week 3: Kester

GRAMMAR SLAMMER STARTS THIS WEEK

Make sure you give yourself time to do a site visit to to Armory Square.

BLOG by Sun 9 Sept 6 pm: 2 choices
READ Intro+Chapter 1 from Kester - Conversation Pieces p. 1-49

• How does the rhetoric from the Imagining America conference compare to the ideas of community discussed in the Kester article?
  OR
• Visit the Light Work gallery. Hours are Sun-Fri 10 am - 6 pm and by appointment. Entry is free. Near Bird Library: 316 Waverly Ave, at the corner of Comstock Ave. :::::: How does the Binh Danh exhibit function as a testimony about the Viet Nam war and as a reflection of our current times? How does your impression of this exhibit compare to the views from Sontag? Check out her article on the Abu Ghraib prison photos (below) for extra war-related perspectives.
  

Mon 10 Sept:
MEET at Light Work gallery.
in-class discussion and writing about Sontag from last week AND
Kester (1 question+1 observation in your notebook)

Wed 12 Sept:
Come prepared to discuss "The Blue Guide" by Barthes , assigned last week (1 questions+1 observation in your notebook)

Fri 14 Sept:
BRING a rough thesis for your essay. Use the methods discussed in the handout from class. BRING notes from your field trip to Armory Square. Do the NOTICE + FOCUS process we did together in class on Monday:
1) What do you NOTICE? Make a list.
2) What do you find most INTERESTING? Rank the top choices.
3) WHY does this observation matter?

week 2: de Duve, Sontag, Barthes (Blue Guide)

The printed schedule from the syllabus has already changed so please make sure to consult the blog from now on!

BLOG due Mon 3 Sept by 6pm (this is a special extension just for this week)
No class because it's Labor Day, but you still have reading due!

1- READ the excerpt from “Art was a proper name” from Kant after Duchamp by Thierry de Duve, 1996
2- WRITE 2 paragraphs in response to the reading. Post the text to your blog so that I can see that it’s up and running:

• Define ART in one sentence. Then discuss a memorable experience you have had with an ART work. Where did you find the piece, and when? How much time did you spend with it? Why was it memorable? How would you describe it to someone who wasn't there? What distinguished it from other art works you have experienced? What kind of emotions did it evoke? What was the artist's intention for the work? Was it successful or not, and why?
• Discuss de Duve’s essay in relation to your own thoughts about art.

Wed 5 Sept: READ "The Image-World" from On Photography by Susan Sontag, 1977
OPTIONAL READING: "Regarding the torture of others" by Susan Sontag, 2004
We'll have an in-class discussion about de Duve and Sontag. Come prepared with 1 question and 1 comment for each author.

RECOMMENDED EVENT (take notes, this will give you good material for upcoming assignments)
Thu 6 Sept 6:30 pm : Binh Danh, Vietnamese photographer, Watson Auditorium

Fri 7 Sept: READ “The Blue Guide” by Roland Barthes from Mythologies, 1957
No class today because of the conference, but you still need to do the reading. This reading is the basis for your first essay assignment.

In lieu of class:
* VISIT the Binh Danh exhibit at Light Work.
and/or
* ATTEND one of the panel discussions at the Imagining America Conference that I’ve listed below. Conference attendance for students costs $35 (regular fees are over $100 for the 3-day event), and this provides free food and entry to all the events. If you choose to attend and this is a burden for you, please contact me or Assistant Provost Bobbi Jones at rsjones@syr.edu

Light Work gallery hours are Sun-Fri 10 am - 6 pm and by appointment. Entry is free.
Next to the Bird Library: 316 Waverly Ave, at the corner of Comstock Ave.

