30 SARAH ADLER ART CRITICISM FALL 2022

Writing Art Criticism: Say What?

Instructor: Sarah Adler

Tuesdays & Thursdays 3:30-4:45 PM

Fall 2022

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In the course, we will work with the form of the critical essay to both celebrate and challenge an array of artistic mediums, from television to pop music to the work of local artists. We will engage with the vibrant arts scene of Iowa City, visiting institutions such as the Englert, FilmScene, and even the studio spaces of Iowa City artists. We will consider how to write art criticism both from a personal and analytical standpoint. Along the way, we will inform our criticism with the work of Hilton Als, Hanif Abdurraqib, Jia Tolentino, Emily Nussbaum, and Alice Bolin.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

❖   Build an Artist Community: We are, first and foremost, a community of artists. Even if you don’t usually consider yourself an artist, I encourage you to try out this identity for the duration of the course. You’ll be surprised what allowing yourself this kind of creative freedom will do, not only for your work, but for your perspective on the world around you. This means taking your creative work, and the work of your peers, seriously. While you don’t need to always ‘like’ the work of your peers, or for that matter, even your own work, we will always work together from a place of generosity and care.

❖   Dip Your Toes Into the World of Creative Nonfiction: No matter how much or how

little experience you have with creative nonfiction, my goal for this course is that all of you leave having learned something new about the genre and its possibilities.

❖   Learn to Analyze Culture: We all consume culture: music, television, movies, video

games, comedy, exhibitions, etc. But it can be difficult to explain why we like – or even hate – something. It’s even harder to place facets of culture into a larger context in an effort to understand them. This course will help you begin to make sense of the contemporary cultural moment, as well as sharpen and hone your analytical voice so you can say more than just that you hated something, but why.

COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS

As first and foremost, an artistic community, we will come up with community guidelines together at the beginning of our course. In order for guidelines to work, and not simply be rules, we will need to all agree to their importance and sacredness in our classroom. That being said, I personally have a few guidelines for our community to ensure everyone’s emotional safety and comfort.

❖   Respect each other’s unique identities. This includes, but isn’t limited to, not using any slurs or derogatory speech in class, including not reading any slurs from our assigned readings out loud unless it is a slur regarding an identity you personally hold, such as a slur that you might be trying to reclaim, and then it is up to your discretion. We will share our pronouns on the first day of class, and I expect everyone to respect the usage of these pronouns. Finally, we will understand that everybody has their own unique, lived experience, and that in order to build and grow as a community and as people, we will listen and honor these experiences.

❖   Practice decentralizing knowledge. Have you ever been in a class where the teacher

does almost all of the talking, and it is just your job to rotely memorize and perfect the information they are giving you? My hope is for this class to be the opposite: a space where everyone’s opinions and knowledge hold equal ground. While I acknowledge that there is a certain power imbalance in my role as a teacher, I will do my best whenever possible to open up the conversation and find space for you all to express yourselves.

❖   Communicate. I understand that you all have lives outside of being a student of this

course, and that sometimes, if not always, things will come up that hinder your ability to engage with the course. I will always prefer you to come talk to me so we can work out a problem together. It is way more important to me that you learn and practice the skills to advocate for yourself rather than meeting deadlines. That being said, you need to be proactive in your communication. Communicating after the fact isn’t really communicating at all. On that note, I will always do my absolute best to communicate assignment and expectations clearly, and to have our reading and assignments posted on ICON in a timely and clear manner.

READINGS AND OTHER MATERIALS

All readings will be made available for free through ICON. The only thing you will need to purchase for this course is one notebook, which you will use as your Culture Keeping Notebook. This notebook MUST be a separate notebook from one you use for other classes, as I will need to hold onto it for grading purposes twice during the semester.

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS

Participation – 25% 

I consider participation the most important aspect of this course. Since we are a smaller class, my goal is to foster a supportive and caring community. This includes, but isn’t limited to: coming to class being prepared to discuss the reading, attending field trips, and providing thoughtful feedback to your classmates on their essays. Participation is more than simply coming to class; it means being an active and respectful participant in our community.

You will only be allowed three unexcused absences in this course. After that, your participation grade will suffer. If you are absent the day of a workshop, you will be required to submit

your feedback to your classmates. If you are someone who typically struggles to participate in class, please talk to me at the beginning of the semester and we can work on an alternative means of participation for you this semester.

Presentation/Discussion Lead – 10% 

Everyone will be responsible for leading a class discussion on one assigned reading. You will sign up for your assigned reading at the beginning of the semester. That day, you should come to class prepared with 1) A summary of the text and its argument, including any personal insights you had while reading 2) 2-3 discussion questions for the class about the reading. You will be graded on your knowledge of the reading, the strength/thoughtfulness of your questions, and your ability to lead the discussion.

Culture Keeping Notebook – 10% 

One way to become a more thoughtful and engaged critic is to ensure that you are consistently listening, watching, and thinking about different types of art. Each week, you will need to write a one-paragraph description about a new or different piece of art you interacted with. It can be a new album, a movie, a TV show, a book, a video game, an art exhibition, etc. Each week, your source needs to be different. In your paragraph, you should consider more than whether or not you liked or enjoyed the source. You can consider, for example, some of the work’s formal qualities, what other work it reminded you of, some of the main themes it touches upon, what initially drew you to the source, etc.

