Philosophy 280: Aesthetics, Schedule of Assignments, Hettinger, Fall 2010

1.          Aug 24: Introduction

Origins of Art

2.          Aug 26: Stephen Davies, The Philosophy of Art (hereafter “Davies”), Ch. 1: Evolution and Culture, pp. 1-25

What is Art?

3.          Aug 31: Elizabeth Telfer, “Food as Art,” Arguing About Art (hereafter “Arguing”), pp. 11-29

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

5.          Sept 7: “Is it Art or Just a Toilet Seat?” on class webpage

Public Art and Censorship

6.          Sept 9: Three readings:

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

                          ii.         Various contributors, “Transcript of a Hearing to Decide the Future of Tilted Arc,” Arguing, pp. 399-405

                          iii.        Gregg Horowitz, “Public Art /Public Spaces: Spectacle of the Tilted Arc Controversy,” Arguing, 416-426

7.          Sept 14: Michael Kelly, “Public Art controversy: The Serra and Lin cases,” Arguing, pp. 427-439

             a.          Video: Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision

What is Aesthetic Appreciation?

8.          Sept 16: Davies, Ch. 3: Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art, pp. 52-80

9.          Sept 21: Same as above

Rock versus Classical Music

10.        Sept 23: Two Readings:

                          i.           Roger Scruton, “The Decline of Musical Culture,” Arguing, pp. 121-136

                          ii.         Bruce Baugh, “Prolegomena to Any Aesthetics of Rock Music” on class webpage

11.        Sept 28: Stephen Davies, “Rock versus Classical Music” on class webpage

The Ontology of Artworks

12.        Sept 30: Davies, Ch. 4: Varieties of Art, pp. 81-108

13.        Oct 5: Same as above

14.        **Oct 7: MIDTERM EXAM**

Fall Break

Meaning, Intention, and Interpretation

15.        Oct 14: Oct 6: Davies, Ch 5: Interpretation, pp. 109-134

Emotion and Art

16.        Oct 19: Alex Neill, “Fiction and the Emotions,” Arguing, pp. 272-288

17.        Oct 21: Berys Gaut, “The Paradox of Horror,” Arguing, pp. 317-329

18.        Oct 26: Davies, Ch 6: Expression and Emotional Responses, pp. 135-166

19.        Oct 28: Same as above

**Paper proposal due: Friday, Oct 29**

Representation and Art

20.        Nov 2: Davies, Ch. 7: Pictorial Representation and the Visual Arts, pp. 167-195

Environmental Art

21.        Nov 4: Glen Parsons, “Art in Nature,” on class webpage

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

Value and Art

22.        Nov 9: Kendall Walton, “Morals in fiction and fictional morality,” on class webpage

23.        Nov 11: Davies, Ch 8: The Value of Art, pp. 199-231

             a.          Video: Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will

24.        Nov 16: Same as above, plus two readings:

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

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

Nature Aesthetics

25.        Nov 18: Allen Carlson, “Aesthetic Appreciation of the Natural Environment” in Arguing, pp. 157-171

26.

**Paper due: Friday, Nov 19, 1pm, 14 Glebe Mailbox**

Thanksgiving

27.        Nov 30: Noel Carroll, “On Being Moved by Nature: Between Religion and Natural History,” Arguing, pp. 172-191

28.        Dec 2: Ned Hettinger, “Evaluating Positive Aesthetics” on class webpage

Tues, Dec 7: Last day for turning in Bluesphere response

**Final exam: Tues, Dec 14, 8-11, in classroom**