A variety of different
activities are assigned in this course for a variety of purposes.
Your final grade will depend on the summation of your effort and
in each category. Each activity will require some work on your
part outside of lecture and studiolab periods. A description and
purpose for each activity is detailed in the sub-sections below,
also accessed directly through links in the menu in the column at
The overall aim
of the course is to make connections between the materiality of how
art is created and the materiality of how science is done. Therefore,
hands-on work in the lab is an essential part of the course pedagogy
philosophy of The Stuff of Art. Your role as a class member
participating in the studiolab experience will be evaluated based
on your attendance (35%), your preparation (15%), your careful
attention to both the procedure and to safety (25%), and the quality
craft (25%). It is not expected, of course, that you enter
the studiolab with experience in all operations. It is expected that
you will give the highest attention to procedural and safety instructions
given prior to and during the class period and that you arrive
to studiolab having read, digested and written the procedure for
day's work in your notebook. As the course progresses and your knowledge
of chemical nomenclature and symbols increases, your preparation
should include writing relevant chemical equations and a consideration
of mass balance for reactions.
You should obtain
a notebook for this course that will serve several functions. It
will, first, be a place to write out procedures and notes for studiolab
activities, and where you will record observations and questions
or ideas during the lab period. Second,
the notebook is where you will write a formal summary of each week's
studiolab craft or activity, including chemical symbolism (old
and new!), chemical equations (where appropriate), The notebook
be the place where you should keep a journal of
As examples, you can write your reflections on the studiolab experience
afterwards. You can write entries reflecting on the lecture material.
You can record there questions that occur to you concerning the crafts,
the materials, or any other materials you find relevant. Your notebook
will be collected periodically for evaluation.
likely sounds like some punishment ... but frequent quizzes are really
to help you learn all the new vocabulary and concepts that will be
introduced this semester. In this way you will hopefully be able to
more quickly begin to utilize the chemical concepts in your notebooks
and in your reading. We have no time to lose(!), so these quizzes
will be short, multiple choice or short answer in style, given during
the last 10 minutes (or so) of Thursday class periods.
To help direct
your acquisition of new terms and concepts, an ever-growing list
will be posted on this Website, accessed from links words
as you will find in the column to the left. This link will be located
in most of the webpages in this site, such as pages devoted to stories
There are so
many different aspects of this huge area that explores
the connections between art and science—I had a very difficult
time choosing which
crafts and experiments to do. And, since we all have different preferences
and curiosities, this is a perfect situation for a course Project.
For this project, the only direction is:-use your imagination!
-do something different! You may wish to attempt a craft or experiment
not covered in class, you may wish to spend time in the library
using your new knowledge to investigate an art masterpiece and
its interpretation. Topics and a plan for your project should be
determined prior to spring break.
There will be two
exams and one mid-semester lab practical. The mid-term will be about an hour
and given at a time not during normal class periods (TBA). The final
will be given, self-scheduled, during finals period. For both exams,
questions will br drawn from the words
& concepts list, from the studiolab activities and
from lecture material. The lab practical is scheduled on a regular studiolab day several weeks after spring break (see Weekly Assignments).
exam - 15%
lab practical - 10%
exam - 15%