SP_AHPU American History through Art
Syllabus and requirements
Student presentations

SP_AHPU American History through Art
Thomas Martin, PhD (doctorate in American colonial history from Miami University of Ohio, 1978;
retired professor of history at Sinclair Community College, Ohio)
•Syllabus
•Description: this course will examine nine major themes in the history of the United States as
expressed through works of art, and a class on architecture.  The format is informal lecture and
discussion; students are encouraged to take an active part.
•No textbook is required; class materials will be online.
•Class meetings: April 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21, 22, 23 at 17:35-19:15
•Building: Faculty of Education, Porici 7, Room: 19a (underground floor)
•All class materials online at is.muni.cz
•Requirements:  attendance at all classes and a presentation on the last day of class
•The presentation will consist of a brief Powerpoint presentation (3 to 5 slides), on a work of
American art,  and discuss how it relates to or explains some aspect of American history.  Lists of
works will be provided for students to choose from, and also guidelines on how to make a
presentation.  The presentation should be about five to ten minutes.
•Schedule:
•April 14: The place of Native Americans in US history
•April 15: Puritanism and the American Revolution
•April 16: Manifest Destiny and American imperialism
•April 17: Industrialization and Immigration
•April 18: Race and Slavery
•April 22: Cold War era
•April 23: American architecture
•April 24: student presentations
•Questions? E-mail the instructor at thomas.martin6057@sinclair.edu
•

Presentation guidelines
•Choose one work of American art (any period, any medium)
•First slide: show an image of the work
•Second slide: who was the artist, and what was he or she trying to say?
•Third slide: this is the most important part of the presentation – what does this work tell us
about American history and/or culture?
•Fourth slide: cite your sources
•You can use more than four slides if necessary, but not too many – you have only 5 or 10 minutes!

A few resources for art images
•http://lib.calhoun.edu/lib/VRD/humanities.html
•http://americanartcollection.wordpress.com/about/
•http://www.artcyclopedia.com/nationalities/American.html
•http://www.artchive.com/ftp_site.htm
•http://www.michaeloart.com/americas-top-40-paintings-of-all-time/
•http://historylink101.com/art/FamousAmericanPaintings/index.html
•http://picturingamerica.neh.gov/
•

Thomas Martin, PhD
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•I have taught at Antioch College, Wright State University and for the last 25 years, at Sinclair
Community College in Dayton, Ohio.  I have been to Brno several times and have spoken to a number
of classes.  In 2007, with two colleagues, I brought Sinclair students to Europe to visit
Holocaust-related places, and we spent one day at Masaryk University visiting classes and talking
with students about racism and prejudice in America.  Two Masaryk teachers have also visited
Sinclair.

www.sinclair.edu
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