Art and Philosophy (PHIL 120:01)
Spring,
2018
MWF 11-11:50
Bowman 218
Professor: Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson
Department: Philosophy, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Modern Languages
Office: Office #2, 100 Porter Street
Office Hours: MWF 2-3
Phone: (413)
662-5448
Required Text: Neill &
Ridley, Arguing About Art
Focus of Class
This is an introductory yet rigorous seminar
in the philosophy of art (often
called “aesthetics”). In the context of
a philosophical (essentially theoretical,
rather than a more narrowly historical, psychological, or sociological, etc.)
approach to the products and processes of human artistic efforts, this course
surveys and employs a variety of traditional and contemporary concepts for
describing accurately our experience, understanding, and appreciation of all
forms of art.
Our philosophical inquiries will set
out from two central questions of aesthetics: “What is art/the aesthetic?”
and “What is the source of art’s unique value to humans?” We will then take up several related,
domain-specific, or applied questions such as:
What are the significant connections between artists and
their audiences, society, history, politics, and the so-called “art-world”? What is the nature of artistic innovation
and/or creativity? How are
emotions/feelings, knowledge, truth, taste, beauty, and interpretation related
to the arts?
Online Activities
My blog listed above contains links
to all supporting course handouts and assignments, including a non-interactive page
that lists weekly reading assignments for this course (“Art and Philosophy”). Since I prefer to devote class-time to the
exposition and analysis of student and textual positions, I typically reserve
my own views for this online medium.
Class Policies and Expectations
Carefully review Handout CL
and the honors Director’s short essay, designed for honors students but to my
mind applicable to good students everywhere, “What Makes Honors Students
Honorable?” in Thesis XII Online (http://thesisxii.blogspot.com)
Cancellations
I will attempt to email the entire
class to warn of any unanticipated cancellations.
Laptop/Cell
phone Policy
Like
a concert hall or theater, our classroom is reserved for face-to-face
interaction. Thus, barring special needs or circumstances, you may bring but
not use your laptop during class. The same policy applies to cell phones,
IPods, and all other distracting gadgets. Please print out in advance any
material required for class.
Examinations
On most
Fridays throughout the semester, we will have a short, 15-minute quiz. All will be objective-style (T/F; multiple
choice, short answer, etc.), cumulative quizzes on the content of both our
readings and class discussions. Each will be worth the same, amounting to
roughly 100% of a student’s final grade for the course.
My grading policy is, therefore,
transparent and simple, based solely on the scores of your quizzes. At
the close of the semester, I will drop the lowest 2 grades for each
student. Missed quizzes count as
“zeros.”
