Aesthetics

Subject 161-018 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 2 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Semester 1, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: Thirty two contact hours per semester: two 1-hour lectures per week for the first 11 weeks and a 1-hour tutorial per week beginning the third week of semester
Total Time Commitment: 3 contact hours/week, 5.5 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: At least one first-year single-semester philosophy subject or permission from the Head of School or subject coordinator.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Coordinator

Assoc Prof Christopher Donald Cordner

Contact

Assco Prof Christopher Cordner

ccordner@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: This subject will be concerned with the nature of art and its value for the individual and society. Particular attention will be paid to the critical discussion of representation in art which began with Plato in the 4th Century BC, recurs in the 19th century with Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and again in the 20th century with Duchamp's proposal that art should be for the mind and not the eye.
Objectives: Students who successfully complete this subject will
  • be aware of the dominant ideas in different historical periods concerning art and the aesthetic;
  • be able to reflect on these ideas in a philosophically critical way;
  • develop a deeper sense of what is at issue in the aesthetic questions explored.
Assessment: A written assignment of 2000 words 50% (due mid-semester), a 2-hour closed-book written examination 47% (at the end of semester) and tutorial participation 3%.
Prescribed Texts:
A subject reader will be available from the bookshop at the start of semester.
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • develop a sense of where the limits of philosophical argument lie.
  • be able to express their ideas more clearly.
  • be able to bring to bear the philosophical understanding developed in this subject on their other studies, inside and outside philosophy.
Notes: Previously available as Philosophy of Art. Students who have completed Philosophy of Art are not eligible to enrol in this subject.
Related Course(s): Diploma in Arts (Philosophy)
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy Major

Download PDF version.