ARTH290 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Yui Suzuki ARTH290 Anonymous 09/09/2013	Her TA, Caroline Shields, is horrible. Horrible, horrible, horrible. Avoid at all costs.
Jason Kuo ARTH290 Anonymous 04/11/2013	Our grade was based on 5 quizzes (he drops 1), 2 papers, 1 midterm and 1 final(cumulative). I took this course in 2012 Fall semester, Dr Kuo is nice person, but the lecture is really boring; however, you have to take good notes to be prepared for the exam. I only give 3 stars to Dr Kuo, but 5 stars to my TA:Madeline Gent. Ye, she is strict, but she really help you to understand the course content that covered by Dr. Kuo. I have taken some core courses, many TA just go over the assigned reading that is totaly not related to the course materials, but Madeline is not the one. She will cover the important materials and make sure you understand it. One thing needs to be mentioned: our exams and paper topics were determined by the TAs, the mid-term final, and quizzes was format in matching(vocab), multiple choices(from your notes), fill in blank, and short answers. No long essay which is my favorite part. It would be painful for someone to memorized over 100 slide IDs and vocab for the exam. But for me, it's fine
Yui Suzuki ARTH290 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/16/2012	Suzuki is very passionate about what she is teaching, but she expects a lot from students. So if you are going to take this class as a core requirement, don't. You have to memorize every single details about more than 50 artistic objects and places to do well in the exams. There is a research paper and you have to write 3 pages to describe a statue. In terms of TAs, if your TA does not like you, they can be really unreasonable with grading (which does not happen with TAs in other majors).
Yui Suzuki ARTH290 Expecting an A zhangsta 12/22/2011	Dr. Suzuki presents everything using powerpoint slides, but she is a very good lecturer. She presents the material in a very clear and concise manner. She also posts handouts that you can take notes on. Her exam format is 20/50 points in slide IDS and 30/50 points in an essay. The slide IDs are the easy part. The essay is where most people lose points. The readings that she assigns help with the exam essays because they'll give you some ideas to write about. In short, it's an interesting class, but if you just need an HA class, take another one because this one is way too much work if you just need an HA.
Yui Suzuki ARTH290 Anonymous 12/21/2011	If considering taking this course with Suzuki, I suggest you run. She was a poor lecturer and gave wayyyyy too many details about artwork (basically gave us a formal analysis of everything) and then tests us on half of what she said. Also, she doesn't allow students to record her lectures because it's "copyrighted material" so if you miss class or fall asleep then find a friend who can provide you with notes. Grades aren't up yet but I think I got a C in the class because during the essay portion of the midterms, I failed miserably. Slide ID's (where you see an objet, identify it's name, date/period, material, etc.) I did well on. The TA's are not so specific on what they're looking for on essays so I didn't really know how to improve. Basically, this class is NOT an easy A. If you're looking for an easier HA/D core, look at the music stuff.
Yui Suzuki ARTH290 Anonymous 12/13/2011	This class has been an interesting experience. I signed up for this class to satisfy CORE credits. I expected a class where the art revolves around the culture, but instead I entered a class where the culture revolves around the art. Allow me to explain in a bit. First off, I am a studio art major, so I thought it was going to easy to examine and describe the objects, since as an artist I consider these type of things. Being an art major also helps because the vocabulary for describing the objects comes more easily. When a lecture is introduced, it usually begins with some background information about the corresponding regions and also key questions to consider, unifying elements for all the artifacts in the lecture. From there on, background information becomes scarce as you plunge into the array of objects and their purposes and meanings. From analyzing the artifacts' important and common characteristics, we learn about the culture and its beliefs, whether that be religion, tradition, politics, etc. Dr. Suzuki does a good job in explaining the objects and definitely knows what she's talking about. However, it felt that she was going too quickly sometimes during the Powerpoint, and names and locations were hard to write down just from hearing her say them. But that is partly my fault because before we came to classes, we were supposed to print out the handouts with all the info and look over them before class to get a better understanding of what is being taught. I didn't do the assigned readings, but now I know they are important in fully grasping the context/background of the cultures. The discussion sections with TAs are essential to this course. The TAs help us to take in the info from lectures and analyze them further. Getting to know your TA is important, too, as the TA will be the one grading your quizzes, exams, and papers. Office hours are generally convenient so stop by to visit if you have any questions regarding anything your TA writes on your paper. It really helps to speak up a lot during class when discussing artifacts, too, because your TA can correct any misconceptions. TAs not only reinforced the information that was taught to us in lectures, but they also prepared us for the important museum paper and a giant aspect of the entire course: WRITING. Yes, it is very important to be able to write well, organize your essay, and convey the analysis well and very clearly. Overall, this class was very enriching despite all the work and such. It provided me with a greater understanding and appreciation of all arts, knowing the behind intricate details and purposeful handiwork, deeper motives stand.
