Cleveland State University Spring Semester, 2002
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
Department of Urban Studies
UST 478/578, PDD 578, Sacred Landmarks
Class Times: 9 Saturdays beginning January 19 and ending May 4; specifically 1/19, 2/2, 2/16, 3/2, 3/16, 3/30, 4/13, 4/27, 5/4.
Instructor: Dr. Michael Wells, 216.687.2106, wells@urban.csuohio.edu, Urban College 216.
Course Description: An exploration of urban art, culture, history, and ethnicity attributed to sacred landmarks; examination of sacred landmarks preservation efforts in Cleveland; examination of the role sacred landmarks play in neighborhood social and economic welfare.
Course Objectives: 1) Increase awareness of the resources represented by sacred landmarks in urban areas using the Cleveland area as the model. These resources include urban art, culture, history, and ethnicity. 2) Examine the material cultures of sacred landmarks and compare these cultures with the faiths and liturgies associated with sacred landmarks. 3) Examine preservation efforts directed toward sacred landmarks and compare them with preservation efforts nationally and internationally. 4) Examine the role of sacred landmarks in community social and economic welfare maintenance or enhancement.
Course Requirements: This course requires participation via WebCT courseware. It also requires participation in field trips (designated in the semester schedule). There will also be several written assignments:
1) An annotated bibliography of 6 books, articles, or web sites about Christian art and architecture (500 words minimum);
2) An annotated bibliography of 6 books, articles, or web sites about Islamic art and architecture (500 words minimum);
3) An annotated bibliography of 6 books, articles, or web sites about Judaic art and architecture (500 words minimum);
4) An essay on stained glass approached from iconography, history, art, artist, window, or set of windows (500 words minimum);
5) An essay on sacred landmarks and historic preservation in this city, state, or nation or internationally;
6) A 10-minute (minimum and maximum) presentation on some aspect of sacred landmarks; for example:
· Compare and contrast the design of different worship places;
· Describe through example how ethnicity is reflected in the desogn and decoration of sacred landmarks;
· Describe the changes in worship practices since Vatican II;
· Catalog and describe a stained glass window or suite of windows in a particular sacred space;
· Design a tour of Cleveland sacred landmarks;
· Describe the impact of a sacred landmark on the past and present of its neighborhood;
Your presentation should include an introduction, the body of the report, and a conclusion. Make it colorful and interesting. We will present these reports in the computer lab in the College of Urban Affairs.
Semester Schedule:
Week 1 (January 19, 2002)
Orientation on CSU and LCCC campuses via distance learning.
Introduction to Christian art and architecture.
Assignment: Annotated bibliography on Christian art and architecture.
Site Visit: Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, East 22nd St. and Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Parking at back of Cathedral off Prospect Ave.
Week 2 (February 2, 2002)
Assignment due: Annotated bibliography on Christian art and architecture and post on WebCT.
Assignment: Essay on stained glass. Also look at stained glass, Trinity stained glass monograph, Visual Arts, and Material History of American Religion web sites on WebCT.
Site Visit: First Congregational Church, 330 Second Street in the morning for Jim Whitney’s presentation on stained glass and a tour of First Congregational’s Tiffany windows. Parking available in front of the church. In the afternoon, visit the Whitney Stained Glass Studio 2530 Superior Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Parking on Superior Ave.
Week 3 (February 16, 2002)
Assignment due: Essay on stained glass and post on WebCT.
Assignment: Annotated bibliography on Islamic art and architecture. Also review the Islamic web sites on WebCT to assist in putting together your bibliography. Take a look at the Christian denominational web sites on WebCT to get a picture of the diversity within Christianity; our site visits today underscore this diversity.
Site Visit: St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church, 1930 W. 54th St., Cleveland, Ohio (9:30 am); St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral, 733 Starkweather Ave., Cleveland, Ohio (11:00 am); Pilgrim Congregational Church, 2592 W. 14th St. Cleveland, Ohio (1:30).
Week 4 (March 2, 2002)
Meet at the Cleveland Museum of Art for a stroll through several galleries concerned with religious art and architecture. Meet at museum at 10:00 am.
Week 5 (March 16, 2002)
Spring Break; no class.
Week 6 (March 30, 2002)
Assignment Due: Annotated bibliography on Islamic art and architecture and post on WebCT.
Assignment: Annotated bibliography on Judaic art and architecture. Also review Judaic web sites on WebCT to assist in putting together your bibliography.
Site Visit: In the
morning (10:00 am) Islamic Center, 6055 W. 130th St., Parma, Ohio;
ample parking available. In the
afternoon, field trip concerned with sacred stones with Professor Michael
Tevesz, locations to be announced
.
Week 7 (April 13, 2002)
Assignment due: Annotated bibliography on Judaic art and architecture and post on WebCT.
Introduction to Jewish life and faith in Cleveland.
Site Visit: Park Synagogue, 3300 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland Heights, Ohio; ample parking available
Week 8 (April 27, 2002)
Assignment: Essay on historic preservation and sacred landmarks.
Introduction to faith-based social welfare/economic development and historic preservation.
Site Visit: Lakeview Cemetery, off either Euclid Ave. or Mayfield Rd. at the top of Little Italy (meet by Garfield Memorial).
Assignment Due: Essay on historic preservation and sacred landmarks and post on WebCT.
Student Presentations.
WebCT is the courseware Cleveland State University has selected to offer web-based and web-enhanced courses. If this type of instruction is new to you, you share this with many other students and instructors. Because we meet as a class every other Saturday, we can use WebCT to share your work and questions and ideas about the course with your classmates and instructor. WebCT also serves you as a large repository of online material to assist you in completing your assignments. This large repository will also expand your knowledge about sacred landmarks. Hopefully, you will enjoy using it. We will have in-class instruction on WebCT.
I will use the standard A, A-, B, B-, etc. grading system. Please turn in assignments on time.
All assignments need to be documented with footnotes and bibliography. Please use the American Psychological Association (APA) footnote style. This is an in-text citation giving the author’s last name and the year of publication and if you use a quotation the page number. Examples:
Milstein (1990) believes that the grizzly bear, Dall sheep, and golden eagle are in danger if we don curb poaching in our national parks.
The grizzly bear, Dall sheep, and golden eagle are in danger if we do not curb poaching in our national parks (Milstein, 1990).
According to Milstein (1990), “as part of a recent Washington State wilderness bill, Congress upped the maximum fine for wildlife crimes at Olympic National Park from $500 to $25,000” (p.125).
During one federal sting operation in North Carolina, “agents bought about 1,200 bear claws, on their way to becoming jewelry” (Milstein, 1990, p. 125).
Notice that the parenthesis goes inside the period.