27992 - Contemporary Aesthetics

Course contents

This seminar-based module analyses a group of texts that constitute the working notes of the courses Merleau-Ponty gave at the Collège de France between 1953 and 1954. If in the 1945 work, the Phenomenology of Perception, the centre of investigation was represented by corporeality, to which the phenomenon of expression was brought back, even if not reduced, in the context of these courses the relationship between expression, sensibility and language takes centre stage. After an in-depth examination of Merleau-Ponty's references to Saussure's linguistics, to studies on the problems of aphasia and the acquisition of speech in childhood, special attention will be given to the analysis of literary language and to Merleau-Ponty's main authors of reference: Valéry, Stendhal, Sartre and Proust. Using also the direct reading of the sources, of the literary passages commented by Merleau-Ponty, the peculiar philosophical use that Merleau-Ponty makes of literature will be questioned.

Readings/Bibliography

Students are free to choose one mandatory reading from the group 1) and one from the group 2)

1) - M. Merleau-Ponty, Il mondo sensibile e il mondo dell’espressione, a cura di A.C. Dalmasso, prefazione di M. Carbone, Mimesis, Milano-Udine.

- M. Merleau-Ponty, Recherches sur l’usage littéraire du langage. Cours au Collège de France. Note, 1953, testo stabilito da B. Zaccarello e E. de Saint Aubert, note e prefazione di B. Zaccarello, MetisPresses, Genève 2013.

- M. Merleau-Ponty, Le problème de la parole. Cours au Collège de France. Notes, 1953-1954, MetisPresses, Genève 2020.

2) - G.A. Johnson, M. Carbone, E. de Saint Aubert, Merleau-Ponty’s Poetic of the World. Philosophy and Literature, Fordham University Press, New York 2020.

- L. Vanzago, Merleau-Ponty, Carocci, Roma 2012.

 

Non-attending students are expected to read also E. Merleau-Ponty e la "innere Sprachform". Tra linguaggio filosofico e parola letteraria, «Ermeneutica letteraria», XV (2019), pp. 95 - 106.

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures and discussions with students.

Assessment methods

The final proof will take place in the form of a viva voce 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 themes from both a historical and a strictly speaking conceptual point of view.

As optional, students can prepare a paper (25000-30000 characters c.ca, including blank spaces) on a topic and on texts to be agreed with the teacher. In this case, the oral examination will consist in the discussion of the paper.

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).

Teaching tools

All the aforementioned texts (in the specified editions) are an essential tool in order to actively participate in the classes. It is recommended to get hold of the texts before classe because specific parts will be read and commented.

Some texts will be provided via IOL.

Office hours

See the website of Eleonora Caramelli