Art & Society Details Course number: PHIL 404 Course dates: Wednesday January 4 th, 2012 to Thursday April 5 th, 2012 Location: ART 120 Meeting days: Tuesday and Thursday Meeting time: 11:00-12:30 Instructor: Dr. Rita Risser Office location: ART 311 Office Hours: 11:30-1:30 Tuesday and Friday Contact: Course Website Email Description Topic This course is an introduction to topics and debates, both historical and contemporary, in the philosophy of art. 1. The course will provide an introduction to core concepts and theories of artistic value and the definition of art. 2. On this foundation, the course will examine a number of debates surrounding the practice and consumption of art in the contemporary world, including: the aesthetics and ethics of forgeries, the nature of public art, intellectual property and appropriation art, plunder and restoration of cultural property, outsider art, the nature of propaganda, obscenity and aesthetic value, and the relevance of art to the good life. Goals Art & Society serves as a comprehensive introduction to the philosophy of art. The course addresses central and perennial questions in the philosophy of art. The major traditions and key authors in the philosophy of art are represented. The course will also familiarize students with a methodology for analyzing and assessing the topics and texts. The goal is for students to learn about the history of the topics, as well as to develop informed and reasoned stances on the contemporary debates. This course is interdisciplinary: (1) it applies the methods and topics of philosophy (e.g., philosophical aesthetics, moral and political philosophy, and metaphysics) to the study of art; and (2) the arts are generously represented in the course, including: the visual arts, musical works, architecture, theatre, performance art, and literature. 1
Requirements Readings Mid-Term Exam (30%) Research Paper (35%) Readings for the course include primary and secondary texts in philosophy. The primary texts will introduce students to key authors and texts that have shaped the debates. Secondary readings will provide students with an explication of key concepts and theories. Readings will be assigned for most of the lectures. Students will be expected to contribute to the discussion of the readings as they are taken up in the lectures, as well as to comment on relevant authors and texts on the exams. Students will be asked to provide essay answers to questions on the material covered in the first half of the course. The exam will be written in class. See below for a description of the exam format. Students will be asked to write a research paper on a topic covered in the course. A selection of topics will be suggested. Students may also write on a topic they themselves propose. Independent proposals require approval two weeks prior the deadline. The paper will be about 3000 words (from ten to twelve pages). It will require research with both primary and secondary sources. This will include the readings taken up in lectures. Additional sources will be suggested. Final Exam (35%) Students will be asked to provide essay answers to questions on all the material covered in the course, with an emphasis on the material covered in the second half of the course. The exam will be written during the formal exam period at the end of term. Policies The exams have the same format. They are closed book. They will require the analysis and evaluation of topics, debates and texts covered in the course, and will call for argument-based essay answers. There will be four short comprehensive questions on the mid-term and four longer comprehensive questions on the final. The questions will be equally weighted: 25% each for a total grade of 100%. Students must be prepared to write essay exam answers to comprehensive questions. Brief, unexplained answers to the questions are not sufficient. Answers should be informed, well ordered, provide supporting reasons, and present a cogent argument. They should refer to the course materials and readings when appropriate. To learn about writing philosophy exams and essays see Philosophy: The Essential Study Guide (N. Warburton. 2006. Routledge) linked on the course website. Also see Guidelines on Grades. To pass this course all assignments must be completed and attendance at lectures must be regular. It is assumed that students understand the Universityʼs policies on attendance and academic integrity. Links to statements on these policies are provided on the course website. The grade for the course will be the sum of the weighted grades for the ʻrequired workʼ (see above). Note: attendance and participation in lectures will be factored into these grades. There are no re-writes for exams. The Deanʼs Office must approve schedule changes for exams. All personal electronic devices must be out of operation during lectures. Laptop computers are permitted for note-taking only. 2
