Core objective #7: Artistic composition, interpretation and expression
Objective: Primary areas of focused inquiry
Brief description of learning objective: Students will apply techniques of critical analysis to the study and interpretation of the arts (which includes such disciplines as dance, music, theater, visual art, and creative writing) in the context of culture, society, and individual identity.
Standards or requirements for verification
Courses submitted for verification should be lower-division (100-200 level) general education courses, offered for 3 or more units each.
This objective is satisfied by 3 credits in courses approved by the Core Board. Where possible, arts majors are encouraged to develop this objective outside of their area of study.
The purpose of Core Objective 7 is to provide the student with an informed appreciation of the visual, performing, and/or creative literary arts in both historical and contemporary contexts. CO7 equips students to recognize and value the crucial role the arts play in shaping our experiences and informing our understanding of the world. The array of course offerings in CO7 enables the student to investigate either academic or practical studio approaches to the various forms and meanings of artistic composition, interpretation, and expression. The course syllabus will explicitly state how students in the course will obtain, apply, and demonstrate knowledge of visual, performing, and/or creative literary arts in the context of culture, society, and individual identity.
All courses satisfying CO7 must strike a balance between the exploration of artistic expression/practice and the articulation of critical interpretation. In this way, critical survey courses that satisfy CO7 must exist in close relationship to the practices they study. This balance must be borne out through course SLOs and evaluation methodologies. While it is invaluable that students gain an understanding of artistic composition and expression, a student's arts education must also include attention to analysis and evaluation based on knowledge of relevant historical, cultural, aesthetic, and/or theoretical traditions. Students may satisfy the requirement either by articulating critical interpretation (based on artworks, performance, or theory and criticism of others) or by producing an interpretation that demonstrates critical application of technique (i.e., in the form of a student's own artwork, performance, or creative expression that demonstrably takes into account a historical, cultural, aesthetic, or theoretical tradition).
Lecture courses include a writing component; practice courses must also include creative activity that result in a display of the student's artistic expression, whether through performance, exhibition, or submission of creative work for publication. Courses satisfying CO7 will also develop CO1 and/or CO3.
Courses satisfying this Core Objective will meet the expectations detailed above and should:
- Include the Core Objective, together with its brief description, on the course syllabus in its original form.
- Include in the course syllabus one-third of the student learning outcomes that address CO7 objectives, along with other student learning outcomes appropriate to the course.
- Identify in the course syllabus the designation of CO7, CO1, and CO3 student learning outcomes.
- Identify in the course syllabus the teaching techniques and student experiences that will help students acquire the competencies described in the Core Objective.
- Assess whether students have acquired the competency described in the student learning outcomes and use methods for collecting and analyzing data that can be reported to the Core Curriculum Board.
Suggested student learning outcomes and assessment methods
Faculty may incorporate one or more of the examples from this list or propose their own student learning outcomes and methods of assessing the objective.
Students will apply techniques of critical analysis to the study and interpretation of the arts (which includes such disciplines as dance, music, theater, visual art, and creative writing) in the context of culture, society, and individual identity.
Courses satisfying CO7 might feature student learning outcomes like the ones listed below. Faculty may use outcomes from this list or propose their own outcomes addressing the objective. Learning outcomes must be observable and measurable so that they can be properly assessed.
Students will be able to:
- use theoretical, critical, or practical concepts to analyze works of art, dance, music, and/or theatre
- articulate relationships between works of art (dance, etc.) and their contexts: culture, society, and individual identity
- articulate the relationships between historical context and works of art (either their own or those of others)
- demonstrate knowledge of artistic theory or technique in a work or performance
All courses that are verified as satisfying a Core Objective will be assessed on a regular basis to determine how well students are learning the knowledge and skills described in the objective. Instructors are expected to develop ways of directly measuring student learning (through evaluating the work students produce in the course) and to report these measurements to the Core Board upon request.
The following are some examples of direct assessment methods that might be used in courses satisfying CO7. Examples of student work should be evaluated according to a clear, consistent rubric or set of criteria. Faculty may choose methods from this list or propose alternative assessment methods:
- an assignment that asks students to apply concepts learned in the course to analyses of artistic works, in the form of an essay, oral report, or performance, evaluated using a rubric containing criteria keyed to this outcome and representing disciplinary standards
- a written assignment or oral report analyzing how an artist's cultural surroundings and individual experiences might have influenced his or her work, evaluated via a rubric as described above
- an essay requiring students to place an artistic work in historical context by explaining the social conditions that existed at the time it was produced, evaluated via a rubric as described above
- a portfolio or performance of representative work demonstrating the student's application of artistic theory or technique, evaluated via a rubric as described above.