39438 - Philosophy and Musical Aesthetics (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will:

• acquire a general knowledge of the problems and challenges that music, as a science and art, as an abstract form as well as vehicle of potential meaning has posed in the course of its history and continues to pose to Western philosophical thought.
• learn the terminology as well as some specific concepts of the discipline, by critically analyzing very important texts.

Course contents

During the course, it will be given a critical analysis about the subjects that are either in the form of question – What is music? What is extra musical? – or in the form of contrast – the differences between “good music” and “bad music”, between “ancient music” and “recent music” – by Carl Dahlhaus and Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht in their collection of essays “Che cos’è la musica”.

Starting from reflections regarding some basic concepts (expression of emotions, absolute and program music, formalism, concept of musical opera, relationships between music and society), it will be given an outline of the history of musical aesthetics from the late 18th-century up to present time.

Readings/Bibliography

Enrico Fubini, L'estetica musicale dal Settecento a oggi, revised edition, Torino, Einaudi, 1987 and further reprints;

C. Dahlhaus, H.H. Eggebrecht, Che cos'è la musica, trad. di A. Bozzo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1988;

Anthology of selected texts, available at the Copisteria Harpo, Via Barberia 9.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Assessment methods

Students will we assessed through two written tasks, to be performed in a strict chronological order:

1. Students have to write a paper (max 1500 words) in which they present one or more themes of Dahlhaus and Eggebrecht to their liking. The paper (containing name, surname, course and year of study, mail address) has to be handed in to the teacher on the day of the exams' sessions. [If you don't hand in the paper, you cannot proceed to the 2nd part of the written exam]

2. Students have to answer a written questionnaire, with open questions on the books they had to study. The student has two hours to complete the task.

It will be assessed as excellent the performance of those students achieving an organic vision of the course contents, the use of a proper specific language, the originality of the reflection as well as the familiarity with the tolls for analysing the digital media panorama.

It will be assessed as discrete the performance of those students showing mostly mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, not articulated synthesis and analysis capabilities, a correct but not always appropriate language, as well as a scholastic study of the discipline. It will be assessed as barely sufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, lack of knowledge of the discipline. It will be assessed as insufficient the performance of those students showing learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography and inability to analyse the subject.

"Copy and paste" practices and plagiarism are not to be tolerated.

Teaching tools

Audio and video.

Office hours

See the website of Anna Scalfaro