Yui Suzuki ARTH290 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/08/2011	I think people should know that this is NOT an "easy A" class. But you do learn a ton of stuff. First of all, this Yui Suzuki is a lady and she doesn't have an accent. So the first reviewer might be talking about a different Dr. Suzuki. She is overall quite knowledgeable and when I dropped by her office to ask a few questions she was willing to answer them and clarify what I need to know for the exams. Basically you need to do lots of dense reading, write proficiently, and be able to memorize facts about the objects that she talks about in lecture. The pictures of the objects are posted on ELMS, and she puts everything you need to know about them in a handout, which is also available on ELMS. One thing people really struggle with though, is writing. If you come in on the exam day prepared for the "Slide ID", which is identifying the artistic object, medium, time period...etc, you'll do fine on that section. But on the essays, she's looking for a lot of specific details. If you write a high-school level essay on your exam, you'll get a D or C, for sure. That's where everybody struggles since the essay is usually about 50% or more of your exam grade. The keys to success in this class are 1) DO THE ASSIGNED READINGS! and 2)realize that your TA is a tremendous resource. People complain about failing this class, but it's mainly because they never do any of the readings. Yeah the articles are really dense and if you read closely some of the writers aren't too good either, but they give you TONS of information you could use in your exam essay. Another thing is, if you get points off on your first exam essay, TALK TO YOUR TA about it. It might depend on who your TA is, but my TA (Matthew Lincoln) was approachable and very, very knowledgeable. He would tell you exactly what was wrong with your first one and what you could do to make improvements so you don't make the same mistake. That being said, if you're not already proficient in writing about humanities and arts and you don't make an effort to communicate with your TA, this class will be boring and annoying. Unlike in chemistry department, where an army of TA grades everybody's paper and you never know who graded which section of your exam, your personal TA grades every single thing you turn in to him in ARTH290. So I cannot stress enough how important it is to get to know exactly what the TA is looking for in each assignment.
Yui Suzuki ARTH290 Anonymous 08/23/2011	First of all you must know that I am not an art enthusiast. I took this class for diversity credit. However looking past the boring material of ARTH290 I want to honestly rate professor Suzuki on how he taught. If it is not easy for you to follow heavy accents than this is definitely not the professor for you. Most of the time I would only make out a few words in each sentence. When he spoke he took forever to get to the point of what he was talking about. It took so long that I would no longer remember where he even began. I have never heard a professor say "uhh" between every other word during the entire lecture. Very unprofessional. Lets just say that during the tests the lecture hall was packed and during the actual lectures was nearly empty. I'm sure professor Suzuki may be better in a smaller classroom where he said he perfers but as a stuent I do NOT recommend this professor
Jason Kuo ARTH290 Anonymous 05/31/2011	PERSONAL BACKGROUND: I took this class because I needed to fulfill a "History/Theory of the Arts" requirement for CORE. I was a spring transfer so I only chose it because it fit my schedule - I had very limited options! At first, I hated the class, but I grew to appreciate it because it really did open my mind to Asian culture/philosophy/art. It should be noted that Dr. Kuo is not a consistent teacher of this class and only teaches this large lecture every few semesters. HOMEWORK: For those of you who are unfamaliar with Art History (as was I), the class is reading intensive. The readings will come from the assigned books (yes, you'll have to purchase multiple small books) and posted PDFs. The book readings are quite dull, but the PDFs are more student friendly. From the readings, you'll have to grab overall concepts and memorize vocab if any are mentioned. I'd recommend doing the reading AFTER the lecture because then you can sort out what you really to know. LECTURE: Expect a very large lecture hall. The lecture will consist of Dr. Kuo presenting a slideshow of different Asian art. He starts his lecture with a brief historical background and then talks about each art piece featured. His analysis of the culture/art is fantastic and very interesting. He is very insightful and has a great command of English grammar. He also tries to inject humor every now and then. However, Dr. Kuo is very old and has a strong Chinese accent, so you'll need to be very attentive to pick up on what he is saying. Often, I'd be knocked out by the last 10-15 minutes. The lectures reinforce the readings and his analysis can help you on the essay section of the tests. It is not imperative to attend the lecture (I skipped a few times), but I recommend going. TESTS: You will have 1 midterm, 1 final, and several quizzes throughout the semester. They are all similar in format. For the midterm & final, you'll have to memorize the artist/title/date/medium/dynasty for 60+ images that they post on Blackboard. You'll also have to memorize vocab terms and enough