DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE.
I took it to satisfy the fine arts requirement in the College, and thought that since it was a 1000 level course, it wouldn't be too hard. I was wrong.
There are two quizzes, one midterm, and one final. The course covered the beginning of human history (Paleolithic) to just before the Renaissance.

The quizzes are incredibly tough, as you often have to memorize a hundred different works of art. In addition to memorizing the name of the piece, you have to memorize: the date (name of the period and the actual years), significance of the work, artist, technique, location, artistic style, how it's an example of the period, medium, material, and several other details to secure a decent grade. As I said, you're expected to memorize over 100 different works of art, but you're only tested on 5 for each quiz. In addition, you only get 3 minutes to write down as much information as you possibly can. The TAs grade very harshly, and my own TA admitted that it's impossible to earn a perfect score on any of the slide IDs or exams.

The midterm was impossible to study for. It required you to compare the most obscure works of art, and was designed to test your memorization skills, not your understanding of the art. The slide IDs are worth a ridiculous amount, so if you mess one up, you've basically messed your entire grade up.

Professor Dobbins clearly understands the material and gives very detailed lectures. However, he often does not reinforce those details. In addition, his lectures often have information that are not mentioned in the textbook. Either that, or there are key details in the textbook that he omits in lecture. I found that you should do the readings before lecture, that way you're up to speed on what's going on. I would not recommend skipping a single lecture. I thought him to be rather boring - he doesn't make the art very engaging, and he's a dry lecturer.

Section is worth 25% of your grade I think, and attendance is mandatory. Your experience depends on your TA. Section doesn't do much to "teach" you about the art. If you only go to lecture and omit the textbook readings, you will feel very behind in section. Combining the textbook and lectures make it a lot easier to participate in section, and (I think) improves your understanding a lot better than just reading or just going to class.

I read all these reviews for this class, and didn't think anything of it. But DO NOT take this course. It is unnecessarily difficult, and as a 4 credit class, will ultimately end up doing more to harm your GPA than to help it. The difficulty of this class is something I'd expect from an upper level course, not from a 1000 level class. This class is not worth the work.

That said, if you do plan to take the course, I would recommend the following:
* Read the textbook before each lecture. Take notes from the textbook on a quizlet file, and add on to these notes each lecture
* Bring at least one caffeinated drink with you each lecture. You'll need it.
* MEMORIZE EARLY. This is not a class where you can cram the information in the night before. I know some people who did that for the final, and it did not work out well for them. I would suggest memorizing at least a week in advance so that the information sticks.
* Form a study group with at least one person. Inevitably, you will miss some information in your notes. Creating a study group really helps snag those extra points for the IDs.
* Go to office hours immediately after the first quiz, and go over what you did wrong with the TA. You might be missing one or two seemingly minor details which could really impact your grade.

Again, do not take this course. There is too much work for a 1000 level course, and if you're looking for an easy class to satisfy those requirements, this is not the course for you. I will admit that I learned a lot about art history and architecture - I had 0 art knowledge coming in, and this class definitely improved my understanding. You should only take this class if you're willing to dedicate a significant amount of time and energy to this course (approximately 10 hrs/week). Audit the course if you just want to learn, because it will crush your GPA. If you're looking for an easy course, stay far far away from ARTH 1051 with Dobbins. It's unnecessarily difficult, and you'll be cursing yourself when the final inevitably rolls around.

Professor is kind of funny but the class is so boring and tedious. You don't have to do any of the reading, so really its just memorize hundreds of works of art for each quiz and test every so often. I've probably made 1000 flashcards for this class. Just don't take it if you're not actually into art history. I like art, but art history is very different.

This is not the class for you. Unless you are the most passionate art history buff ever, this class is pointless and difficult. You have to memorize upwards of 200 pieces of art, their dates, locations and significance. The lectures for this class seem to be four hours long and the exams have so few questions on them that missing one destroys your grade. This is not an easy humanities elective, so prepare yourself before enrolling.

I wouldn't recommend this class. I went into this class thinking it couldn't be that difficult since it mostly requires memorization. However, even just quizzes require that you memorize the name, date, location, and significance of upwards of 200 art pieces and terms. Each quiz required me to start studying probably a week in advance, which I would never do for any other class. Also, each quiz has about 10 questions on it, meaning that you memorized about 190 things that you were not quizzed on and if you can't remember one art piece, your grade is greatly affected. Although I've enjoyed art history in the past and I've never had a problem with memorizing things and I even really liked Professor Dobbins, the quizzes and exams in this class require you to know way too much information, making it really hard to get a good grade.

Well worth the 4 credits. It is a huge amount of material that is covered. However, it is a pretty good overview of the Western history of art (not incredibly global) from prehistoric times to the beginnings of the Renaissance. This class inspired me to become an Art History major.

A nice thing is that you don't really have to read the book if you go to class because he repeats the book pretty verbatim. The discussion are interesting, but pretty disconnected from the actual class. However, you really do need to study extensively for the midterm and final and don't really have to worry much besides that.

Didn't like the lecturer. Exams had way too much material to know (~100), considering he'd ask about 5 of them. Discussions were interesting though. Too difficult for a 1000 level class

He grades super harshly. Kind of a boring lecture if you're not into art stuff. If you are, he's fun to talk to.

Definitely not an easy class, but not a weed out. Must have at least 300 flashcards if you want over a C.

Since the course covers everything from Paleolithic cave drawings to the beginning of Renaissance art, there is a LOT of material to learn. Although this means that you need to memorize information for the 2 quizzes and the 2 exams, Dobbins was good about only testing us on objects that we had talked a lot about in lecture and that were representative of/significant to a specific time period. I did well without doing the readings, because Dobbins covers everything in class. He does a good job of trying to engage students, even though there were around 100 of us. I think that this is the perfect option for someone who has never taken an art history course before to see if they like the subject. The one thing that kind of surprised me was how much architecture we covered, especially once we reached the Romanesque and Gothic periods.

Dobbins is a great professor and it is obvious that he is passionate about the subject matter and about teaching it to his students. The material is interesting but sometimes can seem like too much to study. Paying attention in lecture and doing the readings outside of class will give you a good understanding of the material. Tests and quizzes aren't as hard as they appear to be as long as you put in the time to study. Overall, great class for an introductory Art History class.

Dr. Dobbins is very passionate and uses his personal experience to illustrate his points. There were about 150 or so pieces of art to memorize per exam (final not cumulative), so start studying early - the class was enjoyable until I had to cram for the midterm.