AESTHETICS

In the framework of the Master's Degree in Arts Management, the course aims to prompt a critical confrontation with traditional aesthetic notions such as those of creativity, taste, aesthetic experience, interest/disinterest, detachment and distance in the appreciation of the arts and cultural consumption. It therefore intends to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of some major theoretical issues concerning these notions, as well as their historical and socio-cultural implications, with a particular focus on the contemporary scenario of visual culture studies.

The course will provide excellent understanding of the theoretical notions characteristic of philosophical Aesthetics by future operators in the management of arts and cultural activities. Students are expected to acquire the ability to apply the knowledge and understanding of the texts and topics (authors, works, ideas, themes) examined during the course by elaborating, with the appropriate language and the subject-specific terminology, an autonomous, articulate and coherent discourse, in both oral and written forms. The overall objective of the course is to allow the participants to formulate a personal critical judgment on the contemporary visual culture scenario, with particular emphasis on the issues raised by the rapid spread of new technologies.

The course is accessible to students with little or no prior knowledge of the history of philosophy. Nevertheless, a smattering of the basic notions of Aesthetics and of the history of the discipline will facilitate the easy comprehension of the subject.

Aesthetic enjoyment has been mostly regarded as a highly specific form of experience necessarily linked to detachment and critical distance, with the perceiving subject clearly separated from the perceived object. Over the centuries, "contemplation" has been the name given to "pure", "true", or "genuine" aesthetic experience. In recent years, however, this way of considering aesthetic enjoyment has been more and more challenged by new forms of art and new types of art exhibitions which seem deliberately made to get rid of (almost) any distance between the image-world and the life-world, thus turning what was former a mere "observer" into a far more problematic "experiencer". Ranging from hyper-realism to virtual reality environments, the course aims to provide an introduction to the notion of "unframing" as a key concept for understanding the contemporary iconoscape and the radically new ways of conceiving both the management and consumption of the arts.

The final programme and all the teaching materials will be made available on the course homepage through Moodle.

The learning objectives of the course will be tested through an open-book written exam consisting of open questions aimed at evaluating whether students know and understand the main concepts introduced during the course, and if they are able to link the various topics and issues that the course itself has covered. Questions are also intended to test the students' ability in communicating the different positions with clarity and pertinence as well as critical awareness.
The exam will take 2 hours.

Frontal lessons with PPT slides.
Critical reading of the texts.

English

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion

Ca' Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.

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