OVERVIEW

Aesthetics is introduced as a philosophical discipline. We consider the relationship of aesthetics with other areas of philosophy and analyze the fundamental aesthetic notions. We focus on art considered as an exemplary aesthetic field. The guided reading of articles or book chapters is aimed to raise awareness of the debates that characterize contemporary aesthetics. The aim of the course is to meet the needs of the students of the various Degrees for whom aesthetics is an integral part of the overall training.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at giving a general outline of basic aesthetic problems. The main points of interest are a general historical introduction, the ontological status of the art object, the receiver’s role in the construction of its meaning. Students will be guided through the reading of one or more classics in aesthetics.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students are expected to manage the concept of aesthetics and the main notions connected with it, in particular that of art. As for the students of the Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences who have included the discipline in their study plan for 6 credits, as well as the students of the Polytechnic School who have included the discipline in their study plan for 8 credits, it is also expected that they are able to apply this conceptual apparatus to their specific areas. In the second part of the class, which is specific for students who have included the discipline in their study plan for 9 credits, we will read some articles or book chapters, in order to familiarize students with the main debates of contemporary aesthetics, and to lead them to the critical discussion of the theses and arguments proposed by the philosophers who participate in those debates.

The expected learning outcomes are the following:

1) To be able to provide an appropriate characterization of aesthetics as a philosophical discipline, and to point out the importance of the aesthetic dimension in human existence.

2) To be familiar with fundamental notions of the discipline such as aesthetic experience, aesthetic judgment, aesthetic value, aesthetic property, aesthetic object.

3) To link aesthetics with art and with the practices of creation, appreciation and criticism of art.

4) To reflect on the definition of art and on the ontological status of works of art.

5) To consider the specificities of certain art forms and certain artistic genres.

6) To recognize analogies, differences and overlaps between the domain of art and that of technical artifacts.
7) To analyze texts that are exemplary of the main debates in contemporary aesthetics, by identifying their theses and their arguments.

In particular, the outcomes from (1) to (5) are expected from students of the Humanities and Social Sciences Schools who have included aeshtetics in their plan for 6 credits. As for students of the Polytechnic School who have included aeshtetics in their plan for 8 credits, outcome (6) is also expected. As for students who have included aesthetics in their plan for 9 credits, all seven outcomes are expected.

PREREQUISITES

Although the class is taught in Italian, understanding of texts written in English is required

TEACHING METHODS

ONLINE LESSONS IN MS TEAMS

TEAM CODE: 2fg4kg2

The class consists of 60 hours (40 for students having 6 or 8 credits), with phases of collective discussion and learning verification. Seminar activities are foreseen for students having 9 credits. The students of the Polytechnic School are required to present a “slide show” in ppt or pdf format, the maximum duration of which is ten minutes. The theme of the “slide show” must be agreed with the professor, and connected to topics considered during the  class; in particular, students are invited to analyze in philosophical terms a “technical-artistic” artifact, for example a particular design object. The students in the philosophy degree have the option of writing a critical note (between 800 and 1000 words in length), agreed with the professor and concerning a text (article or book chapter) that focuses on one of the topics of the class; the critical note should be sent to the professor by an agreed date prior to the exam, and will then be presented during the exam; the student is expected to be able to reply to comments and objections on what is written in the text presented to the professor

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Program for students having 6 or 8 credits:

- Aesthetics within the framework of philosophy

- The centrality of the aesthetic dimension in human existence

- The key notions of aesthetics: experience, judgment, value, norm, property, object

- The role of perception, imagination, cognition and emotions in aesthetic experience

- Art as a paradigm of the aesthetic

- The definition of art

- The ontology of art

- Art forms and artistic genres

- The peculiarity of contemporary art

- The relationship between art and technology

- Technological arts and artistic technologies

Additional program items for students having 9 credits:

- Writing and publishing in contemporary aesthetics

- Debates in contemporary aesthetics

- The construction of statements and arguments in contemporary aesthetics

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Students having 6 CFU:

PAOLO D’ANGELO, Estetica, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2011.

RICHARD WOLLHEIM, L’arte e i suoi oggetti, Marinotti, Milano, 2013 (original edition: Art and its Objects: An Introduction to Aesthetics, 2nd edn. Revised, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980).

Students having 8 CFU (students of Polytechnic School, for whom, however, only attendance for 6 credits is mandatory):

PAOLO D’ANGELO, Estetica, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2011.

ENRICO TERRONE, Filosofia dell’ingegneria, il Mulino, Bologna, 2019.

RICHARD WOLLHEIM, L’arte e i suoi oggetti, Marinotti, Milano, 2013 (original edition: Art and its Objects: An Introduction to Aesthetics, 2nd edn. Revised, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980).

Students having 9 CFU:

PAOLO D’ANGELO, Estetica, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2011.

PIETRO KOBAU, GIOVANNI MATTEUCCI, STEFANO VELOTTI (a cura di), Estetica e filosofia analitica, il Mulino, Bologna, 2007.

RICHARD WOLLHEIM, L’arte e i suoi oggetti, Marinotti, Milano, 2013 (original edition: Art and its Objects: An Introduction to Aesthetics, 2nd edn. Revised, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1980).

Bibliographic references concerning supplementary readings will be provided during the class. Some of the supplementary texts will be available on the page in Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ENRICO TERRONE (President)

MARIA SILVIA VACCAREZZA

FEDERICO ZUOLO (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

October 5th 2020

Class schedule

AESTETHICS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is oral. For students of the Polytechnic School the exam includes the presentation of the slide show in ppt or pdf on a theme agreed with the professor. For students in the philosophy course who have 9 credits, the exam includes the discussion of a text among those read and commented during the class, as well as the critical note for those who want to exploit this option.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

During the class, the active participation of students is encouraged and valued while discussing particular aspects of the program. The final test, an oral exam, will allow to assess the level of understanding the philosophical ideas that has been thought, the mastery of them and the ability to present them, as well as the disposition for critical analysis of theses and arguments, and the propensity to their construction. The student who shows understanding of the basic notions and issues of the discipline, and presents them clearly and coherently, but only in their essential lines, is assessed as “sufficient”. The student who masters the basic notions and issues of the discipline and is able to analyze them is assessed as “good”. The student who, in addition to mastering the basic notions and issues of the discipline, and being able to analyze them, also proves to be inclined to the construction of original theses and arguments is assessed as “outstanding”. The provenance of the students from different academic areas having their own specificity will be taken into account during the evaluation process.

FOR STUDENTS IN THE PHILOSOPHY COURSE:

The possibility of writing a “critical note” (between 800 and 1000 words in length) is optional. Students who want to choose this option should agree with the professor a text concerning one of the topics covered during the class, write a critical note about it, and then sent it, in pdf format, to the professor by an agreed date prior to the exam. The critical note will finally be discussed during the exam.

Exam schedule