Syllabus: Canadian Art History

​Course Overview
This course provides an exploration into the visual arts in Canada—two and three-dimensional artworks through the study of: artistic developments within French and English colonies, Indigenous peoples artworks and place in Canadian culture, significant Canadian art movements and artists, and the role of Canadian art in an international context. Learners will examine and reflect upon Canadian art beginning in the mid-19th and up to the end of the 20th century--sources of influence, role of institutions and policy-making, the significant movements and people, and articulate the role(s) of each in shaping Canada’s national and cultural identity. 

Learning Method
Course format is self-study with interesting and varied high-quality content for reading, watching, and exploring online. Learners can choose to actively engage by applying their perspectives through reflections, researching and writing, and creating multi-media presentations. The course is equivalent to a graduate-level college course within eight modules. The time commitment, if completing all course work and assignments within each module ranges between ten and fifteen hours. 

Learning Outcomes

1. Recognize and describe the development of the visual arts in Canada from the mid-19th to end of 20th century 
2. Describe the significance of and different perspectives of art objects and artistic developments of First Nations cultures 
3. Describe the social, cultural and artistic significance of two or more historic art groups or ‘schools’ within Canada and their artworks 
4. Analyze the role of art institutions and the federal government in the development of artistic output in Canada
5. Recognize and describe one or more 20th century art movements and their impact on Canadian artists and their works
6. Determine how Indigenous arts are perceived and exhibited by Canadian institutions 
7. Critically analyze and discuss how Canadian artists’ groups, individual artists, different countries, and political events from the 19th century to present have impacted and influenced Canada’s cultural identity
8. Articulate a personal perspective of Canada’s culture identity 

Course Resources
Content is drawn from  books, articles, and credible web sources, some which require a free online account. Sources include cultural institution websites, Google Books, Internet Archive, journal articles on JSTOR, as well as videos and web content on various sites. Below are sites requiring an online account.

• Google Books, requires a Google email account to access

• Internet Archive, A non-profit free digital library  
• JSTOR, database of academic journals and ebooks, provides free, reading access to articles online 

Required textbooks (available at reduced prices on used bookstore sites)

• Painting in Canada: a history, 2nd edition, J. Russell Harper, University of Toronto Press, 1977 (parts of this text are available for free on Google Books)
• A Concise History of Canadian Painting, 2nd edition, Dennis Reid, Oxford University Press, 1988​

Assignments
​
1. Reflections on Module Content Assignments (9)

• Learners engage with and explore content (videos, readings, web sources) for each module (8 in total), conducting web research to synthesize a point of view in response to provided prompt. Grading guidelines in Self-Assessment Checklist
• Learners write a 2 to 3-page reflection paper summarizing and formulating in his or her own words, the main argument of assigned reading, Making Sense Out/Of the Visual: Aboriginal Presentations and Representations in Nineteenth-Century Canada by Ruth Phillips. Learners discuss the author’s argument, articulate whether they agree or disagree and why. Grading guidelines in Self-Assessment Checklist
• Assignment purpose: opportunities for learners to analyze artworks and art movements in conjunction with political, cultural and historic events to develop deeper knowledge and perspectives of Canadian Art and culture in a global context. Weekly reflection assignments collectively address all learning objectives; Reflection paper meets learning objectives #2, #4.

2. Multi-Media Presentation (3)

• Module 4: Learners create a presentation using a multi-media platform or slide platform, by assembling 5 to 10 images of art works around a specific theme that relates to the thesis or aim of the final paper, e.g. an artist, movement or technique. Example and more details listed in module. Grading guidelines in Self-Assessment Checklist
• Module 6: Learners create a curated mini-exhibition by including between four and six art works related to the time period of the module, from one or more artists encountered. Decide upon a theme. Create captions for each work, including details of the artwork—title, date, artist. The theme could be related to a movement, idea, region, or visual concept. Example and more details listed in module. Grading guidelines in Self-Assessment Checklist
• Module 7: Learners create a digital collage with images and text (headlines of newspapers, articles, etc) using a shareable media- platform such as padlet or google docs. Images and text selected should represent personal viewpoint on Canada’s cultural identity. Grading guidelines in Self-Assessment Checklist
• Assignment purpose: opportunities for learners to conduct an analysis of a specific Canadian artists’ group or individual artist, and their, or his/her impact on Canada’s artistic development (nationally or regionally), culture and social values. Meets learning objective #2, #3, #5 and #8.

3. Research Paper: Canadian Identity

• Learners research and write a 8 to 10-page paper describing a point-of-view on how a specific artist, movement or group, and historic, social and/or political event(s) contributed to shaping Canada’s national identity by considering the following questions:
• How did either an artists’ group, individual artist, art movement or event contribute to shaping Canadian identity or unique culture? Choose one. What political, social and cultural factors were happening at the time that may have influenced the group/person/movement? 
• Develop a thesis statement that focuses on a group/artist/movement/event and present an argument about how it contributed to Canada’s national identity. Support argument with credible sources 
• Grading guidelines in Self-Assessment Checklist
• Assignment purpose: opportunity for learners to synthesize course content and articulate how a movement, artist, group, or event(s) contributed to Canada’s national and cultural identity. Meets learning objective #8.

​Modules Outline (click on link for module details; more modules to follow)
One: What Makes Canadian Art 'Canadian'?
Two: Art and Nation Building: Colonial Art in Canada: Up to 1867—Confederation
Three: After Confederation: Art in the 19th Century
Four:  Impressionism, Modernism and Nationalism in the Early Twentieth Century: 1900s to 1950s
Five:  Exploring Regionalism, Emily Carr, and Indigenous Art in Canada
Six: Abstract Expressionism, Les Automatistes, and the Woodland School 
Seven: Post-Painterly Abstraction, Dada, the Emma Lake Workshops and the Rise of the Visual Arts 
Eight: Impact and Influence of the Federal Government, Art Institutions, and Anti-Americanism on Canada’s Cultural Identity

Header Image Credit: Main Street at Indiantown, 1940, Jack Humphrey, National Gallery of Canada