OVERVIEW

The course aims to explore the analogies and aesthetic differences between fiction (literature, theatre, cinema, television, comics, video games…) and non-fiction (biography, memoirs, historiography, journalism, philosophy, science, documentary, podcast… ), starting from the Aristotelian distinction between mythos and historia. The notion of narrative is analyzed for its crucial role in both fiction and non-fiction. The guided reading of some articles or book chapters is aimed at creating awareness of the debates that characterize contemporary reflection on fiction and non-fiction.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to analyze specific objects of aesthetic appreciation. These are both objects of artistic relevance (art forms, genres, styles) and entities of other nature (natural objects, technical objects, social objects, scientific theories, historiographical texts). These case studies will allow us to understand how the conceptual apparatus of aesthetics is to be deployed

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main teaching objective is to provide students with an appropriate understanding of the notions of fiction and non-fiction as they are defined and analyzed within the framework of aesthetics. The aim is to make students aware of the crucial role that practices concerning fiction and non-fiction play in the history of human culture, and particularly in its contemporary developments. To this end, we intend to familiarize students with the contemporary debates on fiction and non-fiction with some texts emblematic of the issues under discussion.

It is expected that, at the end of their attendance, students will be able to make use of the concepts of fiction, non-fiction and narration, placing them appropriately in the domain of aesthetics. Furthermore, students are expected to be able to apply these notions to their specific fields (philosophy, art history, literature, media studies). The focus is on the reading and discussion of some articles or book chapters, with the aim of familiarizing students with the contemporary debates on fiction and non-fiction, and of educating them in the critical discussion of both the theses and the arguments proposed by the philosophers who participate to such debates.

The expected learning outcomes for students are as follows:

1) To provide an appropriate characterization of the notions of fiction and non-fiction and related philosophical issues.

2) To relate the notions of fiction and non-fiction to that of narrative, tracing the occurrences of their intertwining in the history of culture and in contemporary culture.

3) To highlight the relationships between fictional and non-fiction cultural practices, on the one hand, and psychological faculties such as imagination and belief, on the other.

4) To recognize the specificity of pictorial fiction and non-fiction, identifying analogies and differences with literary fictions and non-fictions.

5) To consider the place of fiction, non-fiction in the domain of art.

6) To analyze essays in contemporary debates on fiction, non-fiction and narrative, identifying their theses and arguments.

7) Acquire a greater ability to manage their social interactions with a collaborative attitude, constructive communication and dialogical skills.

8) Demonstrate work autonomy, ability to manage primary literature, argumentative ability and collaborative, coordination and negotiation attitude.

PREREQUISITES

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

TEACHING METHODS

IN PRESENCE CLASSES

The course consists of 60 hours (40 for students having 6 credits), with phases of collective discussion and learning verification. In particular, preliminary readings will be given for some lectures and a preparatory exercise of identifying the main thesis, enucleating the argument that supports it, and taking a position on that thesis and argument will be required.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

– The notions of fiction and non-fiction in the framework of philosophy and aesthetics

– The notion of narrative and its link with the temporal and causal order of events

– Narration in fiction and non-fiction

– Fiction and non-fiction in different art forms

– The main debates on fiction, non-fiction and narrative in contemporary aesthetics

– Analysis of theses and arguments on fiction, non-fiction and narrative in contemporary aesthetics

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

6 CFU:
ARISTOTELE, Poetica, Bompiani
DAVID CHALMERS, Più realtà, Cortina
DANIEL LITTLE, "Philosophy of History", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/history/>.
FRED KROON & ALBERTO VOLTOLINI, "Fiction", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/fiction/>.
SUSAN L. FEAGIN, “Nonfiction Theater”, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 80, 2022, pp. 4-15.
Supplementary texts on AulaWeb

Supplementary text for students who do not attend the classes: KENDALL WALTON, Mimesi come far finta. Sui fondamenti delle arti rappresentazionali, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2011.

9 CFU:
ARISTOTELE, Poetica, Bompiani
DAVID CHALMERS, Più realtà, Cortina
DANIEL LITTLE, "Philosophy of History", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/history/>.
FRED KROON & ALBERTO VOLTOLINI, "Fiction", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/fiction/>.
SUSAN L. FEAGIN, “Nonfiction Theater”, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 80, 2022, pp. 4-15.
ENRICO TERRONE, “Documentaries, Docudramas, and Perceptual Beliefs”, The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 78, 1, pp. 43-55.
ENRICO TERRONE, “Observers and Narrators in Fiction Film”, Croatian Journal of Philosophy, 22, 65, pp. 201-215.
Supplementary texts on AulaWeb

Supplementary text for students who do not attend the classes: KENDALL WALTON, Mimesi come far finta. Sui fondamenti delle arti rappresentazionali, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2011.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ENRICO TERRONE (President)

FEDERICO ZUOLO

MARIA SILVIA VACCAREZZA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester

Class schedule

THEORY OF THE AESTHETIC OBJECT

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam concerns both the content presented and discussed in class and the content of the reference texts.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

During the class, the active participation of students is encouraged and valued while discussing particular aspects of the program. The final test 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 concerning fiction, narrative and depiction, 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, and is able to analyze them is assessed as “good”. The student who, in addition to mastering the basic notions and issues, and being able to analyze them, also proves to be inclined to the construction of original theses and arguments is assessed as “outstanding”.

Exam schedule