Programme

The course aims first of all to provide an overview of the main aesthetic categories - from beautiful to ugly, from interesting to Kitsch, from sublime to horror and terror - in order to assess their relevance in contemporary artistic practices. In addition, the concept of the classical and of beauty in the West and in the East will be explored, with particular attention to Japanese aesthetics and literature.

Core Documentation

The following texts are mandatory:

F. Iannelli: Dissonanze contemporanee. Arte e vita in un tempo inconciliato. Quodlibet 2010 (fino p. 206)
S. Settis. Il futuro del classico, EINAUDI, Torino, 2004.
D. Richie, Sull’estetica giapponese, Lindau, Torino 2009.
Y. Kawabata, Esistenza e scoperta della bellezza, pp. 57-76 in "La danzatrice di Izu", Adelphi, Milano 2017

Type of delivery of the course

The course includes lectures and discussions with students. In the event of an extension of the COVID-19 health emergency, all provisions governing the way in which teaching activities are carried out will be incorporated.

Type of evaluation

The written test is made up of 15 questions of different types, both "closed" (e.g. multiple choice questions, punctured text, etc.) and "open" (e.g. questions requiring the inclusion of a definition or the genesis of a concept, the fundamental stages in the evolution of an aesthetic category, etc.). The following will be assessed - the ability to summarise complex content in a few lines (in the case of open-ended questions) - the level of knowledge of the conceptual content of the texts examined (by means of open questions and questions with full text) - mastery of more specific information, e.g. recognising the author of individual works of art or the production of specific artists etc. (in the case of multiple-choice questions). (in the case of multiple-choice answers) Duration of test: 90 minutes