Aesthetics of the Everyday Mondays, Päärakennus, sali 4

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1 Aesthetics of the Everyday Mondays, Päärakennus, sali 4 Raine (Joseph) Vasquez Unioninkatu 38, E129 Phone: Office hours: Fri, 9-12 or by appointment raine.vasquez@gmail.com Course Description Aesthetics, as a branch of philosophy, centers on the nature of our responses to and judgements of sensory experiences. However, in its modern Western formulation, it typically deals with notions of aesthetic experience and aesthetic properties have been largely derived from considerations related to works of art largely dealing with issues of beauty and taste. This narrow, art-oriented focus has fundamentally limited the scope of the discipline. Indeed, aesthetic experience affect our lives on a daily basis; from the things we buy to the way we dress to the places we choose to live, many of our day-to-day decisions are based on aesthetic judgements or tastes which traditional aesthetics has ignored. During the last few decades, however, an emerging sub-discipline known as Everyday Aesthetics has sought to redress this oversight. The discipline of Everyday Aesthetics focuses on our sensory responses and interactions with everyday environments and objects as disparate as weather, food, sports, sex, lawns and gardens, or even consumer products. It aims to broaden the considerations for aesthetics, not presuming to dismiss experience simply because it is transient or mundane. Our everyday life is filled with aesthetic interests and concerns, though, like the everyday itself, these are rarely articulated, analyzed, or reflected upon. Whether its the route we take on the commute to work or the detergent we use to keep our clothes clean or colorful, our aesthetic interests not only shape our everyday experience but also determine many aspects of who we are, what we are, and what we do, perhaps more profoundly and consistently than our experience with art. Aesthetic experience is not merely the contemplation and appreciation of a beautiful landscape or object, rather our very state-of-mind, at any given moment, is often dictated by the world in which we find ourselves aesthetically; Whether we find ourselves waking to the muffling sounds of a deep blanket of snow or pushing through the crowded streets of a busy metropolitan, we discover ourselves in relation to and affected by the aesthetics of these environments.

2 In this seminar, we shall reflect upon various dimensions of our everyday aesthetic life by clarifying, examining, and analyzing some of the more theoretical aesthetic issues that are otherwise hidden (in plain sight) from our intellectual scrutiny. Among others, we shall ask the following questions: To what extent is an aesthetics of the everyday possible? Are the theories of art helpful in analyzing our everyday aesthetic experience? What is the relationship between everyday aesthetic values and other values, such as moral, practical, social, political, and environmental? The purpose of this seminar is to explore this relatively young discipline of Everyday Aesthetics, to reflect on its challenges and possibilities, and to consider its merits together. As such, this seminar is open-ended, raising more questions and avenues for reflection, rather than providing a set of definitive conclusions. Requirements 1. Regular attendance (This class meets only seven times. Since we meet only once a week, attendance at each meeting is very important. Unexcused absences will result in an 0 for the course regardless of how you are doing otherwise. Your absence will be excused in cases of a medical problem or family emergency, provided you contact me before the class. Leave a message on my office phone or me.) 2. Active and consistent participation in class discussion (Although I will give some lectures, you are collectively responsible for running this seminar. 25% of the final grade) 3. Leading discussion and presentation on a set of readings (35% of the final grade) 4. Final paper (7-10 pages) on the topic of your choice (40% of the final grade) Note: All the paper requirements must be fulfilled to pass this course. Other Policies - Please be forewarned that I will pursue any act of academic dishonesty according to the school policy and procedure. Please also note that plagiarism includes using information obtained from Internet source without proper citation. - In general, I tend to be sympathetic and accommodating within reason, if you contact me beforehand regarding whatever problem you may encounter, such as missing a class, missing an appointment, not being able to meet the deadline, etc. On the other hand, I will be very unsympathetic if you fail to contact me even if you have a legitimate problem. You can contact me via or leave a message on my office phone. - I am conscientious about responding to your , but communication via should be used only for emergency contact or for questions that can be answered with a short answer. If you have substantial questions regarding the content of the reading, your paper, etc., talk to me in person. (My office hours are above.) - When submitting papers for this course, you may submit them via moodle or you may them to me directly at raine.vasquez@gmail.com. Whatever way you submit your work, you will receive a confirmation from me stating that I have received your work and was

