14293 - History of Modern Aesthetics (1)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students are aware of the main historical and historiographical orientations concerning aesthetics in the modern age, and in particular between the 19th and 20th centuries. They must have gained basic knowledge of the changes that have occurred over these two centuries in aesthetics, meant both as a theoretical reflection on art and as a moment of philosophical thought in general. They must also master methods of investigation that enable them to deal with the complex relationships that are established between artistic configuration and aesthetic experience, also in relation to the expressive phenomena that characterize the historical-cultural contexts in question.

Course contents

Art and reality - debates on "realism"

The course will explore in historical and theoretical terms some of the themes of the variegated debates on realism in art. What does "realism" mean in the context of art? Is it a style present in specific artworks (such as, for example, the photorealism of Richter's contemporary visual art) or is realism a method for understanding reality (such as Brecht's epic theater)? Do we call art to be "realist" when it reflects reality objectively, and what is reality in that context? In general, how far can art distance itself from reality without becoming incomprehensible? And how far do works of art themselves influence our perception of reality and our space of agency? The course will explore these and other questions in relation to the theme of realism by drawing on exemplary historical debates. The basic thesis of the course will be that there is a connection between questions about realism and the supposed universalism of (artistic) forms that recurs throughout history, for example, in the Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes and its various revenants. Examples in the course will come mainly from the history of literature and theoretical debates concerning the study of literature, with some incursions into the fields of film and visual arts.

Readings/Bibliography

The course is based on the following corpus of texts; for the exam, students need to prepare the texts of one of the topics listed below (for the English versions or original versions of the texts please contact the lecturer in case you have trouble finding them):

The Mimesis of Becoming in Early German Romanticism

• Schlegel, Friedrich. 1997. Frammenti critici e poetici, trans. it. M. Cometa. Torino: Einaudi. (introduzione di M. Cometa + sezioni I, II, III e IV =pp. VII—XLII + pp. 5-110)

The debate on realism between Brecht and Lukács

The following texts need to be studied:

• Lukács, Gyorgy. 1967. Il Marxismo e La Critica Letteraria. Einaudi. Only the essay “Narrare o descrivere?” (pp. 269-323).
• Brecht, Bertolt. 2019. Scritti sulla letteratura e sull’arte, trad. it. B. Zagari. Milano: Meltemi. Only the following essays: "Il processo dell’Opera da tre soldi” (pp. 75-153), e alcuni dei saggi sotto la voce “Sul realismo”, in particolare (pp. 234-269): “I saggi di Georg Lukács”, “Sul carattere formalistico della teoria del realismo”, “Osservazioni a proposito di un saggio”, “Postille a proposito di una teoria formalistica del realismo”, “Osservazioni sul formalismo”, “Sul realismo”, “Risultati del dibattito sul realismo in letteratura”, “Popolarità e realismo”, “Postille a: Popolarità e realismo”.

  “The reality effect” in literary theory

  The following texts need to be studied:

• Barthes, Roland. 1988. Il brusio della lingua. Saggi critici Vol. 4, trad. it. B. Bellotto. Einaudi. Da studiare sono i capitoli: “Il discorso della storia” e “L’effetto del reale” (pp. 137-159).
• Eco, Umberto. 2018. Sei passeggiate nei boschi narrativi. La nave di Teseo. Da studiare è il capitolo 4 “I boschi possibili”.
• ———. 2020. Lector in fabula. La cooperazione interpretativa nei testi narrativi. La nave di Teseo.

  Marxism and cultural studies

  To be studied is a text of your choice from:

• Jameson, Fredric: L'inconscio politico: il testo narrativo come atto socialmente simbolico, l’interpretazione politica del testo letterario, trad. it. L. Sosio, Garzanti, Milano 1990
• Hall, Stuart. 2016. Il soggetto e la differenza. Per un’archeologia degli studi culturali e postcoloniali: 1. Ed. M. Mellino, trad. it. F. Del Lucchese and V. Bitti. Milano: Meltemi. Da studiare è la “parte prima” (pp. 1-119).

  Artistic imaginaries and ethics

  To be studied is a text of your choice from:

• Richard Rorty, La filosofia dopo la filosofia, trad. it. di G. Boringhieri [https://www.amazon.it/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=G.+Boringhieri&search-alias=stripbooks], Roma: Laterza, 2001.
• Nussbaum, Martha C. 2011. La Fragilità Del Bene. Fortuna Ed Etica Nella Tragedia e Nella Filosofia Greca, trad. it. R. Scognamiglio, Bologna: Il Mulino.

  Normativity and horizons of expectation – language and automation

  The following texts need to be studied:

• Esposito, Elena. 2008. Probabilità improbabili. La realtà della finzione nella società moderna. Roma: Meltemi.
• Berardi, Franco “Bifo.” 2012. The Uprising: On Poetry and Finance. Los Angeles: Semiotext.

Students who are not attending the course in presence (i e le “non frequentanti”) further need to study: Muzzioli, Francesco. 2019. Le teorie della critica letteraria. 3° edizione. Carocci.

Teaching methods

Lectures and potential talks by invited experts.

Course programme:

29.1. Introduzione

30.1. F. Schlegel e la mimesis del divenire

31.1. Lukács e il dibattito sul realismo negli anni 1930

5.2. Lezione del Prof. Francesco Fiorentino (Roma Tre) sul teatro di Brecht

6.2. I testi teoretici di Brecht

7.2. Non c’è lezione

12.2. Effetti reali: Roland Barthes

13.2. Effetti reali: Umberto Eco

14.2. Non c’è lezione

19.2. Marxismo e studi culturali: Frederick Jameson

20.2. Marxismo e studi culturali: Stuart Hall

21.2. lezione di ripasso e domande

26.2. Immaginari artistici ed etica: Martha Nussbaum

27.2. immaginari artistici ed etica: Richard Rorty

28.2. Non c’è lezione

4.3. Normatività e orizzonti di aspettativa: Elena Esposito

5.3. Lezione tenuta da Franco Bifo Berardi

6.3. Conclusione ed evaluazione

Assessment methods

The exam can be taken in one of the following ways.

1) Written paper:

10-page paper (about 30 thousand characters) on a topic across the texts given in the bibliography. It is advisable to talk the topic through with the lecturer. It is possible to propose alternative topics that compare one or more of the texts indicated in the bibliography with authors and authors of specific interest to the student; also in this case the topic should be agreed upon in advance with the lecturer.

The paper needs to be sent in correctable pdf format to the lecturer at least one week before the roll call in which the exam is to be taken (registration for the roll call on Almaesami is required). For formatting the paper, please follow the rules explained in the philosophy workshops: https://corsi.unibo.it/laurea/Filosofia/laboratorio-di-filosofia-norme-per-la-redazione-del-saggio-finale

2) Oral exam:

The exam will cover all the topics covered in class + one of the topics listed under "bibliography," which will aim to explore one of the topics in more detail. Students who have attended at least 80% of the lectures are considered to be “attending” (“frequentanti”). Non-in-person-attending students (“non-frequentanti”) are required to also study the textbook listed above under "bibliography."

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special accommodations according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the teacher but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adaptations. For more information, visit the page:

https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Teaching tools

Power point presentations will be shown during class.

Office hours

See the website of Yvonne Huetter-Almerigi