art history to do well on the compare&contrast essay. You will definitely have to do a lot of studying and memorization to succeed on these tests. It is a lot to memorize, but if you review the image IDs/readings every week (or at least a few days before the test) you'll be fine. MUSEUM PROJECTS: You'll have 2 3-pg visual analysis essays throughout the semester. These will require you to visit the Freer&Sackler Art gallery in DC. With no art history background, I initially found these assignments to be challenging. Luckily, my TA was a great resource for teaching me how to analyze an object and then write about it. DISCUSSION SECTION: You basically have to attend the discussion sections. They go over important concepts that you need to know for tests. Additionally, this is where you'll be taking your quizzes, receiving clarification about subjects, AND receiving instructions about other assignments. TEACHER ACCESSIBILITY: For me, Dr. Kuo was a wise old man who was not to be approached. I just can't imagine approaching him outside of class and asking him to help me write an art analysis paper! My most important resource was my TA. OVERALL: This class was a real wildcard for me. I never thought an art history class could be so insightful. I thought I would fail the class, but ended up earning an A+. It was very intensive, but also very eye-opening. I'd recommend it - but of course, if you're looking for an easy HA, this is NOT the course for you!
Jason Kuo ARTH290 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/21/2011	Our grade was based on 5 quizzes (he drops 1), 2 papers, 1 midterm and 1 final. The final covers the second half of the class and is NOT cumulative. We also had an additional paper for 5% extra credit. The quizzes if you pay attention to your TA, in the previous discussions and memorize all the object ID's, you'll be good. The papers are 3 pages long and its complete BS. As long as you write 3 pages and answer all the questions, you will get an A. The midterm had three parts: object ID's, matching and a comparative essay. Object ID's were complete memorization. Matching was a list of vocab words that they tell you. The comparative essay was comparing two images and talking about them. If you remember atleast some of the things your TA mentioned in discussion, you are good to go. The final was exactly like the midterm. Dr. Kuo is a really bad professor. He has an accent and mumbles into the microphone. There were only two classes when I was able to stay awake and take notes and that was when the TA's were subbing for him. He assigns a ridiculous amount of reading, which I never read. The class is supposed to be about Asian art but its primarily focused on JUST Chinese. We probably had 2 weeks about Japanese art and 2 weeks about Indian art. Everything else was Chinese. To do well in the class: 1. make flash cards and spend a couple hours the night before the quiz/exam memorizing them. 2. Go to every TA discussion and take notes. Going to class is completely pointless.
Alicia Volk ARTH290 Expecting a C Anonymous 01/21/2011	Do not take this class, especially not if you're taking a full load. Unfortunately the professor thinks that everyone is as interested in the subject as she is. Her lectures are boring. Every discussion, there is quiz on IDs from the previous class; but what if you haven't had time to study the IDs yet. Around Midterm and Finals time you will have to memorize around 100 slide IDs (artist, title, culture, medium, and time). Take something else if you're trying ti fulfill a core, if you must well I feel sorry for you. The 3 TAs were cool but they were strict and weren't a lot of help. My TA was like a mini Prof. Volk. Towards the end of the semester she got better. Moral of the story: avoid this class if you can.
Alicia Volk ARTH290 Anonymous 12/29/2010	Dr. Volk has the sweetest voice out of all the professors I have had. She also is the author of a pretty well written book. Her classes are fairly interesting but it is difficult to stay engaged with her monotonous voice. For the class, I really looked forward to it in the beginning of the semester. The readings were interesting and my TA seemed to know what was going on. But as the course went on, what Volk and the TA's expected of us seemed above and beyond what would be good enough for an A in a core class. Here is what work they have you do: - memorize the title, artist, century, medium, and culture of a bunch of artwork that look the same, - pop quizzes on what I listed above during discussion (any artwork discussed before is game) - 2 reading responses (these are not too bad, but the second reading was a book that you had to rent for a maximum time of 2 hours at the art library. It was about 40 pages long.) - keep up with the reading, which are occasionally discussed during discussion, which by the way goes into your participation grade. As said below, there is no actually textbook, but a bunch of photocopies of journals and articles and textbooks. So the resolution is terrible and font size is miniscule. Try reading at least 100 of those for the class. - 2 visual response papers that were graded way too harshly by the TA’s. I have a couple friends majoring in English and they both received C’s on their papers when they normally receive A’s on most of their English papers. One was terribly insulted with the TA suggested her to get hers edited by the English department before submitting the next one. - 1 midterm and 1 final. They are similar in format. Identifications with no word bank, comparing artwork, term definition with examples of artwork, and free responses. I remember students attacked professor Volk and the TA’s after the midterm because it was too much content in too little time. However grades were not adjusted. I do not believe there is a curve in the class. And grades were never posted on blackboard so you left in the dark. It took a while for the final grade to be posted and I am sure many students had their stomachs in knots waiting. Please do not take this class with professor Volk. In person she is amazing but as an ARTH290 professor, please avoid her.
