Leslie Tait

You have to lead a 15 min discussion, 2 papers (technically 3 because you have to submit an outline for paper 2), midterm, final, visual annotations due at the beginning of every class, daily readings, and daily discussion posts (you have to write your own and also reply to another person)

PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. It was so bad that this is the first-ever culpa review that I have ever written. This professor is ultra nitpicky about everything you say and/or write in your papers, midterm/final, and during discussion. She is the type of professor to find things to dock you for to make sure that you don't get a good grade. I had no prior knowledge of art, so it was a little more difficult for me to do the assignments, and I actively spent at least 8 hours/week doing the work, discussion posts, and readings for the class just to end up with an A-. For one of the writing assignments, the highest grade in the class was a 4.8 out of 5.... it was a little OD, but sure. Also, you don't get to pick what day you lead a discussion or what you present on. It is randomly assigned, and you just have to pray to god that the things that you point out in the piece of art align with what prof. Tait wants. There is no direction in the discussion lead that she gives you, besides a few slides that you will be leading with in class when you have to present. The midterm was pretty okay, I genuinely thought the rest of the semester was going to be a breeze, but oh boy was I WRONG. The second paper that was assigned was in two parts (an outline that was due during BREAK, and the 6-7 page paper that is due a week and a half later). She was very nitpicky about t…

Visual annotations every day before you walk into class (can drop I think 2??), discussion posts 2x a week about very long readings that she assigns (you have to make your own discussion post and also reply to another person), first writing assignment that is worth 5% of your grade (out of 5 points), second writing assignment (15%, but there are two parts, the first is an outline and the actual paper is due 2 weeks later during your break) midterm (15%), final (25%), and you have to lead a 15 minute discussion in class that you don't get to pick.

DO NOT TAKE HER SECTION OF ART HUM FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Please listen to the other reviews. She is super nitpicky about specific terms and will dock you points for every little thing that does not align with what she is specifically looking for. I feel like she was definitely the type of professor who sought to dock points rather than give any room for a small bit of failure. She would very rarely give 100's for smaller assignments. For an assignment that was out of 5 points, the highest grade was a 4.9... I genuinely thought that I was in the clear throughout the semester, and participated every day in class, but even the participation grade wasn't a 100% either, which was a little ridiculous. The midterm and final are ultra-specific, and you have to learn very specific terms to get full points.

2 essays (technically three because one of the essays is a draft that is with Essay #2), DP every class, readings for every class, and visual annotations for every class. You also have to lead a group presentation for 10 minutes, and it is randomly assigned to you, so you have no say in what you get to choose if you are interested in a certain period/style.

I think I learned a lot in the class, and I think I spent waaaaay too much time doing the assignments just to end up with an A-. She's really nice, but it is kinda ridiculous to end up with a 9.89/10 for participation, even though I did end up talking during every class. I recommend this class (most importantly, this prof) if you already have some knowledge/background on different styles of art. I think it was a little OD imo, but yeah, overall wouldn't recommend if you want a good grade, but would recommend if you want to genuinely learn a lot more about art.

2 papers (one handwritten, one typed exhibition review), midterm, final, various annotations/discussion posts (graded for completion)

It's evidence of CULPA's power that Professor Tait's Arthum sections were half-empty near the end of the registration period... I think the negative score is entirely unearned! The "specific terms" people keep referring to are fairly basic conventions of architectural/artistic nomenclature and there are Just Not That Many Of Them, you will be fine. Otherwise, I think she's a very generous grader: definitely looks more at content/whether or not you're trying to grapple with the material rather than negging you for stylistic points. I had a good time!

Takes off a strange amount of points from graded assignments but the scores are usually very high. For example, you'd probably end up with a 49.837 instead of a 50/50 but I'm not exactly complaining (I just found it really funny). There's a discussion post and visual analysis due every class along with a reading (really short, takes less than 30 min to complete). 2 graded papers (first is basically for completion tho u do have to try a little bit if u want a good grade). Second paper is a visual analysis (this is where being really literal about your art analysis is important). Then a midterm and final (non-cumulative).

I honestly thought this class was going to be terrible because of the other reviews. To be honest, she's really not bad at all. I really liked the class personally, and didn't think it was too hard to keep up. At first I did all the readings but although they're interesting, I quickly learnt that they're not entirely necessary (except the ones for the discussions but just skim those and you're fine). If you pay at least half attention in class and pay EXTRA!!! attention to the final review (which is in class), you'll probably get an A. Just pretend you're one of those fancy art critics in those movies, and look at the art very literally (not metaphorically). She also loves when people participate. She's not out to get you, on the contrary she's really passionate about art. Coming from someone who sucks at all arts and has 0 clue about it, this was an easy class. I didn't even attend office hours really and it was still fine. She's clear about her expectations too, so please don't try to read between the lines and do something else LOL. Finally, try to memorize the major art styles and their associated time periods (there's not many but they're SUPER important for the exams)!