ARTHI 3963: Work Ethic

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Fall 2016, Thursdays 1 4pm, Spertus 423B

Instructor: Amanda Douberley, adoube@saic.edu

Office Hours: Tuesdays 4-6pm (by appointment)

This course examines labor in modern and contemporary art. We look at representations of work,
and the ways that art has been shaped by, and helped to shape, attitudes about the role of
workers in modem industrial society. We map the rich history of the labor movement in Chicago
through course readings as well as a web-based writing assignment. We also attend to notions of
artistic labor, from William Morris and craft to Marcel Duchamp's ambivalence about work to the
managerial aesthetic of conceptual art. In addition to labor, we pay close attention to its
opposite through a consideration of topics such as play, unemployment, and going on strike.
Course readings situate key artworks within the context of labor history, gender studies, and art
history.

Learning outcomes: Upon completion of the course, students should possess (1) familiarity
with major nineteenth- and twentieth-century theories of labor, including Marxism and
Taylorism; (2) general knowledge of the ways that art has been shaped by, and helped to
shape, attitudes about work since the mid-nineteenth century; (3) a deeper understanding of
how ideas about labor have influenced the construction of gender and profoundly affected the
production and reception of modern and contemporary art; (4) enhanced tools of textual and
formal analysis; (5) improved research and writing skills.

All readings are available via CANVAS.

Assignments with percentage of course grade:

Class participation, worksheets, etc. Dates vary (20%)
Short paper Sept 29 (15%)
Midterm exam Oct 13 (15%)
Annotated bibliography Nov 10 (10%)
Research paper Dec 8 (20%)
Take-home final essay Dec 15 (20%)

Assignments are designed to improve your writing and critical thinking skills. All assignments
must be completed to receive a passing grade. Undergraduate and non-degree-seeking
students must achieve at least average performance in the course (the traditional grade
equivalent of a C- or 70%) in order to earn CR. Graduate students must achieve the traditional
grade equivalent of a B- or 80%. If you are interested in receiving a letter grade, please notify
me at the beginning of the semester, provide a grade request form, and a self-addressed,
stamped envelope.

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C lass participation, worksheets, and short writing assignments: Throughout the
semester, you will be asked to respond to course readings and contribute to class discussion.
You should arrive in class each week prepared to share your own ideas about the assigned
readings and to respond to those of your colleagues. To facilitate class discussion, you will be
assigned several short writing assignments (1-2 pages) and in-class worksheets. Assignments
will be announced in class and via CANVAS.

Exams: Your comprehension of course material will be measured through one written in-class
exam and a take-home final essay. These exams cover important themes and concepts
discussed in our class lectures and assigned readings.

Papers: The first paper will give you an opportunity to explore the rich history of Chicagos
labor movement. You will choose a site, research its history, and document your visit. Then you
will post a 500 to 1,000-word text along with images to the web.

For the second paper, you will choose a specific artwork or critical issue associated with labor
to discuss in a 2,000 to 2,500-word research paper. The paper will hone your ability to describe
and analyze works of art, and sharpen your research skills. To help consolidate your research,
you will submit an annotated bibliography with at least five sources on November 10. Your final
paper is due on December 8. Further guidelines for both assignments will be distributed in
class.

For all course assignments, please write in complete sentences and use a 12-point font,
double-space sentences, and number your pages. At the top of the first page, include a single-
spaced header with your name, title of course, title of paper, and date of paper. Citations are
required when paraphrasing or quoting unique sources. For a quick guide to citations, see
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
Unless otherwise indicated, you should submit your work via CANVAS.

Assignments must be turned in on the due date to receive credit. Extensions will be granted
only if you have been sick or had a personal emergency, and can provide documentation from
a doctor or school authority attesting to this fact. Late assignments will be docked ten points
per day and will not be accepted after five days have elapsed.

Writing C enter: SAIC offers free, hour-long writing tutorials at the Writing Center, which is
located in the basement of MacLean. Tutors are available to assist all currently enrolled
students with any stage of the writing process. To schedule an appointment with a Writing
Center tutor, students first need to create an account through the online sign-up system:
www.supersaas.com/schedule/saic/writingcenter. Once students have set up their own
account, they may sign up for appointments. Weekly standing appointments are available upon
request. When students come to their tutoring appointments, they should make sure to bring
their assignments with them and have any work printed out. Online schedule instructions are
available outside of the Writing Center suite (in the hallway outside of the MacLean Center B1

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03). Call 312.345.9131 for last-minute openings. Monday Thursday, 4:15pm 7:15pm are
designated as walk-in hours.

