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Course Description: Commonalities of the Arts is a survey course designed to examine painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, drama and philosophy in Western civilization.

Course Objectives: This course is intended to help the student develop the following:
A. a fundamental knowledge of Western art, music, literature and drama
B. an awareness of how various arts are influenced by and influence each other
C. the ability to recognize those moments when masterpieces are created
D. a sense of art evaluation, including recognition, appreciation and enjoyment of works of art

Required Text: Bishop, Philip E. Adventures in the Human Spirit, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005.

Course Policies
1. Course time will be devoted to lecture, discussion, viewing of visual materials and listening to audio materials. Students are expected to attend all class sessions. Tests and assignments missed due to absence may not be made up except for justifiable absences. (Whenever possible, the instructor or office should be contacted before the missed class.) Tests will be available in the office until the following class period. Other assignments may be made up one week after the absence. Each absence over two may reduce the "class participation" portion of the grade by one letter. Partial attendance may be counted as an absence.
2. Turn in all assignments by the due date.
3. Plagiarism (submitting another person's work as you own) and academic dishonesty (copying another person's lab or exam, i.e. cheating) will result in the student's failure in the course.
4. The instructor reserves the right to alter the syllabus over the course of the semester. Changes in scheduled activities will be announced in class; it is up to the individual students to keep abreast of these changes.

Course Evalutation Method: Tests every other week will evaluate knowledge of information covered since previous exam. There is no comprehensive midterm or final. Most questions will be multiple-choice or short-answer. Individual research will investigate a topic from the previous or current lesson. The student will attend one live performance or exhibit and then give a report using the guideline provided by the instructor.

Method of evaluating students:
40% attendance and class participation
30% tests
30% research
A = 90-100 % (test) / research: multiple sources and written and verbal report - all assignments done
B = 80-89 % (test) / research: multiple sources or written plus verbal report
C = 70-79 % (test) / research: single source, written
D = 60-69 %
F = 59% or below

Schedule of Topics:
Week 1: introduction (chapter 1)

Week 2: research
Ancient World (chapter 2)

Week 3: test weeks 1 & 2
Greece (chapter 3)

Week 4: research
Rome (chapter 4)

Week 5: test weeks 3 & 4
Judeo-Christian (chapter 5)

Week 6: research
Early Middle Ages (chapter 6)

Week 7: test weeks 5 & 6
Late Middle Ages(chapter 7)

Week 8: research
Renaissance in Italy (chapter 8)

Week 9: test weeks 7 & 8
Northern and Late Renaissance(chapter 9)

Week 10: research
Baroque (chapter 10)

Week 11: test weeks 9 & 10
Enlightenment (chapter 11)

Week 12: research
Romanticism (chapter 12)

Week 13: test weeks 11 & 12
Industrial Age (chapter 13)

Week 14: research
Modernism (chapter 14)

Week 15: test weeks 13 & 14
Contemporary (chapter 15)

Mount Marty Mission Statement

Mount Marty College, an academic community in the Catholic Benedictine
liberal arts tradition, prepares students for a contemporary world of work,
service to the human community, and personal growth.