Course Schedule January 2012 Thursday, 5 th NO CLASS Tuesday, 10 th Fakes and Forgeries Art & Society Chapter 1 Denis Dutton, Forgery and Plagiarism Colin Radford, Fakes Knut Jorfald, Masterpiece or Forgery? The Story of Elmyr de Hory (1997) Thursday, 12 th The Art World Art & Society Chapter 2 Timothy Binkley, Piece: Contra Aesthetics Definitions of Art Hegelʼs Aesthetics. Sections 5 7 Tuesday, 17 th Screening: Jonathan Reiss, Bomb It (2008) Thursday, 19 th Public Art Art & Society Chapter 3 Hilde Hein, What is Public Art? David Hume, Of the Standard of Taste Alan Kohl, Roadsworth: Crossing the Line (2008) Tuesday, 24 th Intellectual Property and Appropriation Art Art & Society Chapter 4 Clement Greenberg, Avant-Garde and Kitsch Margaret A. Rose, Post-Modern Pastiche Lawrence Lessig, The Law is Strangling Creativity (TED) Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age (2002) Logorama (2009) Thursday, 26 th Screening: Brett Gaylor, RiP - A Remix Manifesto (2008) Tuesday, 31 st Restoration and the Identity of Art February 2012 Thursday, 2 nd Outsider Art Art & Society Chapter 5 Mark Sagoff, On Restoring and Reproducing Art Peter Lamarque, Work and Object, Explorations in the Metaphysics of Art UNESCO: Bamiyan Buddhas James Martin, ArtWatch: The Scandal Behind Art Restoration (2005) Art & Society Chapter 6 3
Denis Dutton, Mythologies of Tribal Art Outsider Art Tuesday, 7 th The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature and Everyday Objects Allen Carlson, On Aesthetically Appreciating Human Environments Found Art Environmental Aesthetics (sections 1 4) Thursday, 9 th Screening: Hegedus and Pennebaker, Kings of Pastry (2009) Tuesday, 14 th Thursday, 16 th Review Mid-Term Exam 20 th 24 th Spring Break Tuesday, 28 th March 2012 Thursday, 1 st Tuesday, 6 th NO CLASS Research Topics Assigned. Exams Returned. Expression and Interpretation Art & Society Chapter 7 W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley, The Intentional Fallacy Noel Carroll, Art Interpretation: The 2010 Richard Wollheim Memorial Lecture Artistic Intentions Deren & Hammid, Private Life of a Cat (1947) Thursday, 8 th Propaganda Sheryl Tuttle Ross, Understanding Propaganda Politics and Aesthetics Peter Cohen, Architecture of Doom (1989) Stuart Legg, Warclouds in the Pacific (1941) Tuesday, 13 th Obscenity and Art Art & Society Chapter 8 Matthew Kieran, Immoral Art Roger Scruton, Beauty and Desecration Emotion in Response to Art. Sections 1 3, 5 Morality and Aesthetics Thursday, 15 th Screening: Kirby Dick, This Film is Not Yet Rated (2006) Tuesday, 20 th Feminist Aesthetics Mary Deveraux, Feminist Aesthetics Feminist Perspectives on Objectification Neil Diamond, Reel Injun (2009) 4
Thursday, 22 nd Art and the Good Life Christopher Janaway, Plato and the Philosophy of Art Jerrold Levinson, Pleasure And The Value of Works of Art Tuesday, 27 th Screening: Gabriel Axel, Babetteʼs Feast (1987) Thursday, 29 th Conclusions and Review Research Paper Due in Class April 2012 Tuesday, 3 rd NO CLASS 11 th 25 th Final Exam TBA Textbooks Required Reference The Basics Library Books This course uses a variety of PRIMARY texts from Oxford Scholarship Online and scholarly journals. The required chapters are linked on the course schedule. SECONDARY readings: Oxford Art Online, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N. Warburton. Philosophy: The Essential Study Guide. Posted on the course website. The Oxford Handbook of Aesthetics, J. Levinson editor (Online Access) Law, Ethics, and the Visual Arts, Merryman, Elsen, and Urice editors The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, R. Audi editor A. P. Martinich, Philosophical Writing Journals Websites Philosopherʼs Index Art Forum Art 21 Podcasts Talks Philosophy Bites TED Ian Hamilton Findlay, Wave Rock, 1966 5