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

The sublime. Aesthetic diffractions of the modern age

During the Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, a number of theoretical currents and artistic practices emerged that insisted on the dark characters of aesthetic pleasure, such as the terrible, the disturbing, the frightening, which found a centre of crystallisation in the aesthetics of the sublime.
This concept, inherited from the classical tradition, has undergone a radical metamorphosis in modernity, visible in both theoretical writings and artistic practices, becoming a specific aesthetic category whose characteristics and philosophical implications will be explored during the course through readings of Edmund Burke's Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful (1757) and Immanuel Kant's Critique of Judgment (1790).

Readings/Bibliography

1) Sources (mandatory texts)

- E. Burke, Inchiesta sul bello e il sublime, Milano, Aesthetica, 2019, only pp. 43-109 (corresponding to: Prefazione, Introduzione sul Gusto, Parte Prima, Parte seconda), pp. 141-157 (corresponding to: Parte quarta, fino al paragrafo XVIII), and pp. 167-187 (corresponding to: Parte quinta).

- I. Kant, Critica della facoltà di giudizio, a cura di E. Garroni e H. Hohenegger, Torino, Einaudi, 2016, only Parte I, sez. I, libro II (“Analitica del Sublime”), §§ 23-29.

2) Critical Studies (mandatory texts)

- Samuel Monk, Il sublime, Genova, Marietti, 1991, only pp. 105-124 (chap. 5: L’Enquiry di Burke).

- G. Morpurgo-Tagliabue, Dal sublime antropologico al trascendentale (e ritorno), in Da Longino a Longino. I luoghi del Sublime, a cura di L. Russo, Palermo, Aesthetica, 1987, only pp. 117-136.

Mandatory Texts for non attending students:

- F. Menegoni, La Critica del Giudizio di Kant. Introduzione alla lettura, Roma, Carocci, 2015, only pp. 85-96 (chap. 2.3. “Analitica del sublime”).

- B. Saint-Girons, Il sublime, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2006 (collana: “Lessico dell’estetica”), only pp. 123-142 (chap. VI. “Dal sublime eroico al sublime terribile: Burke e Kant”) and pp. 169-195 (chap. VIII. “Il sublime e l’arte moderna”).

Teaching methods

The course consists of frontal lessons. The sources are commented and discussed, and their main content and historical context are synthetically reconstructed. Powerpoints of the study materials will be projected.

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).

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

Further readings will be made available through the channels provided by the Unibo portal.

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Gatti