DEPARTMENT OF ART STUDIES

College of Arts and Letters

University of the Philippines

 

INSTITUTION OF A G.E. COURSE IN ART STUDIES

I. Course Number, Title, Description

Course No: Art Studies 1

Course Title: Art and Society

Course Description: Critical exploration of the arts in dynamic interaction with society.

Prerequisite: None

Credit: 3 u.

Domain: Arts and Humanities

Justification: The course offers a broad framework of the study of the arts in the social context.

II. G.E. Objectives Met by the Proposed Course

  1. Broaden Intellectual and Cultural Perspectives

    2. The course gives an overview of the range of art forms in society and how it forms a creative force not only in making sense of the world as inscribed in society, but also in changing it.

  2. Nationalism Balanced with Internationalism

    3. The range of the arts is rooted in contexts of production and reception, and therefore reckoned from a Philippine perspective that actively engages other ideas from different locations.

  3. Awareness of Various Disciplines

    4. The study of the arts as humanistic practice is guided by the discipline of art studies, which calls in traditions of inquiry that are interdisciplinary and converses with other modes of generating knowledge.

  4. Integration of Knowledge and Skills

The understanding of the arts leads students to realize its value in a socio-historical context.

III. G.E. Modes of Inquiry

  1. Interpretive and Aesthetic Modes

The study of the arts involves the senses and how the body encounters the world, and therefore avails of interpretive and aesthetic modes of inquiry. Its study rounds out a wide range of modes of inquiry, and therefore encourages a multifaceted view of the world and its articulations.

IV. G.E. Competencies

  1. Communication (Oral and Written)

    2. Through reports, recitation, and writing assignments, the communication skills of the students are enhanced. They are challenged to express their experience about art in oral and written forms.

  2. Creative, Critical, and Independent Thinking

The arts as humanistic practice discuss society in many ways and thus allow students to creatively, critically, and independently think about how society works and how it can be transformed. The arts are construed as a transformative intervention.

V. Number of Sections to be Offered for the Proposed Course

Initially, ten sections (five in Filipino and five in English) of 25 students each will be offered per

semester.

VI. Availability of Resources to Offer the Course

There are 22 faculty (eight of them with PhD) who can readily teach the course. The Department has

the laboratory, consisting of audio-visual and library resources, needed to offer the course.

VII. Proposed Course Syllabus

    1. Course Objectives
    1. to be keenly attentive to the arts in society;
    2. understand the transformative value of the arts in society;
    3. to make sense of art as creative expression and practice within social contexts and as unalienated from history.
    1. Course Outline

I. Introduction: Setting the Framework (1 week)
    1. The Arts and General Education in the University
    2. Perspectives in the Study of Art
    3. Art Worlds and Ways of Experiencing

II. The Dimensions of Art (3 weeks)
    1. Form: Techniques of transformation
    2. Language: Meaning making
    3. Mode of Production: Productive forces and relations of production

III. Form and Language: Experiencing and Interpreting Art (4 weeks)
    1. Medium and Technique
    2. Elements
    3. The Image and Its Social Context

IV. The Various Arts in Social Context (4 weeks)
    1. The Visual Arts
    2. The Musical Arts
    1. C. Theater
    2. D. Dance

E. Cinema

V. Philippine Art and Society (4 weeks)

(Sample modules)

    1. Paete Folk Art
    2. Death and Textiles in Bontoc Culture
    3. The Arts in Maranao Culture
    4. The Arts in Taosug Culture
    5. Philippine Art in the 19th Century
    6. Philippine Art from 1900 to Contemporary Times

VIII. Course requirements

Course requirements will include:

  1. two long examinations;
  2. group projects or reports; and
  3. class recitation (participation in group discussions)
  4. reaction papers, quizzes, attendance).

IX. Reading List

(Faculty may draw their reading requirements from this list or may add their own.)

Alperson, Philip, ed. The Philosophy of the Visual Arts. Oxford: Oxford U Pr, 1992.

Art and Society Handbook. Quezon City: CAL Foundn & CHED, 1998.

Becker, Howard. Art Worlds. Los Angeles: U of Calif Pr, 1982.

Datuin, Flaudette May, and others. Art and Society. Quezon City: U of the Phils Pr, 1999.

Flores, Patrick and Cecilia Sta. Maria-de la Paz. Sining at Lipunan. Quezon City: Sentro ng Wikang Filipino, 2000.

Guillermo, Alice. Ang Sining sa Kasaysayang Filipino. Quezon City: U of the Phils Pr, [n.d.].

X. Activities

The course will involve the following activities: slide viewing, listening to music, watching films or

videos, visits to museums and galleries, experiencing actual architectural structures. A whole-day field

trip to artistic sites is recommended.