73074 - Philosophical Aesthetics (LM)

Learning outcomes

Comprehension of the main questions of aesthetic debate. At the end of the course the student acquires the basic knowledge regarding the birth of aesthetics, its development and its multiple current tendencies. S/he also gets an idea of its connections with other disciplines, both the theoretical ones (such as poetics, hermeneutics and rhetorics) and those related to arts. The student’s use of the correct terminology and her/his ability in applying the main conceptual and methodological instruments put her/him in the position to critically understand the fundamental notions of aesthetics and to deal with the study of an aesthetical classic.

Course contents

Title of the course: Philosophy of Tragedy and aesthetic Theory

First module contents, 6 CFU (III. Period): The idea of the "tragic": from representation to conceptualization

Second module contents, 6 CFU (IV. Period): Tragedy and Politics

The course will explore the development of the concept of the "tragic" in modern philosophy, also focusing on the reflection on the model of attic tragedy.

First module beginning of lessons: January 30, 2019.
Second module beginning of lessons: March 20, 2019.

Timetable: Wednesday 9-11 a.m. (Classroom A, via Zamboni 34); Thursday 5-7 p.m. (Classroom A, via Zamboni 34); Friday 5-7 p.m. (Classroom A, via Zamboni 34).

Readings/Bibliography

First module:

C. Gentili-G. Garelli, Il tragico, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010;
G.W.F. Hegel, Fenomenologia dello spirito, edited by G. Garelli, Einaudi, Torino 2008, pp. 460-489 (=chapter VII. B: La religione artistica);
Choice of: G. Garelli, Lo spirito in figura, Il Mulino, Bologna 2010 (chapter VII: pp. 177-220); E. Caramelli, Eredità del sensibile. La proposizione speculativa nella «Fenomenologia dello spirito» di Hegel, Il Mulino, Bologna 2015 (part III: pp. 149-221).
Students are expected to read the following tragedies (in any edition): Sophocles, Oedipus rex; Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus; Euripides, Bacchae; W. Shakespeare, Macbeth.

Second module:

Chr. Meier, L'arte politica della tragedia greca, Einaudi, Torino 2000;
F. Nietzsche, Umano, troppo umano, Adelphi, Milano 1977 and ff., pp. 256-261 (= aph. 472: Religione e governo);
G.W. F. Hegel, Estetica, Einaudi, Torino 1972 and ff., pp. 510-526 (= part II, chapter I, par 2: La lotta fra gli dèi antichi e nuovi);
C. Schmitt, Amleto o Ecuba, Il Mulino, Bologna 1983 and ff.;
M.C. Nussbaum, La fragilità del bene, Il Mulino, Bologna 1996 and ff., pp. 133-188 (= part I, chapter III: L'"Antigone" di Sofocle: conflitto, visione e semplificazione);
C. Gentili, Il tragico e il politico. Seminare "una quantità di denti di drago" (available on line).
Students are expected to read the following tragedies (in any edition): Aeschylus, The Eumenides; Sophocles, Antigone; Euripides, Bacchae; W. Shakespeare, Hamlet.

Teaching methods

The course consists of 30+30 hours. Lessons given instruments for a specialized study. Arguments will be discussed with the teacher. The course expects an active participation by the students.

Assessment methods

The final proof will take place in the form of an oral examination. 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 oral 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).

Office hours

See the website of Carlo Gentili

See the website of Eleonora Caramelli