39438 - Philosophy and Musical Aesthetics (M-Z)

Academic Year 2020/2021

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Drama, Art and Music Studies (cod. 0956)

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

Modalities to be defined

Assessment methods

The following arrangements may change as a result of the health situation, which cannot now be precisely defined.

The method of verification includes: a written test, to be held independently at home and to be delivered by e-mail to the teacher two days before the exam roll call; a second oral test to be held on the day of the exam roll call. In chronological order:

1. A written essay of up to 1500 words in which the student develops one or more aspects that emerged in the collection of essays by Dahlhaus and Eggebrecht, which particularly impressed him/her. This paper (with name and surname, course and year of study, e-mail address) must be delivered by e-mail to the teacher two days before the date of the second oral test. [Without the delivery of the paper, it is not possible to take the second test].

2. The second test consists of an oral question, with questions relating to the examination programme.

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

SDGs

Good health and well-being Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.