7-8 September : IMAGINING AMERICA CONFERENCE OPTIONS
See full conference schedule here: http://imaginingamerica.syr.edu/07.ia-nc.html

FRI 9:45 – 11:15 Community Voices: Do We Really Hear Them? Are We Really Listening? Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center – ADAMS ROOM

FRI 1:15-2:45 Over-the-Rhine: A Model for Student Immersion, Learning, and Social Change - Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center – COMSTOCK A

FRI 3-4:30 Moving Art Into the Public: A Seminar and a Dialogue - Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center – COMSTOCK B

SAT 2:15-345 Negotiating Contradictory Values in Community Arts/Higher Education Partnerships - Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center – COMSTOCK B

week 1: intros, Swanson/Adler, Barthes (Criticism)

Mon 27 Aug: introductions, blackboard, blog, portraits, student info, books, notebooks

Wed 29 Aug:
1-SET UP your blog http://www.blogger.com
and make sure you can access Blackboard.
2-EMAIL FHT with your blog URL
3-READ and take NOTES:
-“What’s wrong with plagiarism?” by Gunnar Swanson
-the syllabus
-chapters 3 and 12 from How to Read a Book by Charles Adler

Don’t forget to bring your printed readings to class. They should be marked up with notes and underlined or highlighted. Be prepared for a quiz.

Fri 31 Aug:
1-READ and take NOTES:
“Blind and Dumb Criticism” by Roland Barthes from Mythologies. Right-click or control-click on the link to download to the computer. Read it three times. Make notes in your notebook. Come prepared with 1 question and 1 comment about Barthes for the class. We will have a discussion.

Did you email me your blog URL?

It was great to meet you all today and I look forward to seeing you on WED

Don't forget to send me an e-mail with the website of YOUR blog. Sign up at http://www.blogger.com
For next class, you don't need to post anything, just set up an account. You will need to have a Google/Gmail account to do this. Email me if you have questions.

Make your blog address something relevant like:
http://wordsofwisdomfromcasey.blogspot.com(example)

-------- WHAT ELSE FOR NEXT TIME? --------
DOWNLOAD the articles from the Blackboard site, PRINT them, READ them with lots of notes, and bring them to class.
READ THE SYLLABUS CAREFULLY! We will have a quiz.

buying books

You are welcome to purchase books on-line or anywhere else. If you choose to do this, I encourage you to place the order right away, at the latest by the end of business (5 pm) on Monday. You MUST choose a delivery option that ensures that your books arrive by Wednesday September 5th.

I will not make allowances for anyone who does not have their books on
time, as you will still be responsible for any assigned readings.

Also keep in mind that sometimes shipping costs make it so that a used
book delivered by mail is not always the bargain it appears to be at
first glance.

Here is the list of titles:

Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art by
Grant H. Kester

Participation edited by Claire Bishop

One Place after Another: Site-Specific Art and Locational Identity by
Miwon Kwon

Greetings from CAS 100!

HELLO
My name is Fereshteh and I'll be your instructor for CAS 100, the first
year writing seminar. The title of the class is "Salt Stories", which
refers to the old salt industry that once made Syracuse famous. It's a
class about contemporary site-specific and public art practices. If
that means nothing to you, that's ok! We're going to be talking about this
for the next few months so by the end of the year you will know a lot
more. Along the way we will read and write about critical theory,
philosophy, news articles, maps, and a whole assortment of other media.

BOOKS
In addition to writing and getting out to experience the city and art
projects, you will have reading to do. I know that the books haven't
arrived at the bookstore, but it's no problem because we will be reading
articles at first. I'm sure you are all quite busy with settling in to
your new home, but meanwhile please check out the Blackboard site for
our course. There, under READING, I've posted the first articles we will
be reading for class. They are PDFs that you can download and print
out. You don't have to read them yet, but please make sure you can access
Blackboard by the first day of class.

http://blackboard.syr.edu/
USE YOUR REGULAR NETID AND PASSWORD TO SIGN IN

For the first week we will use Blackboard, but once everyone has their blogger account set up we will usually use Blogger for course updates and assignments.

FIRST DAY
What should you bring to class on the first day? Please bring a
notebook (bound, spiral, binder, it's up to you), a writing utensil, and an
open mind.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all soon! Please email me if you
have any questions before Monday.

Take care,
Fereshteh