Alicia Volk ARTH290 Expecting a C Lunar01 12/27/2010	First of all, let me just say that this class requires A LOT OF EFFORT. If you are looking for easy A, I would suggest you look somewhere else. Now for the class itself, the material can be interesting, but failed to meet its potential. Attending lectures is a must, missing even one will put you behind. The professor will lecture with a semi-monotone voice because she loves the topic but does not know how to convey it in the most interesting way to the students. The discussions go in deeper length with the topics in lectures. I HIGHLY SUGGEST you do the readings, no matter how long (average 20 pages) or boring (reading a textbook) they might be. This is because you need to know what's going on in discussions. You will have a ton of reading to do so do not let them snowball. There are two visual analysis, midterm, and final. You will have to go to the Freer & Sackler Museums in DC for the visual analysis. You will need to master the art of rote memorization on the artworks and do every reading to get a good grade on the midterm and finals. This course is not for people who wish for a light workload intro to the topic of Asian Art. I recommend you take other courses because of the sheer work amount in this class.
Alicia Volk ARTH290 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/15/2010	This class was awful. Definitely my worst choice. We had nearly 100 notecards to memorize (which only sounds KINDA bad) but when you realize that the artists names are totally foreign, you need to know the date of the work, the medium, the title, and the country of origin, that makes nearly 500 things to memorize. No one ever did the readings because they were in font size 8 and like 50 pages long (and they were hardly EVER addressed in lecture or discussion), but you were of course expected to know them on the test. I didn't learn anything about the actual artists, most of this class is rote memorization. I tried REALLY hard and I'm expecting a B+ if I'm lucky. Oh, also, there are quizzes every week in discussion, and they don't post the slides on elms until after the quiz, so it's impossible to study for. Don't take this class.
Alicia Volk ARTH290 Anonymous 12/13/2010	If you have a choice, you shouldn't take this class. The material in interesting (after the midterm- the first half is almost entirely Buddhist art and if gets really repetitive) and Professor Volk seems like a really nice person but the expectations that either she or the TA's (I really don't know who set the guidelines) are too strict. For an introductory course, we're required more than is necessary. In the midterm, nobody had enough time to finish the long essay that was worth the most points because of the details she asked for in every other question. She doesn't give you much notice at all for papers, even though they require trips to the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian. You'll be spending a lot of money on Metro trips. Also, the fact that there wasn't a book, only collections of essays and articles on Elms (some of which were difficult to find) made it difficult to keep up, especially since we had up to six readings a week. Unless you've been dying to take a class on Asian art, I suggest you stay away from this.
Alicia Volk ARTH290 Anonymous 12/05/2010	So what the reviewer below said about the course is true. It does have all those assignments described but it isn't as stressul as he/she makes it out to be. The main contributions to your grade are 2 visual analysis paper and your midterm and final. There are many readings to be done but I personally did not do a single one. They are supposed to be incorporated into the 2 exams but I didn't encounter anything I couldn't answer without the readings. Overall, the subject material is VERY interesting. Volk seems like an extremely nice person and her lectures are a pleasure to attend cuz she speaks so well and keeps everyone engaged. I loved the class and the professor. I would recommend it. The subject material is a little difficult to memorize due to the odd names but that really is only for the second part of the semester and can be dealt with easily if you keep up with the class discussions. Hope this helps and does not confuse you! :)
Alicia Volk ARTH290 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/01/2010	Do not take this class. It is definitely not worth it. Don't take this class if you don't have a lot of time on your hands. I do not hate the teacher as much as I hate the material and how the grades are construed.The professor's voice is "soothing;" she seems like a genuinely nice person. However, the material is too much. We have to memorize so so so many paintings and objects that all look the same. Further, the subjects and painters have really hard to pronounce/spell/remember names (e.g. Okumura Masanobu). It seems like an impossible feat if you have other hard classes. Also, we have a lot of readings (incorporated into the exams), visual analysis papers, response papers, worksheets, etc. The extra credit is only +1 point, but necessary since your grades will most likely suffer. You WILL go to the Freer Museum many many times throughout the semester (time-consuming + metro fees). After the withdrawal date, the teacher suddenly gives you an immense workload in a short period of time. I recommend saving yourself the pains of taking this class.

