87375 - Aeshtecs and Theory of Art Experience (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: acquires the basic theoretical tools to understand contemporary aesthetic debates on art experience and so-called widespread forms of aestheticity; is able to critically place aesthetic and artistic phenomena of different kind into the context of contemporary culture; can understand how and to what extent the aesthetic has changed in the transition from the 20th century to the 21st; acquires the essential knowledge and skills to analyze and interpret communications mediated by aesthetic categories; is aware of socio-cultural implications that are present in creative and expressive phenomena; is familiar with the relation between the aesthetic and other dimensions of human experience, such as, for example, knowledge and cognition or ethics and politics.

Course contents

Aesthetics, music, critique of society. Walter Benjamin, Theodor W. Adorno, Radiohead.

The aim of the lecture course is to investigate some fundamental moments and aspects in the history of the aesthetic conceptions inspired by the critical theory of society of the so-called Frankfurt School. In particular, we will focus our attention on the importance of certain questions connected to the status of the work of art in the age of avant-gardes, on the one hand, and connected to the technological reproducibility and mass culture, on the other hand, investigating these questions on the basis of the conceptual tools offered by authors such as Walter Benjamin and Theodor W. Adorno. In this context, we will pay a specific attention to the role played by music in the development of the philosophical conception of Adorno (who was also a music critic, a musician and a composer himself). With regard to this, we will especially focus on Adorno's critique of popular music in the 1940s and, at the same time, on the possibility that has emerged since the 1960s of forms of "light music" that are also capable of expressing a critique of contemporary society, exemplifying this discourse through the unique case of the English rock band Radiohead.

Readings/Bibliography

Readings:

- W. Benjamin. L’opera d’arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, Einaudi, Torino 2011 (only pp. 3-38).

 

- Th. W. Adorno. Sulla popular music, Armando, Roma 2004 (only pp. 64-125).

- Th. W. Adorno. Filosofia della musica moderna, Einaudi, Torino 2002 (only pp. 3-5, 35-130).

- S. Marino, Verità e non-verità del popular. Saggio su Adorno, dimensione estetica e critica della società, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2021.

 

- S. Marino and E. Guzzi. La filosofia dei Radiohead. Musica, tecnica, anima, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2021.

 

Other readings for potential (not obligatory) further studies:

 

-S. Petrucciani, Introduzione ad Adorno, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2007.

 

- S. Marino e R. Vitali, Theodor W. Adorno, in “Nuova Informazione Bibliografica”, n. 4, 2018, pp. 605-632 (https://www.rivisteweb.it/issn/1824-0771/issue/7581).

 

- G. Matteucci, L’artificio estetico. Moda e bello naturale in Simmel e Adorno, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2012.

 

- S. Marino, Le verità del non-vero. Tre studi su Adorno, teoria critica ed estetica, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2019.

 

- E. Donaggio (a cura di), La scuola di Francoforte. La storia e i testi, Einaudi, Torino 2005.

 

-R. Wiggershaus, La Scuola di Francoforte. Storia. Sviluppo teorico. Significato politico, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino 1992.

 

- M. Farina (a cura di), Theodor W. Adorno 1969-2019
Attualità di un pensiero, numero monografico di "Syzetesis. Rivista di filosofia", dicembre 2020 (https://www.syzetesis.it/rivista/2020.html).

 

- P. Molinari e M. Settura (a cura di), (In)attualità di Adorno. Estetica e dialettica, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2022.

 

The bibliography may be subject to changes until the beginning of the lecture course.

Teaching methods

Lectures, conversations and discussions with the students, audio and video materials shared with the students in the classroom.

Assessment methods

The assessment method is a written paper on the fundamental topics included in the books in program. 

The paper must be sent by e-mail to the teacher at least 15 days before the exam date.

In case the teacher thought it was necessary or useful to further examine some students, he will ask those students to also make an oral exam after the correction of their written papers.

During the examination the teacher will assess whether the student has achieved or not some basic educational goals:

knowledge of the texts and capacity to contextualize authors and works;

comprehension of the fundamental concepts and capacity to provide a correct interpretation of them;

clarity in the explanation of concepts and accuracy in the use of philosophical terminology;

capacity to establish connections between the various authors and themes from both a historical and a strictly speaking conceptual point of view.

During the examination the teacher will assess if the student possesses the abovementioned knowledge and skills in a (more or less) complete, precise and adequate way, or vice-versa in a (more or less) incomplete, vague and superficial way.

The final grade will correspondently vary from excellent (30 and honors) to very good (30) to good (27-29) to fairly good (24-26) to more than enough (21-23) to merely enough (18-21) to unsatisfactory (<18).

The paper must be written in Times New Roman 12, must use Word or Pdf format, and must have a max. length of 30.000 characters, including blank spaces.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations in classroom and audio/video materials that are coherent with the texts in the program.

Office hours

See the website of Stefano Marino