PHIL 240 - Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

This course examines 19^th and 20^th century philosophical movements in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Various aesthetic viewpoints and philosophical genres of writing are addressed in this course. The first half of the course examines canonical texts in aesthetics. These texts provide conceptual tools with which to approach and make sense of the ‘work of art’. The second half of the course considers the status, and ubiquity, of the ‘image’ in contemporary society. Questions we address include: what is art and who is the artist? What is beauty? How does the beautiful relate to the sublime? What is the origin and purpose of art? How does art relate to non-aesthetic areas of life? How does technological development affect the nature of art? Osman Nemli.

Prerequisite(s): One 100-level course in Philosophy.

Two 75-minute periods.