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

Processes of the culture industry between critical theory (Adorno, Fisher) and pragmatism (Shusterman), "popular music" and avant-garde (King Crimson).

 

The aim of this lecture course is to investigate some fundamental themes and concepts in contemporary aesthetic debates inspired, on the one hand, by the critical theory of society of the so-called Frankfurt School, and, on the other hand, by pragmatism. 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 the technological reproducibility and mass culture, investigating these questions on the basis of the conceptual tools offered by authors such as Theodor W. Adorno, Richard Shusterman and Mark Fisher.

In this context, we will pay a specific attention to the role played by music in the development of the philosophical conception of a thinker like Adorno (who was also a music critic, a musician and a composer himself). With regard to this, we will especially focus our attention on Adorno's critique of popular music in the mid 20th century and Fisher's critique of it in the early 21st century, on the one hand, and on Shusterman's defense of the popular arts from the 1990s until today, on the other hand.

On this basis, we will also investigate the possibility, that has emerged at least since the 1960s, of the creation of forms of "popular music" that are also capable to assume a sort of "avant-garde" profile and to express a critique of contemporary society. This general discourse will be exemplified, in particular, with a focus on some significant moments of rock music from the 1960s until today, with a specific attention to the band King Crimson.

Readings/Bibliography

Mandatory Readings:

 

- Th. W. Adorno. Sulla popular music, Armando, Roma 2004.

- Th. W. Adorno. Filosofia della musica moderna, Einaudi, Torino 2002, "Prefazione" and "Introduzione".

- M. Horkheimer e Th. W. Adorno. Dialettica dell'illuminismo, Einaudi, Torino 1997, "Premessa alla prima edizione" and "L'industria culturale".

- M. Fisher. Realismo capitalista, Nero, Roma 2018, chap. 1.

- R. Shusterman. Estetica pragmatista, Aesthetica Edizioni, Palermo 2010, chap. "Forma e Funk: la sfida estetica dell'arte popolare".

- N. Leonzio, King Crimson. Il pensiero del cuore, Arcana, Roma 2014, pp. 9-156.

 

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Other suggested readings (for potential further developments, individual researches, etc.):

 

- F. Jameson. Postmodernismo, ovvero La logica culturale del tardo capitalismo, Einaudi, Torino 2026, chap. 1-3.

- W. Benjamin. L’opera d’arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, Einaudi, Torino 2011.

- Th. W. Adorno. "Il carattere di feticcio della musica e la regressione nell’ascolto", in E. Donaggio (ed.), La Scuola di Francoforte. La storia e i testi, Einaudi, Torino 2005, pp. 118-156.

- 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).

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

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

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

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

- P. Molinari e M. Settura (ed.), Teoria critica. Nuove prospettive A un secolo dalla fondazione dell’istituto per la ricerca sociale di Francoforte, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2025.

- R. Shusterman. Esperienza estetica e arti popolari, Mimesis, Milano-Udine 2023.

- R. Shusterman. Somaestetica, architettura e città, Bologna, Bologna University Press 2024.

- J.J. Abrams (ed.), Shusterman’s Somaesthetics From Hip Hop Philosophy to Politics and Performance Art, Brill, Leiden-Boston 2023.

- G. Sibilla, L'industria della canzone, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2024.

- E. Tamm. Robert Fripp: From King Crimson to Guitar Craft, London: Faber & Faber, 1990.

- E. Macan, Rocking the classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture. Oxford- New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

- B. Martin, Listening to the Future: The Time of Progressive Rock, 1968-1978, Open Court, 1997.

- K. Holm-Hudson (ed.), Progressive rock reconsidered, London-New York: Routledge, 2002.

- B. Bruford, The Autobiography. Yes, King Crimson, Earthworks and More, London: Foruli Publications, 2009.

- P. Hegarty - M. Halliwell, Beyond and before: Progressive rock since the 1960s, London-New York: Continuum, 2011.

- B. Bruford, Uncharted: Creativity and the Expert Drummer, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2018.

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

 

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Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities.

It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the professor, in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

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 test, including questions on the fundamental topics included in the books in the Program. The written test will include 12 multiple-choice questions and 1 open/discoursive question. All questions will be focused on the texts in Program.

A minimum of 6 Exam Dates ("Appelli") are scheduled during the Academic Year 2025/2026, in the following months: December 2025, January 2026, March 2026, June 2026, July 2026, September 2026. 

The use of AI tools in any form is not permitted during the examination (including chatbots, text generators, advanced translators, content synthesizers, and tools integrated into devices). With regard to learning assessment, the use of AI during the examination is prohibited and any use is considered a violation of academic integrity.

 

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Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

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