Attendance: SAIC policy states that students are expected to attend all classes regularly and
on time.

Students should miss class only with reasonable cause. If a student needs to miss class with
reasonable cause, it is the students responsibility to contact the instructor to receive
instruction for how to make up for the missed class. It is the instructors responsibility to give
this information to the student as his/her/their schedule permits. Missing class for other than a
reasonable cause may jeopardize the students academic standing in the class.

Any MORE than two missed classes, whether or not for a reasonable cause, is grounds for No
Credit in all Art History courses. There are no excused absences.

Reasonable cause to miss a class might include:

Illness or hospitalization (the student should contact Health Services, who will relay
information to the faculty in whose class the student is enrolled)
Observation of a religious holiday
Family illness or death

Classes missed during the add/drop period are counted towards absences. The student is
responsible for assignments given during those missed days. Students officially enrolled in a
course will be given credit only if they have responded adequately to the standards and
requirements set by the instructor.

Please be on time! When you are late to class, you disrupt discussion and miss important
information. Be advised that, if you arrive more than ten minutes after the start of class, you will
be marked absent. You are required to ask for permission if you need to leave class early for
any reason and should avoid scheduling appointments during class time. Tardies are
cumulative and may be counted against attendance.

Remember to power down. Electronic devices such as cellphones and pagers must be
turned off and put away before class begins. Laptops, tablets, and e-readers may be used
ONLY to take notes and to view course readings. The use of digital devices in class to perform
non-class related work will not be tolerated. Any student who ignores this policy will be asked
to leave class and will be marked absent.

Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct includes both plagiarism and cheating, and may
consist of: the submission of the work of another as ones own; unauthorized assistance on a
test or assignment; submission of the same work for more than one class without the
knowledge and consent of all instructors; or the failure to properly cite texts or ideas from
other sources. Academic integrity is expected in all coursework, including online learning. It is

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assumed that the person receiving the credit for the course is the person completing the work.
SAIC has processes in place that protect student privacy and uses LDAP authentication to verify
student identity. Specific procedures for faculty to follow in the case of academic misconduct
are detailed in the Student Handbook. Additional resources for students: Plagiarism: How to
Recognize It and Avoid It, a short guide prepared by the Faculty Senate Student Life
Subcommitee in 2004. http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/portal/library/plagiarism_packet.pdf
The Flaxman Librarys quick guide titled AVOID PLAGIARISM.
http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/portal/library/plagiarism_quickguide.pdf

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: SAIC is committed to full compliance with all
laws regarding equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Students with known or
suspected disabilities, such as a Reading/Writing Disorder, ADD/ADHD, and/or a mental health
condition who think they would benefit from assistance or accommodations should first contact
the Disability and Learning Resource Center (DLRC) to schedule an appointment. DLRC staff
will review your disability documentation and work with you to determine reasonable
accommodations. They will then provide you with a letter outlining the approved
accommodations for you to deliver to your instructors. This letter must be presented before
any accommodations will be implemented. You should contact the DLRC as early in the
semester as possible. The DLRC is located within the Wellness Center on the 13th floor of 116
S Michigan Ave. and can be reached via phone at 312.499.4278 or email at dlrc@saic.edu.

C ourse Schedule*

Unit 1
September 1
Introduction

In-class screening: Charlie Chaplin, Pay Day (1922, 28:00)

Unit 2
September 8
William Morris and the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood

Art, Religion, and Labour, in Tim Barringer, Men at Work: Art and Labour in Victorian
Britain (New Haven and London: Yale Univ. Press, 2005), pp. 21-34, 44-56, 67-81, 327-
337.

September 13 END OF ADD/DROP

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Unit 3
September 15
Working Women in French Impressionism

Morisots Wet Nurse: The Construction of Work and Leisure in Impressionist Painting,
in Linda Nochlin, Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays (Cambridge: Harper & Row,
1988), pp. 37-56.
Working Women for Sale, in Hollis Clayson, Painted Love: Prostitution in French Art
of the Impressionist Era (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1991), pp. 113-132, 181-184.

