Course Information
Course title
 Introduction to the Arts of China, Japan, Korea 
Semester
 106-1 
Designated for
 VARIOUS PROGRAM  Art and Design Program  
Instructor
 CHUN-YI JOYCE TSAI 
Curriculum Number
 LibEdu1063 
Curriculum Identity Number
 H01 06300 
Class
  
Credits
 3.0 
Full/Half
Yr.
 Half 
Required/
Elective
 Elective 
Time
 Tuesday 3,4,5 
Remarks
 The upper limit of the number of students: 25. 
Ceiba Web Server
 http://ceiba.ntu.edu.tw/1061LibEdu1063_ 
Table of Core Capabilities and Curriculum Planning
 Association has not been established
Course Syllabus
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Course Description

IMPORTANT: To enroll or stay on the roster, students MUST attend the first two lectures and submit a student profile explaining your background and interest in this course by Week 2. The final roster will then be determined according to the following priority: (1) international exchange students; (2) international degree students; (3) local seniors; (4) relevant certificate program majors (eg. Asian Art, Art and Design); (5) other local students.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

East Asian art is one of the most vibrant and rapidly developing areas of the global art market today. Through a series of lectures, weekly discussions, and museum visits, this course introduces the distinctive yet intimately related pre-modern aesthetic traditions of China, Japan, and Korea through representative objects and recurring themes to help students develop the skills of looking, thinking, and writing about the visual arts of East Asia.
Organized roughly in a chronological manner, the course will be divided into several segments, each focusing on a major type of material, format, genre, or theme of the visual arts in East Asia. Each week, students will attend a two-hour background lecture given by the instructor or occasional guest speakers, and a one-hour discussion section on critical issues and readings pertaining to ideas and works of art introduced in the lecture led by a TA. No prior knowledge of East Asian art, culture, and languages is required, although such knowledge would be useful.

Museum visits are an essential part of the class. These trips give students the opportunity to observe and practice how to apply their knowledge in class to the examination of actual works and displays of art. There will be a guided tour of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (“Northern Branch”)—an hour away from NTU campus by public transportation. In addition, students are required to serve as museum guides to their classmates at the Northern Branch as part of their gallery talk assignment. Admission to the museum is free with a valid NTU student ID. 

Course Objective
 COURSE OBJECTIVES

1.To offer a sampling of the diverse forms of visual arts in East Asia;
2.To introduce the socio-historical context within which these representative works were created and received;
3.To give students a basic understanding of the technical properties of the works;
4.To introduce some of the key English-language research that has been done in the field;
5.To introduce some of the important art historical issues raised by the works of art featured;
6.To give students the basic vocabulary, knowledge, and skills for looking at, thinking about, and writing about East Asian art.
 
Course Requirement
 See Evaluation and Grading.  
Office Hours
 Appointment required. Note: By appointment. Please email: chunyitsai@ntu.edu.tw 
References
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

A.Textbooks
• Thorp, Robert L. and Richard Ellis Vinograd. Chinese Art and Culture. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; New York: H.N. Abrams, 2001.
• Mason, Penelope E. History of Japanese Art, New York: Abrams, 1993.
• Portal, Jane. Korea: Art and Archaeology. London: British Museum Press, 2000.

B. Weekly Readings
Other short topical articles will be assigned each week. The complete reading list will be made available to registered students.  
Designated reading
 ASSIGNED READINGS

Each week, students are required to read a 10-20 page article selected to help them think creatively and critically about the assumptions, approaches, and arguments behind primary sources and secondary scholarship. This article is listed under “Discussions” under the weekly reading list and will be discussed during the third hour of class. In addition, students are encouraged to consult the following textbooks for further background on the lecture topics.

Hardcopies of all readings will be available on Course Reserves Shelf VK-8 in the NTU Main Library; digital copies are available on the course website on CEIBA.
 