I will collect your notebooks twice – once during midterms, and a second time at the end of the semester. You will be graded on participation.

Essay #1 – 15% 

Your first essay will be a 3-4 page critical essay on a movie or television show of your choice. By September 19th at 11:59 PM, you will need to turn it in through Assignments on ICON, as well as post it to the discussion board for your other classmates to read for the workshop.

Failure to post under both will count as late. See assignment guidelines & rubric for more details.

Essay #2 – 20% 

Your second essay will be EITHER 1) a 5-7 page critical essay on a visual art exhibition or a music album OR 2) a 5-7 page profile of an Iowa City visual artist or musician. I will provide a list of artists/musicians that you can reach out to for your profiles. If you have another artist in mind, albeit preferably one that you don’t have a personal relationship with, please run your idea by me first. By Friday, November 11th at 11:59 PM, you will need to turn it in through Assignments on ICON, as well as post it to the discussion board for your other classmates to read for the workshop. Failure to post under both will count as late. See assignment guidelines & rubric for more details.

Final Revisions/Portfolio – 20% 

At the end of the semester, you will turn in a portfolio composed of the following: a final version of both you Essays #1 and #2 AND a 1-2 page reflection on each piece regarding the revisions you made and how you utilized feedback given during class (from other students as well as from the instructor). Your final revisions/portfolio will be due Wednesday, December 14th at 11:59 PM during finals week. See assignment guidelines & rubric for more details.

A NOTE ON OFFICE HOURS, MEETINGS, AND EMAILS

My office hours will be every Monday from 2–5 PM via Zoom. The Zoom link is available at the top of our ICON page. If these times do not work for you, please email me and I will happily find another time for us to meet. You are always welcome to drop in, but please email me if you are in the Zoom Room. I will always be at my computer, but I do not leave Zoom open because it drains my battery. Even better, if you plan to come at a specific time, send me an email beforehand and I will make sure to be in the Zoom room promptly.

I am also a student, and I ask that you respect my time. If you schedule a meeting with me, show up promptly and ready with your questions. I know that occasionally a meeting will slip your mind (I have done it!), but if you continue to schedule meetings with me and don’t show up, or show up late, I will stop putting time to meet with you on my schedule.

In terms of emails – I am pretty good at responding to emails. I do my best to respond within 12 hours of receiving them, but I do ask that you allow me at least 24 hours during the workweek before expecting a reply. Do not expect me to respond to email hours before an assignment is due. I will not answer emails on the weekend, beginning at 5 PM on Fridays. Please be polite (but not formal!) when emailing me.

LATE WORK, ABSENCES, AND EXTENSIONS

Absences

Unexcused Absences: You are allowed three unexcused absences throughout the semester. Every unexcused absence after that will lower your participation grade by one mark (an B+ will become a B). I will not tolerate chronic absences.

Excused Absences: Excused absences include, but aren’t limited to: health concerns (mental and physical) and personal and familial concerns. If you know that you are going to have to miss a class in November, for example, for a family wedding, please notify me several weeks in advance. If you are sick, please don’t come to class. Sickness will be counted as an excused absence. However, if you miss more than two classes for illness-related purposes, I will require a doctor’s note for your absence to be excused. If you have COVID-19, you must self-report through the University. For excused absences: email me before class.

Late Work & Extensions 

We are all depending on one another to turn in work in a timely manner. Because of this, I will only grant extensions on a case-by-case basis, and only 48-hours in advance of the deadline, except for in extenuating circumstances. If you are signed up to workshop in one of the first three slots (first day of workshopping), you will not be granted an extension. Your classmates need adequate time to respond to work. Each day that an assignment is late will incur a one mark deduction (ex. from a B+ to a B).

Grade Expectations 

A.   Excellent work that shows initiative and sophistication that goes beyond general expectations. The writing is well crafted and reflects a commitment to the creative process. The writer is capable of analyzing, reflecting and revising. The writer takes risks in service to the work. The writer is an active, thoughtful participant in class.

B.    Strong work. The writing is well crafted and demonstrates that the writer is engaged with the creative process in ways that are above average. The writer demonstrates attempts to reflect and analyze their writing and can make some choices about revision. Risks are taken (some may be more successful and resonant than others) but all show an attempt to serve the work. The writer is an active participant in class.

C.    Adequate work that meets the basic requirements. The writer’s work could be stronger with more engagement with the creative process. The writer has composed essays that reflect varying levels of success. There is some revision, but it’s superficial. Some risks might be taken, but they may not be in service to the work. The writer sometimes participates.

D.     Weak work that falls below the basic requirements. The writing produced is brief or

not fully developed. The writing does not show an engagement with the creative process and does not reflect the writer’s potential. Infrequent participation.

F. Unacceptable work. It exhibits fundamental problems which consistently go unaddressed or ignored. The work is frequently incomplete. Writing that does not represent the writer’s original work will get an F. Misses class regularly, fails to participate.

University of Iowa Grading System 

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

(subject to change with advanced notice)