Yui Suzuki
ARTH290

Anonymous
09/09/2013

Her TA, Caroline Shields, is horrible. Horrible, horrible, horrible. Avoid at all costs.

Jason Kuo
ARTH290

Anonymous
04/11/2013

Our grade was based on 5 quizzes (he drops 1), 2 papers, 1 midterm and 1 final(cumulative). I took this course in 2012 Fall semester, Dr Kuo is nice person, but the lecture is really boring; however, you have to take good notes to be prepared for the exam. I only give 3 stars to Dr Kuo, but 5 stars to my TA:Madeline Gent. Ye, she is strict, but she really help you to understand the course content that covered by Dr. Kuo. I have taken some core courses, many TA just go over the assigned reading that is totaly not related to the course materials, but Madeline is not the one. She will cover the important materials and make sure you understand it. One thing needs to be mentioned: our exams and paper topics were determined by the TAs, the mid-term final, and quizzes was format in matching(vocab), multiple choices(from your notes), fill in blank, and short answers. No long essay which is my favorite part. It would be painful for someone to memorized over 100 slide IDs and vocab for the exam. But for me, it's fine

Yui Suzuki
ARTH290

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/16/2012

Suzuki is very passionate about what she is teaching, but she expects a lot from students. So if you are going to take this class as a core requirement, don't. You have to memorize every single details about more than 50 artistic objects and places to do well in the exams. There is a research paper and you have to write 3 pages to describe a statue. In terms of TAs, if your TA does not like you, they can be really unreasonable with grading (which does not happen with TAs in other majors).

Yui Suzuki
ARTH290

Expecting an A
zhangsta
12/22/2011

Dr. Suzuki presents everything using powerpoint slides, but she is a very good lecturer. She presents the material in a very clear and concise manner. She also posts handouts that you can take notes on. Her exam format is 20/50 points in slide IDS and 30/50 points in an essay. The slide IDs are the easy part. The essay is where most people lose points. The readings that she assigns help with the exam essays because they'll give you some ideas to write about. In short, it's an interesting class, but if you just need an HA class, take another one because this one is way too much work if you just need an HA.

Yui Suzuki
ARTH290

Anonymous
12/21/2011

If considering taking this course with Suzuki, I suggest you run. She was a poor lecturer and gave wayyyyy too many details about artwork (basically gave us a formal analysis of everything) and then tests us on half of what she said. Also, she doesn't allow students to record her lectures because it's "copyrighted material" so if you miss class or fall asleep then find a friend who can provide you with notes. Grades aren't up yet but I think I got a C in the class because during the essay portion of the midterms, I failed miserably. Slide ID's (where you see an objet, identify it's name, date/period, material, etc.) I did well on. The TA's are not so specific on what they're looking for on essays so I didn't really know how to improve. Basically, this class is NOT an easy A. If you're looking for an easier HA/D core, look at the music stuff.

Yui Suzuki
ARTH290

Anonymous
12/13/2011

This class has been an interesting experience. I signed up for this class to satisfy CORE credits. I expected a class where the art revolves around the culture, but instead I entered a class where the culture revolves around the art. Allow me to explain in a bit. First off, I am a studio art major, so I thought it was going to easy to examine and describe the objects, since as an artist I consider these type of things. Being an art major also helps because the vocabulary for describing the objects comes more easily. When a lecture is introduced, it usually begins with some background information about the corresponding regions and also key questions to consider, unifying elements for all the artifacts in the lecture. From there on, background information becomes scarce as you plunge into the array of objects and their purposes and meanings. From analyzing the artifacts' important and common characteristics, we learn about the culture and its beliefs, whether that be religion, tradition, politics, etc. Dr. Suzuki does a good job in explaining the objects and definitely knows what she's talking about. However, it felt that she was going too quickly sometimes during the Powerpoint, and names and locations were hard to write down just from hearing her say them. But that is partly my fault because before we came to classes, we were supposed to print out the handouts with all the info and look over them before class to get a better understanding of what is being taught. I didn't do the assigned readings, but now I know they are important in fully grasping the context/background of the cultures. The discussion sections with TAs are essential to this course. The TAs help us to take in the info from lectures and analyze them further. Getting to know your TA is important, too, as the TA will be the one grading your quizzes, exams, and papers. Office hours are generally convenient so stop by to visit if you have any questions regarding anything your TA writes on your paper. It really helps to speak up a lot during class when discussing artifacts, too, because your TA can correct any misconceptions. TAs not only reinforced the information that was taught to us in lectures, but they also prepared us for the important museum paper and a giant aspect of the entire course: WRITING. Yes, it is very important to be able to write well, organize your essay, and convey the analysis well and very clearly. Overall, this class was very enriching despite all the work and such. It provided me with a greater understanding and appreciation of all arts, knowing the behind intricate details and purposeful handiwork, deeper motives stand.

