a) This class will run as a combination of lectures, tutorials and workshops. We have a number of guest lecturers coming along to talk about the sociology of arts from their particular areas of expertise. Attendance at all lectures, tutorials and workshops ( see below ) is therefore mandatory. I will be taking attendance in all our sessions. in order to receive full marks for attendance you must attend at least 80% of all lectures, tutorials and 100% of workshops.

b) Attendance is not enough. Participation not only means coming along regularly to class. It also means that before class on Tuesdays you should have read the required readings set for each week's lectures and discussions and be prepared to raise questions. the quality of these discussion sessions will depend on your active participation ad you are expected to have read the set readings before class and have questions ready for discussion. You will be encouraged to keep notes on your understandings of the required readings. You are also expected to contribute to general discussions when they arise and be prepared to speak up. We will discuss how to facilitate this in our first tutorial session in week 2. We may elect to have specific speakers to lead discussion questions in class. it is also possible that we will use the online discussion boards to signal questions for the class in preparation for our weekly discussions.

c) This class has a group workshop component. During the semester we will hold three workshops in class time where we will work in collaboration with the MQ Art Gallery and the senior curator, Rhonda Davis and her colleagues on a class project: 'Documenting and enhancing the audience experience of the MQ sculpture park". This project will give students the opportunity for some hands on experience working with the MQ sculpture collection. Depending on student interests, we will work towards producing a package that might include for example, a listening tour for visitors; a mapping project; a you tube video; a photographic portfolio. Other ideas will evolve out of the workshops. We will hold workshops in Week 4; Week 7 and hold a group presentation of the work you have completed during the semester in Week 13. Given the collaborative nature of this exercise, it is highly likely that you will need to spend some time working with your group outside of class time. Weeks 9 and 12 will be dedicated as study weeks to allow you time to work within your groups on the sculpture project. Although these group presentations will involve quite a lot of work, all the assessments in this class build towards this project: the short and long essays, the tutorials and the workshops. 

The final workshop in Week 13 (Tuesday 3/11/15) will be dedicated to group presentations. This will be an oral presentation and will be evaluated by Art Gallery staff and the course convenor. We will discuss the details of this assessment in class. There will also be an individual component to this assessment. Throughout the semester you must keep an individual research diary on your projects. This research diary should be handed to me on the day of the final group presentation and it will account for part of your grade in this assessment. The diaries can be in the form of notes, jottings , drawings, plans, scribbles, photos and/or other writing. Students who fail to hand in a research diary will automatically lose 50% of their marks for the group assessment. We will discuss this further in class. 

Choose topic A or topic B

A: What might a perspective from the sociology of the arts contribute to understanding the biography and career of an individual artist?

Choose one of the artists whose work is in the MQ Sculpture Part. Describe the work and your reactions to it. Research the artists's biography. Write up a case study of the artists and the artist's career. Using the course readings, as well as other research material illustrate how a sociological perspective on art and the arts might help us understand the artistic life and career of this artist.

B: What can a sociological perspective on art and the arts tell us about the production of art?

Choose one of the works in the MQ Sculpture Park and tell me why you have chosen this particular piece. Research the work. Describe it. Describe your reactions to the work. Using the course readings, as well as other research discuss what a sociological perspective on art that the arts might tell us about the production of this work.

For this exercise you are expected to do a close reading of a text to demonstrate your understanding of key issues. The exoercise is also a writing exercise where you must synthesise ideas from the readings and respond in your own words.

Question: Why is Art so difficult to define?

Choose ONE of the following articles.

Dissanayake, Ellen 1992. 'The Core of Art'. Chpater 3 in Homo Aestheticus: where art comes from and why. New York: the Free Press, pp 39-63

Dewey, John 1980(1934) 'The Live Creature'. Chapter 1 in Art as Experience. New York: Perigree Books, pp 3-19.

Outline the author's argument in the chapter  about art as a social category. Make sure to do a 'close reading' of the artcle by summarizing the key points and using the text itself to illustrate where appropriate. Respond to the author's argument in your own words. What do you think of the argument in the piece? What are its limitations and difficulties? In your answer you may also refer to the lecture material or other sources, but it is not necessary. The key to doing well in this exercise it to stay close to the text and write and answer that really tries to explain what the author is saying and to clearly articulate you own response.