Programme

First and foremost, the course aims to provide an overview of the main aesthetic categories--from the beautiful to the ugly, from the interesting to the Kitsch, from the sublime to horror and terror--to assess their relevance in contemporary art practices.
In addition to this, we will explore - in general - prehistoric Venuses, the role of women in prehistory, and the conception of love between tradition and innovation.

Core Documentation

Francesca Iannelli: Dissonanze contemporanee. Arte e vita in un tempo inconciliato. Quodlibet 2010 (up p. 206).

Thomas Cirotteau, Eric Pinkas & Jennifer Kerner, Lady Sapiens: Breaking Stereotypes About Prehistoric Women, Legend Press 2022.

Paul A. Kottman, Love as Human Freedom, Stanford University Press, 2017

Type of delivery of the course

The course includes lectures and discussions with students.

Attendance

Attendance is warmly recommended.

Type of evaluation

The written test consists of 15 questions of different types, both "closed" (e.g., multiple-choice questions, punctured text etc.) and "open" (e.g., questions that require the inclusion of the definition or genesis of a concept, the milestones in the evolution of an aesthetic category etc.). Will be assessed: - the ability to summarize complex content in a few lines (in the case of open-ended answers) - the level of knowledge of the conceptual content of the texts examined (through open-ended questions and through questions with punctured text) - the mastery in handling more specific information, e.g. recognizing the author of individual works of art or the production of specific artists etc. (in the case of multiple-choice answers) Duration of the test: 90 minutes