Yui Suzuki
ARTH290

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/08/2011

I think people should know that this is NOT an "easy A" class. But you do learn a ton of stuff. First of all, this Yui Suzuki is a lady and she doesn't have an accent. So the first reviewer might be talking about a different Dr. Suzuki. She is overall quite knowledgeable and when I dropped by her office to ask a few questions she was willing to answer them and clarify what I need to know for the exams. Basically you need to do lots of dense reading, write proficiently, and be able to memorize facts about the objects that she talks about in lecture. The pictures of the objects are posted on ELMS, and she puts everything you need to know about them in a handout, which is also available on ELMS. One thing people really struggle with though, is writing. If you come in on the exam day prepared for the "Slide ID", which is identifying the artistic object, medium, time period...etc, you'll do fine on that section. But on the essays, she's looking for a lot of specific details. If you write a high-school level essay on your exam, you'll get a D or C, for sure. That's where everybody struggles since the essay is usually about 50% or more of your exam grade. The keys to success in this class are 1) DO THE ASSIGNED READINGS! and 2)realize that your TA is a tremendous resource. People complain about failing this class, but it's mainly because they never do any of the readings. Yeah the articles are really dense and if you read closely some of the writers aren't too good either, but they give you TONS of information you could use in your exam essay. Another thing is, if you get points off on your first exam essay, TALK TO YOUR TA about it. It might depend on who your TA is, but my TA (Matthew Lincoln) was approachable and very, very knowledgeable. He would tell you exactly what was wrong with your first one and what you could do to make improvements so you don't make the same mistake. That being said, if you're not already proficient in writing about humanities and arts and you don't make an effort to communicate with your TA, this class will be boring and annoying. Unlike in chemistry department, where an army of TA grades everybody's paper and you never know who graded which section of your exam, your personal TA grades every single thing you turn in to him in ARTH290. So I cannot stress enough how important it is to get to know exactly what the TA is looking for in each assignment.

Yui Suzuki
ARTH290

Anonymous
08/23/2011

First of all you must know that I am not an art enthusiast. I took this class for diversity credit. However looking past the boring material of ARTH290 I want to honestly rate professor Suzuki on how he taught. If it is not easy for you to follow heavy accents than this is definitely not the professor for you. Most of the time I would only make out a few words in each sentence. When he spoke he took forever to get to the point of what he was talking about. It took so long that I would no longer remember where he even began. I have never heard a professor say "uhh" between every other word during the entire lecture. Very unprofessional. Lets just say that during the tests the lecture hall was packed and during the actual lectures was nearly empty. I'm sure professor Suzuki may be better in a smaller classroom where he said he perfers but as a stuent I do NOT recommend this professor

Jason Kuo
ARTH290

Anonymous
05/31/2011

PERSONAL BACKGROUND: I took this class because I needed to fulfill a "History/Theory of the Arts" requirement for CORE. I was a spring transfer so I only chose it because it fit my schedule - I had very limited options! At first, I hated the class, but I grew to appreciate it because it really did open my mind to Asian culture/philosophy/art. It should be noted that Dr. Kuo is not a consistent teacher of this class and only teaches this large lecture every few semesters. HOMEWORK: For those of you who are unfamaliar with Art History (as was I), the class is reading intensive. The readings will come from the assigned books (yes, you'll have to purchase multiple small books) and posted PDFs. The book readings are quite dull, but the PDFs are more student friendly. From the readings, you'll have to grab overall concepts and memorize vocab if any are mentioned. I'd recommend doing the reading AFTER the lecture because then you can sort out what you really to know. LECTURE: Expect a very large lecture hall. The lecture will consist of Dr. Kuo presenting a slideshow of different Asian art. He starts his lecture with a brief historical background and then talks about each art piece featured. His analysis of the culture/art is fantastic and very interesting. He is very insightful and has a great command of English grammar. He also tries to inject humor every now and then. However, Dr. Kuo is very old and has a strong Chinese accent, so you'll need to be very attentive to pick up on what he is saying. Often, I'd be knocked out by the last 10-15 minutes. The lectures reinforce the readings and his analysis can help you on the essay section of the tests. It is not imperative to attend the lecture (I skipped a few times), but I recommend going. TESTS: You will have 1 midterm, 1 final, and several quizzes throughout the semester. They are all similar in format. For the midterm & final, you'll have to memorize the artist/title/date/medium/dynasty for 60+ images that they post on Blackboard. You'll also have to memorize vocab terms and enough art history to do well on the compare&contrast essay. You will definitely have to do a lot of studying and memorization to succeed on these tests. It is a lot to memorize, but if you review the image IDs/readings every week (or at least a few days before the test) you'll be fine. MUSEUM PROJECTS: You'll have 2 3-pg visual analysis essays throughout the semester. These will require you to visit the Freer&Sackler Art gallery in DC. With no art history background, I initially found these assignments to be challenging. Luckily, my TA was a great resource for teaching me how to analyze an object and then write about it. DISCUSSION SECTION: You basically have to attend the discussion sections. They go over important concepts that you need to know for tests. Additionally, this is where you'll be taking your quizzes, receiving clarification about subjects, AND receiving instructions about other assignments. TEACHER ACCESSIBILITY: For me, Dr. Kuo was a wise old man who was not to be approached. I just can't imagine approaching him outside of class and asking him to help me write an art analysis paper! My most important resource was my TA. OVERALL: This class was a real wildcard for me. I never thought an art history class could be so insightful. I thought I would fail the class, but ended up earning an A+. It was very intensive, but also very eye-opening. I'd recommend it - but of course, if you're looking for an easy HA, this is NOT the course for you!