Unit 4
September 22
The Labor Movement in C hicago

Haymarket: An Embattled History of Static Monuments and Public Interventions, in

Nicolas Lampert, A Peoples Art History of the United States: 250 Years of Activist Art
and Artists Working in Social Justice Movements (New York: New Press, 2013), pp. 70-
85, 315-318.
Louis Sullivans Democratic Architecture and the Labor Movement, in Joanna
Merwood-Salisbury, Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the Modern City (Chicago: Univ.
of Chicago Press, 2009), pp. 38-54, 154-159.

Unit 5
September 29 SHORT PAPER DUE
Lewis Hine & The Ashcan School

Alan Trachtenberg, Ever-the Human Document, in America & Lewis Hine:

Photographs, 1904-1940 (New York: Aperture, 1977), pp. 118-137
Alexis L. Boylan, Neither Tramp Nor Hobo: Images of Unemployment in the Art of the
Ashcan School, Prospects 30 (October 2005): 433-450.

Unit 6
October 6
Taylorism

Helen Molesworth, Work Avoidance: The Everyday Life of Marcel Duchamps

Readymades, Art Journal 57:4 (Winter 1998): 50-61.
Sharon Corwin, Picturing Efficiency: Precisionism, Scientific Management, and the
Effacement of Labor, Representations 84:1 (November 2003): 139-165.

Unit 7
October 13 - MIDTERM EXAM
In-class screening: Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times (1929, 87:00)

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Unit 8
October 20
Diego Rivera and Isamu Noguchi in the 1930s

Anthony W. Lee, Workers and Painters: Social Realism and Race in Diego Riveras
Detroit murals, in Alejandro Anreus, Diana L. Linden, and Jonathan Weinberg, eds.,
The Social and the Real: Political Art of the 1930s in the Western Hemisphere (University
Park, Penn.: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 2006), pp. 201-220, 333-336.
Modernism, Public Art, and Sculpture as Social Practice in the 1930s, in Amy Lyford,
Isamu Noguchis Modernism: Negotiating Race, Labor, and Nation, 1930-1950
(Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2013), pp. 43-65, 226-229.

Unit 9
October 27
The Janitor Who Paints: Palmer Hayden and Henry Darger

John Ott, Labored Stereotypes: Palmer Haydens The Janitor Who Paints, American
Art 22:1 (Spring 2008): 102-115.
Mary Trent, Many Stirring Scenes: Henry Dargers Reworking of American Visual
Culture, American Art 26:1 (Spring 2012): 74-101.

November 1 LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW

Unit 10
November 3
O ffice Girls and O rganization Men

Ellen Wiley Todd, The Question of Difference: Isabel Bishops Deferential Office Girls,
in Marianne Doezema and Elizabeth Milroy, eds., Reading American Art (New Haven:
Yale UP, 1998), pp. 409-439.

Screening: Jacques Tati, Playtime (1967, 124:00)

Unit 11
November 10 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Donald Judds Loft and Andy Warhols Factory

A Loft Without Labor: Judd, in Joshua Shannon, The Disappearance of Objects: New
York Art and the Rise of the Postmodern City (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 2009), pp.
149-186, 212-219.

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Unit 12
November 17
House Work and Hard Hats

Julia Bryan-Wilson, Hard Hats and Art Strikes: Robert Morris in 1970, The Art Bulletin
89:2 (June 2007), pp. 333-359.
Helen Molesworth, Cleaning Up in the 1970s: The Work of Judy Chicago, Mary Kelly
and Mierle Laderman Ukeles, in Michael Newman and Jon Bird, eds., Rewriting
Conceptual Art (London: Reaktion Books, 1999), pp. 107-122, 229-231.

November 24 Thanksgiving Break NO CLASS

Unit 13
December 1 IN-CLASS RESEARCH PAPER WORKSHOP
Work Ethic

Helen Molesworth, Work Ethic, and Chris Gilbert, Herbie Goes Bananas: Fantasies
of Leisure and Labor from the New Left to the New Economy, in Work Ethic (University
Park, Penn.: Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 2004), pp. 24-51, 66-81.

December 8 Critique Week NO CLASS

RESEARCH PAPER DUE

Unit 14
December 15 TAKE- HO ME FINAL ESSAY DUE
In-class research paper presentations

*The instructor reserves the right to adjust the course schedule; announcements will be made
in class and via CANVAS.