Course Description

As in the recent past, this course will be taught primarily from a US perspective and will place emphasis on the US legal system, including Supreme Court decisions. This course will examine the relationship between the state and the production and consumption of the arts. We begin with the assumption that art is inherently political, regardless of the presence or absence of overtly political messages. The first part of the course will be dedicated to examining the political nature of art. That is, why art can be considered political, and why it is often such an effective mechanism for expressing political viewpoints? The second part of the course explores some of the ways the state influences the arts. Here we will look at how the state acts directly through overt coercion and also through the ‘power of the purse.’ These direct acts raise obvious general concerns about the proper role of government in cultural affairs but also raise more specific political concerns such as the existing limits of legal and ideal appropriate protection given to artists. Finally, we will examine the state’s ability to affect the arts through indirect action. This section will examine issues of free market ideology and the arts, including regulation of the art market, artist contracts and the media.

Course requirements

· Short paper- 15%

· Research Paper Proposal- 5%

· Midterm exam- 25%

· Research paper- 20%

· Final exam- 35%

Course materials

The following books are available at the UO bookstore and on reserve at Knight library:

·Sanford Levinson, Written in Stone, Duke University Press

·Tyler Cowen, In Praise of Commercial Culture, Harvard University Press

· Additional readings available on the Internet or e-reserve (see course outline)

Blackboard website: http://blackboard.uoregon.edu/

The course website contains this syllabus, important announcements, links to online reading assignments, office hours and contact information, and other resources. Please check for updates at least weekly.

Policies:

Class Attendance: There is no mandatory in-class attendance policy for classroom lecture. However, regular class attendance is strongly encouraged. The lectures cover some material not contained in the texts and the exams will emphasize material covered in class.

Late Papers: If you are sick, stay at home, rest, and get better. You don’t want to be in class and people in class don’t want you to get them sick. If you happen to be sick when your paper assignment is due bring a note from the doctor explaining this (e-mails and phone calls will not suffice). Other papers not turned in on the assigned day will be docked a letter grade per day. After three days papers will not be accepted.

Midterm and Final: The midterm and final will be given on the specified date unless you are sick, in which case you need to 1) notify me before the exam (email is fine) and 2) you must bring a note from the doctor and we’ll set up a time for a make-up.

Plagiarism and Cheating: Plagiarism and cheating undermines the purpose of academia and disadvantages other students. Conviction can and has resulted in failing the assignment, the course, and even expulsion. If I suspect you are cheating I will simply report you to judicial affairs and let them sort it out. As far as plagiarism is concerned, here is the golden rule: When in doubt, cite it! If you are using someone else’s words, put them in quotes and cite the source. If you are using someone else’s ideas to further your argument, cite it. If you don’t do these things at a minimum you are guilty of plagiarism. Please see the following UO website for clarification and guidance: http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/plagiarism/students/

Caveat: During the course of the term, you will be exposed to material that some people may find offensive. Please contact the instructor if you have any concerns.

Course readings: Assigned readings listed as [online reading] can be found on the web. Click on the underlined link to go to the site. Readings listed as [e-reserve] can be accessed through the UO library web site. Click on the Course Reserves link and enter PS 301. The login is Winter07 and the password is TBA (all lowercase). You can read the articles on your screen or print them out.

Other notes: Students with disabilities will be accommodated. Please contact Disability Services, 164 Oregon Hall, at 346.1155 and have them advise me as to how to best meet your needs.

Final Note: A word about bias in the classroom. We all carry bias of various forms and I am certainly no exception. It has become fashionable for students, politicians, university administrators, and even academics to seek to root out bias in the classroom (as though it is even possible), no matter the form or purpose. I couldn’t disagree with this more. I firmly believe that bias, when used properly, is one of the most effective teaching tools. This does not mean I will attempt to “convert or persuade” those that hold views that I disagree with, in fact my intentions could be no further from this. Rather, I will purposely use bias in the classroom under the assumption that in order to come to a fully reasoned position on an issue or subject one must first: a) gather as much information from multiple sources and perspectives as possible on the matter, b) must be able to understand and articulate varying positions equally, and c) seriously consider these perspectives before arriving at a decision. Accordingly, I will purposely introduce bias in a number of ways. I want to use controversy to engage as many of you as possible. Finally, if I believe the classroom or sections are becoming too one-sided in any direction, I will deliberately attempt to counter this climate by taking “the other perspective,” regardless of my own opinion. Basically, if you think bias has no place in the classroom then this course is definitely not for you.

Course Outline

Part I: Introduction and Overview

Week 1. Introduction; Art and politics.

Charles Hersch, Democratic Artworks, Intro & Conclusion [e-reserve]

The American Assembly, “The Arts and the Public Purpose” [online reading]

Week 2. Art and politics (continued); Free expression and the 1^st Amendment.

Carol Becker, “The Artist As Public Intellectual” [e-reserve]President’s Committee On the Arts and the Humanities, “A Report to the President” [online reading]

Part II: Direct Regulation of the Arts and Free Expression

Week 3. Obscenity; Indecency

Marjorie Heins, Not in Front of the Children, Introduction and Chapter 1 [e-reserve]

The Motion Picture Code of 1930 [online reading]

** Monday – Short paper due **

Week 4. Pornography

Andrea Dworkin, Pornography Happens to Women [online reading]

Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon, Model Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance [online reading]

Henry, Alice. “Does Viewing Pornography Lead Men to Rape?” in Feminism and Censorship; The Current Debate, edited by Gail Chester and Julienne Dickey. [e-reserve]

Film: American Porn

** Monday – Paper proposal due **

Week 5. Public art

Sanford Levinson, Written in Stone

** Friday, February 9 – Midterm examination **

Part III: Art and the Market

Week 6. Capitalism and the arts

Tyler Cowen, In Praise of Commercial Culture, Chapters 1-3

Film: Money for Nothing

Week 7. Funding of the arts

In Praise of Commercial Culture, Chapters 4-5

Mark Stern and Susan Seifert, Re-presenting the City: Arts, Culture, and Diversity in Philadelphia [online reading]

Debate in Senate over Helms amendment, from Richard Bolton, Culture Wars [e-reserve]

Film: Damned in the USA

Week 8. Regulating the art market – Media regulation, Artist contracts, Art theft

US State Department, International Cultural Property Protection [online reading]

Fighting the Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property [online reading]

Week 9. Intellectual property rights and the future of art

Seth Shulman, Owning the Future, selections [e-reserve]

James Boyle, Shamans, Software, & Spleens, selections [e-reserve]

Film: Willful Infringement

** Monday – Research paper due **

Week 10. TBA

Final Exam: http://registrar.uoregon.edu/common/cals/finalscal.htm