History of Western Aesthetics

From Classical Greece to the Twentieth Century

This course examines a range of art and design theories that have shaped Western thought from Classical Greece to the twentieth century. Rather than providing a straightforward historical overview, the series of seminars delves into the purpose, nature, significance, and contemporary relevance of theories explaining the meaning of art and design within their respective historical and cultural settings. The course places particular emphasis on the relationships we form between theoretical perspectives and artistic or design practices. By the end of the course, students will be equipped to critically reflect on diverse approaches to understanding art and design within their historical and cultural frameworks. 

Lectures

1. Classical Greece and Imitation (Plato)

2. Theology in Medieval Art (St. Thomas Aquinas)

3. Neo-Platonism and Renaissance Art (Ficino)

4. Representation and Reason in the Enlightenment (Descartes)

5. Empiricism, Taste, and Beauty (Hume)

6. Judging Beauty and the Sublime (Kant)

7. Historicism and Dialectics: The Evolution of Art (Hegel)

8. German Romanticism: Art and Will-less-ness (Schopenhauer)

9. German Romanticism: Aesthetisation and Creativity (Nietzsche)

10. The Unconscious in Artistic Experience (Freud)