General provisions

The Department of Philosophy is responsible for this course.

Entry requirements

Students admitted to a Master's programme within in the humanities or with a Bachelor's degree in the humanities

Learning outcomes

At the completion of the course, the students are expected to have acquired a good understanding of the themes and questions discussed. The student is expected to be able to:

• use the concepts and distinctions necessary for critical discussion and be able to position him/herself in relation to the theories and arguments studied
• read and understand texts containing historical analysis and philosophical argumentation
• account for and be able to give a systematic treatment of central contemporary questions within philsophical aesthetics
• have good knowledge of the relevant fields in philosophical aesthetics
• analyse strengths and weaknesses in the theories studied
• lead a critical discussion concerning the relation between different aesthetic theories and a selection of artworks challenging these theories
• use theoretical tools and resources to argue for and against central theories about aesthetic value, art and artistic experience

Content

The main aim of the course is to yield insight into the role of ideas in art in the conceptual tradition and to examine the extent to which 'art as idea' is a viable philosophical claim. We will endorse a broad understanding of the notion 'conceptual art' and explore the extent to which all art is, in some sense at least, conceptual. If so, how are we to experience the art of the late 1960s and early 1970s in contrast with earlier/later works? What exactly do we mean by 'idea' in relation to art in general and conceptual art in particular?

Instruction

Teaching consists of lectures and seminars.

Assessment

The examination consists of home assignment(s).