3 able to open it. If you do not receive this confirmation , your paper is not considered received and it is your responsibility to contact me to ensure I receive it. Papers must be submitted as word documents, pdfs, or apple pages documents no other formats will be accepted. Discussion Leader and Presentation (Requirement #3) You are required to lead class discussion on the set of required readings once during the course. This should begin with a Power point presentation on the articles. You will have to work with another person, jointly leading the discussion or dividing up the reading between you. Although the precise order of what happens in each class is somewhat flexible I may, for instance, give some background information before we discuss the reading materials you should be prepared to give your presentation at the beginning of class. You are expected to lead the discussion on the required readings by exploring the questions given in the syllabus, offering your own interpretation of the materials, raising questions regarding the readings and issues discussed, providing some examples for the class to consider in relation to the materials, etc. For the presentation, consider suitable examples to expand on the notions raised by the articles. There are often several articles assigned. As such, you may divide the work up with your partner, with each of you presenting on different articles. You may also decide to present together and, rather than going through one reading at a time, tease out some common themes, issues, etc. that are raised by all the readings. You are not expected to lecture on the material, you are to expand on, critique, and consider the arguments put forward in the material. The rest of the class is expected to engage in discussing the materials, taking cues from the discussion leader of that day. Final Paper (Requirement #4) - DUE MARCH 12 The major requirement for this seminar is your final paper. You can choose any topic as long as it relates to everyday aesthetics. One option, for instance, would be to choose related articles that we have read and discussed in the course and comparing and contrasting their respective points, being sure to make your own arguments and opinions on the subject clear. (Again, this is not to be a report on the articles). You may, on the other hand, write about any of the subjects that came up during the course of the discussion, using the texts as ancillary support for your argumentation. One such example could be a discussion on contemporary art practices from the perspective of everyday aesthetics. These are mere examples, please feel free to pursue your own varied interests. This paper is due March 12th at midnight. It will be marked down one number grade for each day it is late. Please see the policy for submitting the paper above. Writing for This Course

4 Writing affects the content of your discussion. Hence, you must present your discussion in the best writing possible. When I grade your paper, I will be paying attention to your writing as well as the content of your discussion. for This Course Since we meet once a week, and there are no readings for the first class, the readings for the other 6 meetings are heavy. You have to pace yourself accordingly. Most of the texts can be found in their electronic format from the library or open source platforms. However, since some of these sources have limited supply, copies of these will be provided for use in this class only. These are for instructional use only and are not to be distributed, as per copyright laws. Class Schedule 01.15: Introduction 01.22: Nature of Everyday Aesthetics: (How do we characterize the aesthetic dimension of our everyday life? How prevalent is the aesthetic in our everyday life? In what way is our experience of art helpful/not helpful in analyzing everyday aesthetics?) - John Dewey, Having an Experience from Art as Experience - Tom Leddy, The Nature of Everyday Aesthetics in The Aesthetics of Everyday Life (hereafter referred to as Aesthetics) - Arto Haapala, On the Aesthetics of the Everyday in Aesthetics Discussion suggestion 1. Present one example of art that simulates, appropriates, or is situated in everyday life. Discuss in what way it captures everyday aesthetics and in what way it doesn t The Significance of Everyday Aesthetics: (In what way is it important to explore everyday aesthetics? What are some of the consequences of seemingly innocent, innocuous, and trivial aesthetic choices and decisions we make in our daily life?) - Virginia Postrel, pp of Substance of Style - Yuriko Saito, The Moral Dimensions of Japanese Aesthetics (The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 65:1 (Winter 2007): 85-97

5 - Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, pp of The Crooked Timber of the Cherry in Kamikaze, Cherry Blossoms, and Nationalisms: the Militarization of Aesthetics in Japanese History Discussion suggestion 1. Give one example of an everyday object, activity, or phenomenon (excluding art), the aesthetic dimension of which contributes/contributed to a moral, social, political, or environmental agenda, whether positively or negatively. It can be due to a very intentional program or it can be a result of unintended consequences. Illustrate how the aesthetics of the chosen object plays/played a role in advancing the particular agenda or creates/created unforeseen consequences Expanding the Scope of Aesthetics: Clean, Dirty, Messy, Organized, Aging and Decaying. (What is our attitude toward the outward signs of aging of objects, built structures, human body, etc.? Is it always negative? What distinguishes those signs of aging that we try to erase and those that we try to preserve? What is involved in our ordinary attitude toward dirty surfaces, messy rooms, etc.? Are they always aesthetically negative?) - Thomas Leddy, Everyday Surface Aesthetic Qualities: Neat, Messy, Clean, Dirty (The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 53:3 (1997): Jane Graves, Clutter (Issues in Architecture Art and Design 5:2 (1998) Pauline von Bonsdorff, Building and the Naturally Unplanned in Aesthetics - Yuriko Saito, The Japanese Aesthetics of Imperfection and Insufficiency (The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 55:4 (Fall 1997) Presentation Topic 1. Take one aesthetic quality from this week s reading (dirty, clean, messy, organized, disorganized, neat, clutter, etc.). Present one pair of example of objects, phenomena, etc. that feature the quality you chose, one with a positive aesthetic value and the other negative. That is, give one example where you appreciate its messiness and another example where you depreciate its messiness, if you chose to focus on the quality of messiness. Discuss why you think you have different aesthetic responses to these two examples. 2. Take one example of restoration, preservation, or conservation (of a building, a work of art, an antique piece, etc.) and discuss what sort of aesthetic attitude toward the appearance of aging and decay is involved in such a practice. 3. Take one example of a ruin and discuss its aesthetic dimensions.