Jason Kuo
ARTH290

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/21/2011

Our grade was based on 5 quizzes (he drops 1), 2 papers, 1 midterm and 1 final. The final covers the second half of the class and is NOT cumulative. We also had an additional paper for 5% extra credit. The quizzes if you pay attention to your TA, in the previous discussions and memorize all the object ID's, you'll be good. The papers are 3 pages long and its complete BS. As long as you write 3 pages and answer all the questions, you will get an A. The midterm had three parts: object ID's, matching and a comparative essay. Object ID's were complete memorization. Matching was a list of vocab words that they tell you. The comparative essay was comparing two images and talking about them. If you remember atleast some of the things your TA mentioned in discussion, you are good to go. The final was exactly like the midterm. Dr. Kuo is a really bad professor. He has an accent and mumbles into the microphone. There were only two classes when I was able to stay awake and take notes and that was when the TA's were subbing for him. He assigns a ridiculous amount of reading, which I never read. The class is supposed to be about Asian art but its primarily focused on JUST Chinese. We probably had 2 weeks about Japanese art and 2 weeks about Indian art. Everything else was Chinese. To do well in the class: 1. make flash cards and spend a couple hours the night before the quiz/exam memorizing them. 2. Go to every TA discussion and take notes. Going to class is completely pointless.

Alicia Volk
ARTH290

Expecting a C
Anonymous
01/21/2011

Do not take this class, especially not if you're taking a full load. Unfortunately the professor thinks that everyone is as interested in the subject as she is. Her lectures are boring. Every discussion, there is quiz on IDs from the previous class; but what if you haven't had time to study the IDs yet. Around Midterm and Finals time you will have to memorize around 100 slide IDs (artist, title, culture, medium, and time). Take something else if you're trying ti fulfill a core, if you must well I feel sorry for you. The 3 TAs were cool but they were strict and weren't a lot of help. My TA was like a mini Prof. Volk. Towards the end of the semester she got better. Moral of the story: avoid this class if you can.

Alicia Volk
ARTH290

Anonymous
12/29/2010

Dr. Volk has the sweetest voice out of all the professors I have had. She also is the author of a pretty well written book. Her classes are fairly interesting but it is difficult to stay engaged with her monotonous voice. For the class, I really looked forward to it in the beginning of the semester. The readings were interesting and my TA seemed to know what was going on. But as the course went on, what Volk and the TA's expected of us seemed above and beyond what would be good enough for an A in a core class. Here is what work they have you do: - memorize the title, artist, century, medium, and culture of a bunch of artwork that look the same, - pop quizzes on what I listed above during discussion (any artwork discussed before is game) - 2 reading responses (these are not too bad, but the second reading was a book that you had to rent for a maximum time of 2 hours at the art library. It was about 40 pages long.) - keep up with the reading, which are occasionally discussed during discussion, which by the way goes into your participation grade. As said below, there is no actually textbook, but a bunch of photocopies of journals and articles and textbooks. So the resolution is terrible and font size is miniscule. Try reading at least 100 of those for the class. - 2 visual response papers that were graded way too harshly by the TA’s. I have a couple friends majoring in English and they both received C’s on their papers when they normally receive A’s on most of their English papers. One was terribly insulted with the TA suggested her to get hers edited by the English department before submitting the next one. - 1 midterm and 1 final. They are similar in format. Identifications with no word bank, comparing artwork, term definition with examples of artwork, and free responses. I remember students attacked professor Volk and the TA’s after the midterm because it was too much content in too little time. However grades were not adjusted. I do not believe there is a curve in the class. And grades were never posted on blackboard so you left in the dark. It took a while for the final grade to be posted and I am sure many students had their stomachs in knots waiting. Please do not take this class with professor Volk. In person she is amazing but as an ARTH290 professor, please avoid her.

