ART H 307: History of American Art

Introduction

"You have each selected a work from the text that you found interesting, and you have presented, or will present, that work to the class. For your presentation you used internet sites as well as reference materials (textbook). Now I would like you to go a step further in terms of research and use the library and scholarly databases to find art historical studies that either address your particular work, the artist of your work, or similar types of works. You will each write a short paper, 3-4 pages, summarizing the sources that you have found in the context of an exhibition catalogue essay. Pretend that we are organizing an exhibition of American Art. Each of you will act as a curator for your work, since museum curators select, research and display works of art. You can think of your paper as an entry in a museum exhibition catalogue, which offers the public some interesting information and updated scholarship on that work.

While each catalogue entry must be an original text, I do not expect you to offer an original interpretation of the work. I do not expect you to become an expert in one semester! Rather, I am asking you to find out what sorts of things various experts have said about your selected work and present your findings to a general audience. Your job as curator is to present a helpful summary of the scholarship and the sources that you have found. Please do not write a biography of the artist.."

--From The Assignment

Sources

Acceptable Sources

• Scholarly journal articles--these are a special type of article that are written by scholars (professors), published in journals, often have long lists of citations.  Check out this example--you might recognize the author!
• Books--you can find books at Thun Library or order books from other campuses if Thun does not have what you need.

Unacceptable Sources

• Wikipedia
• Web Sites that lack credibility
• Book reviews

Class Activity: Acceptable or Unacceptable Sources?

For Print Books: 

1.  Type in your topic and hit search.

2. Click on the title of the book you would like.

3.  If the book is located at Penn State Berks, please write down the call number and go to Thun Library to retrieve the book.  Please ask for help at the front desk.

If the book is located at another Penn State library, please click the blue "I Want It" button in the CAT to order the book.  The book will usually arrive at Thun Library's front desk in 2-3 business days (you'll receive an email when it arrives).

For Ebooks: 

1. Type in your topic and hit search

2.  Select "Access" on the left sidebar.

3.  Click "Online"

4.  Under each book title, click the blue link under "Access Online" to view the book.