6 4. Compare one object showing its age that gives you an aesthetic pleasure with another object showing its age that gives you an aesthetic displeasure, and discuss why you think your reactions are different regarding them Built Environment, Artifacts, and Eyesore: (What is involved in our aesthetic judgment concerning eyesore that is judged to destroy landscapes or environment? When we disagree about the aesthetic status of built structures or artifacts, are there ways of resolving the dispute?) - Allen Carlson, On Aesthetically Appreciating Human Environments (Philosophy & Geography 4:1 (2001): Thomas Leddy, the Aesthetics of Junkyards and Roadside Clutter (Contemporary Aesthetics, Vol. 6 (2008) - Yuriko Saito, Machines in the Ocean and Response to Jon Boone s Critique (Contemporary Aesthetics, Vol. 2 (2004) and Vol. 3 (2005) Presentation Topic 15. Take one example of a built environment and discuss its aesthetics. Examples can include: hospital, farm, amusement park, library, street in a residential area, urban park, shopping mall, restaurant, factory, front yard, golf course, parking lot, bill boards, facility associated with technology such as cell phone tower, solar panel, power plant, dam, etc.). 16. Give one example of an aesthetic regulation (as distinct from those concerned strictly with safety, health, environmental, or economic matters) of a town, municipality, etc. that regulates various aspects of a built environment and man-made structures (e.g., height of buildings, paint color of houses, prohibition of certain objects on a front lawn- such as pink flamingos-, the height of grass in the yard, placement of billboards, etc.). Discuss what sort of aesthetic concerns motivate such a regulation and how this regulation can create possible conflicts with other concerns. 17. Discuss the aesthetic issues involved in vandalism and graffiti Natural Environment: (Are some aesthetic experiences of nature more correct or appropriate than others? How does our aesthetic experience of natural environments compare with our aesthetic experience of art and built environment? What are some of the consequences of our ordinary aesthetic attitude toward natural creatures and environments?) - Allen Carlson, What is the Correct Curriculum for Landscape? in Aesthetics

7 - Yuriko Saito, The Aesthetics of Unscenic Nature (The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 56:2 (Spring 1998): Marcia Muelder Eaton, Fact and Fiction in the Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature (The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 56:2 (Spring 1998): Jonathan Maskit, The Aesthetics of Elsewhere: An Environmentalist Everyday Aesthetics, Aesthetic Pathways, Vol. 1, No. 2, p Presentation Topic 13. Take one example of natural environment (such as desert, ocean, bog, geyser, waterfall, salt marsh, mountain, etc.) or a natural phenomenon (such as a sunset, thunder and lightning, hurricane, rain, etc.) and discuss its aesthetic dimensions. 14. Give one example of a garden and discuss its aesthetics, in particular regarding its relationship between nature and artifice The Future of Everyday Aesthetics (What are some of the difficulties in establishing an aesthetics of the everyday? What is the everyday in everyday aesthetics? What are some of the conflicting directions that the discipline could go? What is at stake in a proposal of an aesthetics of the everyday?) - Ossi Naukkarinen. What is Everyday in Everyday Aesthetics? (Contemporary Aesthetics, 11) - Kevin Melchionne, The Definition of Everyday Aesthetics. (Contemporary Aesthetics, 11) - Jane Forsey, The Promise, the Challenge, of Everyday Aesthetics. (Aisthesis. Pratiche, linguaggi e saperi dell estetico 7(1)) - Ossi Naukkarinen, Raine Vasquez. Creating and Experiencing the Everyday through daily-life. Experiencing the Everyday. Discussion suggestion 2. Give some examples of part of life that might be considered everyday. Compare or contrast these with examples of things that should not be considered everyday. Referring to the discussion at the beginning of the course: does reflection, judgement, or consideration lift experience out of the everyday?