This page contains the course syllabus for PHI 217-01 Philosophy of Art, as well as additional useful information, including:
COURSE SYLLABUS:
COURSE PREFIX
AND NUMBER: PHI 217 - 01 (Spring, 2004)
COURSE TITLE: Philosophy of Art
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Philip Blosser
Contact
info: Russell House, No. 7; P.O. Box 7211; Tel. ext. 7186.
Search L-R webpage for “Blosser” to find
“Blosser’s homepage” <http://www.lrc.edu/rel/blosser/Homepage.htm>
STUDY SHEETS:
No. 1: click here.
No. 2: click here.
TEXTS:
1. Nicholas Wolterstorff, Art in Action (Eerdmans)
2. Thomas Howard, Chance, or the Dance? (Ignatius Press)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
An analysis of the principles involved in the description, interpretation, and evaluation of the arts. The relation of aesthetics to other aspects of philosophy. Introductory level course.
SPECIFIC COURSE OBJECTIVES/COMPETENCIES:
This course is designed to acquaint the student with (1) some of the semantical and conceptual challenges involved in defining 'art,' (2) basic elements in classical and modern theories of art, (3) the art (!) of philosophical reflection on the principles involved in understanding, describing, interpreting, and evaluating works of art and aesthetic concepts, and (4) the problem of philosophical presuppositions underlying or expressed in actual works of art.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Selected readings, periodic 1-2 page reaction papers, a mid-term, and a final exam.
Requirements: Formal requirements: completing reaction papers and passing exams. Material requirements that will help you meet this goal: reading your assignments, attending class, paying attention, asking for clarification when you have questions, taking careful notes, and participating in discussions as you are able.
Format: The format of the course will be predominantly lecture, but with some discussion. Students are encouraged to ask questions and, at the appropriate times, to enter into discussion of the ideas at issue.
TOPICAL OUTLINE:
1. What is "philosophy of art"? (Collingwood, ch. 1)
2. What "art" is not: craft, representation, magic (Collingwood, chs. 2-5)
Historical theories: Plato, Aristotle; medieval & modern thinkers
3. Art and aesthetic function (Wolterstorff, pts. 1-2)
a. The institution of "high art"
b. The "aesthetic"
c. The artist and religious vocation (Wolterstorff, pt. 3, ch. 1)
4. Artistic medium: the nature of "fittingness" and "expressiveness" (Wolterstorff, pt. 3, ch 2)
5. 'Fittingness' and imagination in a 'sacramental' worldview
a. The sacred and the profane; fittingness and imagination (Howard, chs. 1-2)
b. The 'ceremonial' organization of experience, aesthetics, poetry, painting (Howard, chs. 3-5)
c. Action, sexuality and an incarnational perspective (Howard, chs. 6- 8)
6. The "world" projected in a work of art (Wolterstorff, pt. 3, ch. 3)
7. Evaluating art: By what standards? Beauty? Morality? (Wolterstorff, pt. 3, ch. 4)
8. Philosophical presuppositions of works of art (slides)
EVALUATION:
Reaction papers = 20% of final grade; mid-term = 30%; final exam = 40%; class participation = 10%.
Attendance expected. Academic integrity expected.
Final exam schedule: Monday, May 6, 2002, at 1:00pm.
Exams: excepting extenuating cases, tests may be taken only on days scheduled. If a test is missed, there is no penalty. However, the material covered by the missed test will be included as part of a cumulative final examination (i.e., for the person who has missed a test, the final will be cumulative with respect to the material on the missed test).
ATTENDANCE AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Attendance – Regular attendance is expected of all members of the class taking the course for academic credit. Students with a legitimate excuse for absence should present it immediately on return to class (not at the end of the semester). Attention is called to the General Catalog p. 83 (2003-2005): "Students are expected to attend classes and laboratories as specified by the instructor, who will state his or her attendance policy in writing at the beginning of the semester. No allowed number of absences is automatically granted to a student. Ordinarily, a student will not receive credit if 25% of the scheduled class meetings are missed." For this course, which meets only 5 weeks, no more than 3 absences can be tolerated without affecting the final grade, and no more than 6 absences to receive course credit.
Academic Integrity – The student is referred to the General Catalog, pp. 69-75 (2003-2005) for the items that define academic integrity for faculty and students. The instructor will abide by the Catalog rubrics in all instances.
Continued enrollment in the course is taken as contractually binding agreement between the student and the instructor (and institution) to the terms specified above.
A 94-100 A- 92-93 B+ 90-92 B 84-89 B- 82-83 C+ 80-81 C 74-79 C- 72-73 D+ 70-71 D 64-69 D- 62-63 F+ 60-61 F 52-59 F- 0-51 plus a lashing !!!!!!!
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUGGESTED SOURCES:
Adler, Mortimer, Art & Prudence
Alexander, Thomas, John Dewey's Theory
of Art, Experience & Nature: The Horizons Feeling
Beardsley, Monroe, Aesthetics: From
Classical Greece to the Present
Davies, Stephen, Definitions of Art
Ferguson, George, Signs and Symbols in
Christian Art
Gaebelein, Frank E., The Christian,
the Arts, & Truth Regaining the Vision of Greatness
Hofstader, A. & Kuhns, R. eds., Philosophies
of Art and Beauty: Selected Readings in Aesthetics from Plato to
Heidegger
Margolis, Joseph, Philosophy Looks at
the Arts: Contemporary Readings in Aesthetics
McInerny, Ralph, Art & Prudence:
Studies in the Thought of Jacques Maritain
Passmore, John, Serious Art
Read, Herbert, Art and Society
Rookmaaker, H.R. Modern Art and the
Death of a Culture
Seerveld, Calvin, Rainbows for a
Fallen World
Wilson, Robert, Experiencing
Creativity: On the Social Psychology of Art
Course Schedule: see "assignments" at the top of the page.
Back to list of Blosser's current courses
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