Module overview
You might watch a stunning film, hear a delightful song, enjoy a beautiful sunset, read a dreadful poem, attend an elegant dance, or see a garish building. Experiences like this can stimulate thoughts and feelings of great depth, and provide pleasure or displeasure of an utterly unique sort. Indeed, our experience of works and art or of nature can be transformative; they can change one’s thoughts and feelings about the world. It is no surprise, then, that many of the great philosophers from ancient times to the present day have contributed to aesthetics, by investigating the nature and importance of such experiences and the judgements they give rise to. This module aims to introduce you to some influential theories and arguments in philosophical aesthetics and to give you the tools to reflect critically on those theories.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- appreciate and evaluate sympathetically different points of views, including points of view remote from one’s own.
- read and interpret difficult texts.
- articulate clearly and concisely a position, the problems facing it, and possible solutions to those problems.
- debate in a dispassionate and informed fashion about controversial issues.
- work effectively to deadlines and under time pressures.
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- bring those views to bear on your own experiences of art and of nature.
- interpret and evaluate critically complex views and arguments in aesthetics.
- present and debate philosophical ideas in writing, in an open-minded and rigorous fashion.
- express clearly and support with argument your own views in aesthetics.
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- a range of theories in aesthetics and philosophy of art and the arguments in support of those theories.
- the problems facing and possible developments of those theories.
- the relevance of those theories to our current understanding and appreciation of art and nature.
Syllabus
Topics might include:
- the nature of aesthetic experience
- judgements of taste
- beauty and the sublime
- art and truth
- the relationship between aesthetics and ethics
- art and emotion
- art and the human condition
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
- Lectures
- In-class discussion
- One-on-one consultation with module co-ordinator
Learning activities include
- Attending lectures
- Contributing to class discussion
- Doing independent research for and writing assessed essays and exams
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Teaching | 33 |
Independent Study | 117 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
General Resources
Philosophy of the Arts: An Introduction to Aesthetics, by Gordon Graham (Routledge, 2005).
Textbooks
B Gaut and D Lopes. The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics. London: Routledge.
A Neill and A Ridley (1995). The Philosophy of Art: Readings Ancient and Modern. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Essay proposal
- Assessment Type: Formative
- Feedback: Students will receive written feedback. Students have the opportunity to receive further feedback from the module co-ordinator on any aspect of their performance during office hours or by appointment.
- Final Assessment: No
- Group Work: No
- Percentage contribution: 100%
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Essay | 50% |
Timed Assignment | 50% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Timed Assignment | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Essay | 50% |
Timed Assignment | 50% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External