Grading
  
No.
Item
%
Explanations for the conditions
1. 
 Group Presentation and Paper  
45% 
 For the group project, students should form 4-5 person teams (8-10 teams in total) to present a 20-minute oral report on an approved topic and submit carefully scripted, captioned, and cited powerpoint slides. Students must also have their topics approved ahead of time and submit proposals which contain a 1-page abstract that clearly states the research question, motivation, approach; a 1-page outline that lists the proposed main points and supporting examples; and a 1-page bibliography listing authoritative sources. The best topics should be a further exploration of works and themes mentioned in class. Ideally, they should include examples from all three cultures presented in high-quality images. Good projects should reflect clarity of thinking and presentation, as well as resourcefulness and rigor in research.  
2. 
 Museum Talk and Paper 
30% 
 Students will (1) submit a 2-page paper on an object from one of the permanent collections at the NPM Northern Branch (15%) and (2) deliver a 3-min gallery talk in front of that object during the Student Museum Talk (15%). The grade will depend upon how well the student describes visual properties of the object, grounds it within the historical context under which the object was created and received, relates it to lectures and assigned readings, pays attention to how it relates to other works in the gallery, and responds thoughtfully to critical inquiries from the audience. Some original research is expected. 
3. 
 Attendance and Class Participation 
20% 
 Students earn an 【A】range grade by attending classes regularly, participating in class discussions and activities actively, and asking thoughtful questions. Students who miss classes due to illness, family emergencies, religious observances and other excusable reasons should submit a leave-of-absence request through myNTU with appropriate documentations (eg. doctor’s notes) within a week of the absence. Students have the opportunity to earn extra credits in this category if they complete additional, approved assignments, such as book reviews or exhibition reviews.  
4. 
 Student Profile and Reflection Paper 
5% 
 At the beginning of the semester, students will submit a 1-2 page student profile which briefly introduces their backgrounds and interests related to the class. At the end of the semester, students will submit a 2-3 page reflection paper to summarize what they have learned throughout the semester. 
 
Progress
Week
Date
Topic
Week 1
 9/12  Week 1 (09/12): Introduction  
Week 2
 9/19  Week 2 (09/19): Film Screening: On the National Palace Museum Student profiles due.  
Week 3
 9/26  Week 3 (09/26): Neolithic Pottery—Fragments of Prehistoric Life  
Week 4
 10/03  Week 4 (10/03): Bronzes—Vessels of Power and Prestige  
Week 5
 10/10  Week 5 (10/10): Holiday: Double-Tenth  
Week 6
 10/17  Week 6 (10/17): Ceramics—Playing with Earth and Fire Students locate museum paper topics at NPM.  
Week 7
 10/24  Week 7 (10/24): NPM Permanent Exhibitions Tour: Bronze, Ceramics, Decorative Arts Gallery Meet at NPM that weekend for a private tour, details TBA Museum paper topic determined.  
Week 8
 10/31  Week 8 (10/31): Ruling Class Tombs—Furnishing the Afterlife Museum paper due.  
Week 9
 11/07  Week 9 (11/07): Midterm Reading Break Final project group list and 2 topic ideas due.  
Week 10
 11/14  Week 10 (11/14):Calligraphy—Writing as High Art Final project topics finalized by teaching staff.  
Week 11
 11/21  Week 11 (11/21): NPM Special Exhibition Tour: National Treasures of Painting and Calligraphy Meet at NPM that weekend for a private tour, details TBA  
Week 12
 11/28  Week 12 (11/28): NPM Student Museum Talk (I) Meet directly at NPM that weekend, details TBA. Final project proposal due.  
Week 13
 12/05  Week 13 (12/05): NPM Student Museum Talk (II) Meet directly at NPM that weekend, details TBA. Final project proposal feedback offered; group presentation schedule announced.  
Week 14
 12/12  Week 14 (12/12): Painting—Nature as Metaphor  
Week 15
 12/19  Week 15 (12/19): Prints—Multiple Visions  
Week 16
 12/26  Week 16 (12/26): Group Presentation (I) Presenters distribute group presentation handouts to teaching staff and class.  
Week 17
 1/02  Week 17 (01/02): Holiday: New Year’s  
Week 18
 1/09  Week 18 (01/09): Group Presentation (II) Presenters distribute group presentation handouts to teaching staff and class. Reflection paper and all remaining assignments due.  
Week 3-1
 10/03  Readings for discussion: pick according to birth month 
Week 3-2
 09/26  Object Paper (DUE 10/31) 
Week 4-1
 10/17  Readings for discussion: pick according to birth month