B5456 - Aesthetics (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course, students become familiar with some of the main concepts of aesthetic thought and their mutual relations, also in connection with other basic concepts of philosophy. Students will furthermore acquire the ability to read and interpret with a certain degree of autonomy aesthetic-philosophical texts. The course’s objective is to provide tools to go deeper into the study of the various forms of the aesthetic, along with a critical awareness of the relationship among the structuring of concepts, theories and poetics of formative processes, and the various modes of experience in their practical, vital and behavioural aspects. Special attention will be paid to the contemporary reality of the aesthetic in which, at the end of the course, students will be able to recognize an open, non-dogmatic horizon of phenomena in continuous transformation.

Course contents

The Aesthetic Crisis of the Modern Mind

In order to present, explore, and compare key conceptions of the aesthetic in contemporary philosophy, the course will explore the link that exists between the paradigm of the mind and consideration of art. Art and the aesthetic have often served as a crucial test bed for probing how various theoretical perspectives consider the structures of experience. This is even more true in relation to the crisis of the modern conception of mind that, beginning at least in the mid-20th century, is mirrored in salient stages of aesthetic culture.

The course will be divided into two modules.

 

Module 1: Art, Transfiguration, Modular Mind

In the first part, the relationship between the conception of the “modular” mind and the view of art that is based on cognitive interpretation will be analyzed. Danto’s argument will be followed in this regard, which is exemplary with respect to the indicated, typically modern paradigm.

 

Module 2: Art, Reorganization, Extended Mind

In the second part we will inquire into the implications that an “embodied” and “extended” conception of mind generates for the philosophical consdieration of art. Thus, themes that develop elements also from phenomenology and pragmatism will take prominence. At the center of the analysis will be Alva Noë’s perspective.

Readings/Bibliography

Module 1:

• A. C. Danto, La trasfigurazione del banale. Una filosofia dell’arte, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2008.
• A. C. Danto et al., La storicità dell’occhio, Armando, Roma, 2007.

Non-attending students will also be required to read S. Velotti, La scelta di Danto, “Rivista di estetica”, 35 (2007), pp. 357-374 (https://journals.openedition.org/estetica/4232 ).

 

Module 2:

• A. Noë, Strani strumenti. L’arte e la natura umana, Einaudi, Torino, 2022.
• One of the following texts:

- S. Gallager, Performance / Art: The Venetian Lectures, Mimesis International, Milano-Udine, 2021.

- G. Matteucci, Estetica e natura umana. La mente estesa tra percezione, emozione ed espressione. Carocci, Roma, 2019.

Non-attending students will also be required to read: book forum on Alva Noë, Strange Tools, in “Studi di estetica” 3/2020, pp. 249-295 (https://journals.mimesisedizioni.it/index.php/studi-di-estetica/article/view/898/1339 )

 

Possible supplementary materials will be indicated during the lectures.

The texts indicated for both modules are mandatory for the 12 cfu exam.

The program is subject to change until the beginning of the course.

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures and classroom presentations by students.

Assessment methods

The examination may be taken in one of the following modes.

1) General report of the course (reserved to autonomously constituted groups of students)

• The report must concern the entire course (excluding the first class) specifying who wrote the protocols of the individual classes.
• Each participant in the group must be indicated as individually responsible for the report of at least 4 lessons given by the teacher.
• Each report must contain the exact references to the texts considered.
• The report must be sent in pdf format to the teacher at least one week before the exam date in which the group intends to take the exam (it is necessary that all participants register for the exam on Almaesami).

2) Written paper

• 6 cfu exam: 10-page paper (approximately 30.000 characters, footnotes and bibliography included) on a transversal theme addressed in the texts indicated in the bibliography.

• 12 cfu exam: 15-page paper (about 45.000 characters, footnotes and bibliography included) on a transversal theme addressed in the texts indicated in the bibliography.
• It is possible to propose alternative topics that compare one or more texts indicated in the bibliography with authors or aesthetic phenomena of specific interest to the student; in this case the topic must be agreed upon in advance with the teacher.
• The paper must be sent in pdf format to the teacher at least one week before the exam (registration is required on Almaesami).

3) Oral examination:

6 cfu exam: bibliography indicated for the first part;

12 cfu exam: bibliography indicated for both the first and the second part (according to the indicated modalities).

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skill displayed by the student in handling the material in the exam bibliography and his/her ability to find and use information and examples to illustrate and correlate the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

The assessment will thus examine the student's:

- factual knowledge of the subject;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he/she displays significant errors in his/her understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

 

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are entitled to special adjustments according to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact teachers or Department staff, but make an appointment with the Service. The Service will then determine what adjustments are specifically appropriate, and get in touch with the teacher. For more information, please visit the page:
https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

It is recommended that students contact the University office in advance. Any proposed adjustments must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for the instructor’s approval, who will evaluate their appropriateness in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

 

Exam sessions

Exam sessions are scheduled during the calendar year in the following months: January, March, May, June, September, November.

Teaching tools

Power point slides concerning course's texts and topics will be used.

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Matteucci