Art and Philosophy-Honors (PHIL 120H:01)
Spring,
2018
MWF 10-10:50
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 writing/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
Most weeks,
typically on Fridays, 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 60% of a student’s final grade for
the course.
Essays
Every third week or so, students
will complete short, highly-polished, critical (See Handouts CR1, CR2, and CR3) writing assignments (typically based on
a specific reading from our text) called “Q&As” (see Handout QAHO). Each will be
worth the same, typically due on Fridays, and amounting to roughly the
remaining 40% 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 and Q&As.
(See Handouts QAHO and CL, “grading”). At the close of the semester, I will drop the
lowest two grades for each student.
Missed quizzes/papers count at “zeros.”
