85844 - Active Lifestyle, Aesthetics, Globalization

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course the student acquires knowledges about: - the current relationship between economic-political factors and developments (globalization) and creative processes structuring active lifestyles; - how to examine and interpret the cultural factors contributing to the achievement and maintenance of a condition of well-being.

Course contents

Title. Aesthetics, Popular Culture, Lifestyle.

The course will inquire into some contemporary transformations of aesthetics also taking into consideration its relationship to certain social questions and its influence on our everyday life and the shaping of our lifestyle. In this perspective it will be especially examined a recent development of the tradition of pragmatist aesthetics, namely the so-called "somaesthetics".

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

Readings/Bibliography

1) E. Wilson, Adorned in Dreams: Fashion and Modernity, London-New York: Tauris & Co. 2003 (new edition; 1^st edition 1985), only the following parts: pp. 1-15 (“Chapter 1: Introduction”), and pp. 155-207 (“Chapter 8: Fashion and Popular Culture”, and “Chapter 9: Oppositional Dress”).

2) R. Shusterman, Pragmatist Aesthetics: Living Beauty, Rethinking Art, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham-Boulder-New York-Oxford 2000 (2^nd edition), only the following parts: pp. 139-147 (first part of Chapter 6: “Aesthetic Ideology, Aesthetic Education, and Art’s Value in Critique”), pp. 169-200 (entire Chapter 7: “Form and Funk: The Aesthetic Challenge of Popular Art”), and pp. 236-283 (entire Chapter 9: “Postmodern Ethics and The Art of Living”, and entire Chapter 10: “Somaesthetics: A Disciplinary Proposal”).

3) R. Shusterman, “Fits of Fashion: The Somaesthetics of Style”, in G. Matteucci and S. Marino (ed. by), Philosophical Perspectives on Fashion, Bloomsbury, London 2016, pp. 91-106.

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

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures.

Assessment methods

Assessment methods.

In order to take the exam the students will have to:

- first write a term paper (3000/4000 words) on at least 2 issues among those dealt with in the various chapters of the texts mentioned in the “Readings/Bibliography” section; the paper has to be submitted to the teacher by email at least 15 days before the date of the exam;

- then, take an oral examination on the other parts of the teaching programme (namely, those not included in the term paper).

The paper and the oral examination will ensure the achievement of the following objectives:

- knowledge of the main conceptual contents of the texts examined; in particular, knowledge about the current relationship between economic-political factors and developments (globalization) and creative processes structuring lifestyles;

- general orientation concerning the characteristics of the contemporary aesthetic culture; in particular, knowledge about how to examine and interpret the aesthetic factors contributing to the achievement and maintenance of a condition of well-being;

- comprehension of the meaning of the concepts learned in relation to the concrete phenomena taken into account.

Office hours

See the website of Stefano Marino