Topics in Aesthetics

Much of the seminar will focus on notions of abstraction in the arts (and related notions of formalism) in painting, music, poetry, etc. What is it for a work to be abstract, or more or less abstract than other works? How is abstraction important, and how is it related to aesthetic value and to values of other kinds? I understand abstraction to consist in the absence or limitation of one or another kind of aboutness: representation in any of several senses, semantic properties, pragmatic implications, meanings of one sort or another, etc. There are many of different kinds of aboutness, and so many corresponding varieties of abstraction. Readings will be by an assortment of philosophers, critics, music theorists, art historians etc., probably including Clive Bell, Roger Fry, Ernst Gombrich, Clement Greenberg, Eduard Hanslick, Eileen John, Peter Kivy, Peter Lamarque, Suzanne Langer, Alexander Nehamas, Roger Scruton, Richard Wollheim. I will try out some of my own recent work-in-progress. The course will be organized as a seminar. Students will work on projects, term papers, and present drafts to the group, so we can help one another. They will also be asked to give short informal presentations on readings to be discussed. The topics we cover after the first several meetings will depend partly on what projects students choose, as well as our interests. There are lots of great possibilities, including, of course, exploring various kinds of aboutness. Grades will be based on the term papers and participation in the seminar. This course is intended for graduate students. Qualified undergraduates are welcome, but instructor permission is required.