Philosophy 280: Aesthetics, Schedule of Assignments, Hettinger, Fall 2009

1.          Aug 25: Introduction

Origins of Art

2.          Aug 27: Stephen Davies, The Philosophy of Art (hereafter “Davies”), Ch. 1: Evolution and Culture, pp. 1-25

What is Art?

3.           Sept 1: Elizabeth Telfer, “Food as art,” Arguing About Art (hereafter “Arguing”) pp. 11-29

4.           Sept 3: Davies, Ch. 2: Defining Art, pp. 26-51

             a.          “Goldfish in Blender Causes Curiosity, Contempt” on class web page

             b.          “‘Artist’Leaves Dog To Die on Exhibition Display” on class webpage

Public art, Censorship, and Erotic Art

5.          Sept 8: Two readings: (1) Various contributors, “Transcript of a hearing to decide the future of Tilted Arc,” Arguing, pp. 399-405 and (2) Gregg Horowitz, “Public art /public spaces: the spectacle of the Tilted Arc controversy,” Arguing, pp. 416-426

             a.          Humor: Dave Barry, “Does Public Art Make Sense?” on class webpage

6.          Sept 10: Michael Kelly, “Public art controversy: The Serra and Lin cases,” Arguing, pp. 427-439

             a.          Video: Maya Lin a strong clear vision

7.          Sept 15: Jerrold Levinson, “Erotic Art and Pornographic Pictures,” Arguing, pp. 381-391

             a.          William Bennett and C. DeLores Tucker, “Smut-Free Stores” on class webpage

What is Aesthetic Appreciation?

8.          Sept 17: Davies, Ch. 3: Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art, pp. 52-80

9.          Sept 22: Same as above

Rock versus Classical Music

10.        Sept 24: Roger Scruton, “The decline of musical culture,” Arguing, pp. 121-136

11.        Sept 29: Two Readings: (1) Bruce Baugh, “Prolegomena to Any Aesthetics of Rock Music” on class webpage and (2) Stephen Davies, “Rock versus Classical Music” on class webpage

The Ontology of Artworks

12.         Oct 1: Davies, Ch. 4: Varieties of Art, pp. 81-108

Meaning, Intention, and Interpretation

13.         Oct 6: Davies, Ch 5: Interpretation, pp. 109-134

14.        **Oct 8: Midterm exam**

Fall Break

Emotion and Art

15.        Oct 15: Alex Neill, “Fiction and the emotions,” Arguing, pp. 272-288

16.        Oct 20: Davies, Ch 6: Expression and Emotional Responses, pp. 135-166.

17.        Oct 22: Berys Gaut, “The Paradox of Horror,” Arguing, pp. 317-329

**Paper proposal due: Friday, Oct 23: 1pm, 14 Glebe Mailbox**

What Is Wrong with Being Sentimental?

18.        Oct 27: Anthony Saville, “Sentimentality,” Arguing, pp. 337-341             

Representation and Art

19.        Oct 29: Davies, Ch. 7: Pictorial Representation and the Visual Arts, pp. 167-195.

Environmental Art

20.        Nov 3: Allen Carlson, “Is Environmental Art An Aesthetic Affront to Nature?” on class webpage

21.        Nov 5: Emily Brady, “Aesthetic Regard for Nature in Environmental and Land Art,” on class webpage

             a.          Video: Andy Goldsworthy, “Rivers and Tides”

Value and Art

22.        Nov 10: Kendall Walton, “Morals in fiction and fictional morality,” on class webpage

23.        Nov 12: Davies, Ch 8: The Value of Art, pp. 199-231

             a.          Video: Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will

**Paper due: Friday, Nov 13, 1pm, 14 Glebe Mailbox**

24.        Nov 17: Same as above

Environmental Aesthetics

25.        Nov 19: Allen Carlson, “Environmental Aesthetics” on class webpage

26.        Nov 24: Noel Carroll, “On being moved by nature: between religion and natural history,” Arguing, pp. 167-186

Thanksgiving

27.        Dec 1: Rolston, “Is All Beauty in Nature?” on class webpage

28.        Dec 3: Yuriko Saito, “The Aesthetics of Unscenic Nature” on class webpage

**Final exam: Thurs, Dec 10, 12-3**