Alicia Volk
ARTH290

Expecting a C
Lunar01
12/27/2010

First of all, let me just say that this class requires A LOT OF EFFORT. If you are looking for easy A, I would suggest you look somewhere else. Now for the class itself, the material can be interesting, but failed to meet its potential. Attending lectures is a must, missing even one will put you behind. The professor will lecture with a semi-monotone voice because she loves the topic but does not know how to convey it in the most interesting way to the students. The discussions go in deeper length with the topics in lectures. I HIGHLY SUGGEST you do the readings, no matter how long (average 20 pages) or boring (reading a textbook) they might be. This is because you need to know what's going on in discussions. You will have a ton of reading to do so do not let them snowball. There are two visual analysis, midterm, and final. You will have to go to the Freer & Sackler Museums in DC for the visual analysis. You will need to master the art of rote memorization on the artworks and do every reading to get a good grade on the midterm and finals. This course is not for people who wish for a light workload intro to the topic of Asian Art. I recommend you take other courses because of the sheer work amount in this class.

Alicia Volk
ARTH290

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/15/2010

This class was awful. Definitely my worst choice. We had nearly 100 notecards to memorize (which only sounds KINDA bad) but when you realize that the artists names are totally foreign, you need to know the date of the work, the medium, the title, and the country of origin, that makes nearly 500 things to memorize. No one ever did the readings because they were in font size 8 and like 50 pages long (and they were hardly EVER addressed in lecture or discussion), but you were of course expected to know them on the test. I didn't learn anything about the actual artists, most of this class is rote memorization. I tried REALLY hard and I'm expecting a B+ if I'm lucky. Oh, also, there are quizzes every week in discussion, and they don't post the slides on elms until after the quiz, so it's impossible to study for. Don't take this class.

Alicia Volk
ARTH290

Anonymous
12/13/2010

If you have a choice, you shouldn't take this class. The material in interesting (after the midterm- the first half is almost entirely Buddhist art and if gets really repetitive) and Professor Volk seems like a really nice person but the expectations that either she or the TA's (I really don't know who set the guidelines) are too strict. For an introductory course, we're required more than is necessary. In the midterm, nobody had enough time to finish the long essay that was worth the most points because of the details she asked for in every other question. She doesn't give you much notice at all for papers, even though they require trips to the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian. You'll be spending a lot of money on Metro trips. Also, the fact that there wasn't a book, only collections of essays and articles on Elms (some of which were difficult to find) made it difficult to keep up, especially since we had up to six readings a week. Unless you've been dying to take a class on Asian art, I suggest you stay away from this.

Alicia Volk
ARTH290

Anonymous
12/05/2010

So what the reviewer below said about the course is true. It does have all those assignments described but it isn't as stressul as he/she makes it out to be. The main contributions to your grade are 2 visual analysis paper and your midterm and final. There are many readings to be done but I personally did not do a single one. They are supposed to be incorporated into the 2 exams but I didn't encounter anything I couldn't answer without the readings. Overall, the subject material is VERY interesting. Volk seems like an extremely nice person and her lectures are a pleasure to attend cuz she speaks so well and keeps everyone engaged. I loved the class and the professor. I would recommend it. The subject material is a little difficult to memorize due to the odd names but that really is only for the second part of the semester and can be dealt with easily if you keep up with the class discussions. Hope this helps and does not confuse you! :)

Alicia Volk
ARTH290

Expecting a C
Anonymous
12/01/2010

Do not take this class. It is definitely not worth it. Don't take this class if you don't have a lot of time on your hands. I do not hate the teacher as much as I hate the material and how the grades are construed.The professor's voice is "soothing;" she seems like a genuinely nice person. However, the material is too much. We have to memorize so so so many paintings and objects that all look the same. Further, the subjects and painters have really hard to pronounce/spell/remember names (e.g. Okumura Masanobu). It seems like an impossible feat if you have other hard classes. Also, we have a lot of readings (incorporated into the exams), visual analysis papers, response papers, worksheets, etc. The extra credit is only +1 point, but necessary since your grades will most likely suffer. You WILL go to the Freer Museum many many times throughout the semester (time-consuming + metro fees). After the withdrawal date, the teacher suddenly gives you an immense workload in a short period of time. I recommend saving yourself the pains of taking this class.

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