's love for art will rub off on you. She's very passionate about her work and she's real about things. It's hard to find a professor who really cares about their students. One time she had us fill out a survey and asked us to tell her how we really are. That meant a lot to me because not even the people closet to you will ask that. She accommodated us to the best of her ability during a pandemic and the subject really is interesting. Personally i'm a visual learner so it was helpful that she showed a lot of pictures. That was one of our main ways of learning in this class. Over all this class will teach you a lot out history and culture that can come in handy in the future!

*****

My advice is to pay attention in class and make sure you do your work and to enjoy the class.

*****

Hi, how are you? if you want to learn about art history in a fun way you're in the right place! if you're stressed from the last semester relax Professor Mayhall will guide you through this semester. She is very understanding and the units are detailed and interesting. You should be just fine! Good luck!

*****

Hi, I think this class is really fun and has important lessons to teach you and to make you realize that there was more to life before you and there will be more after you. This course kinda makes you feel small but also important in a way. Also the professor is super cool and nice.

*****

You got this! Read the notes, look at the artwork. For each quiz, make a study sheet with the terms and the importance of the artwork during that period.

*****

It is such a great class. Pay careful attention on how to identify the different aspects of the art as far as what period as well as time it came from. Don't just glance at the art and assume the time period because as a whole, there is so much details that can help determine this information. Take in everything entirely and enjoy the beautification of many of the items that you will learn about.

*****

This class is actually interesting, however, attend class! you're proffessor is very understanding, but if you give yourself too much space and lenience you might regret it and feel as though you are always trying to catch up! This has been a stressful year, but if you come to lectures you'll find it is a nice break from the craziness everywhere.

*****

When I was in middle school I went to the fine art school for four years, and I had art history in that school as part of the program. And I strongly believe it is very important for ourselves to learn art history. It does develop the sense of understanding of things that surround you. And you have a different perspective of everything you see in the world. So I strongly recommend this class. And it is also super interesting and fun!

*****

My advice is simple, pay attention in class. It goes a long way, and it is interesting once you get the hang of it. It may seem like a "boring" topic to know about, but you will be surprised at how interesting it actually is because of all the images. Professor Mayhall works really hard in every chapter she puts out, so please do not take advantage of that. USE YOUR NOTES AND CHAPTERS FROM CLASS, NO GOOGLE. :)