Performative Aesthetics
A.Y. 2022/2023
Learning objectives
This course aims to provide students with an in-depth historical and critical-theoretical investigation of the main issues within aesthetics, with a special focus on performance. The proposed path will address the fundamental questions and authors of this disciplinary field, while also taking into consideration its interdisciplinary connections with other domains such as: the history of theater, the history of literature, the art history, media history and theory, psychology, anthropology, and cognitive science, in order to deepen the philosophical education of the BA students.
The students will be able to critically analyze and employ the acquired notions particularly in the professional areas of secondary school teacher, professional in the field of education and popularization, editor-in-chief of texts and images, and coordinator of cultural projects in the public and private domain.
The students will be able to critically analyze and employ the acquired notions particularly in the professional areas of secondary school teacher, professional in the field of education and popularization, editor-in-chief of texts and images, and coordinator of cultural projects in the public and private domain.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding:
Students will acquire an in-depth knowledge and critical awareness of the main theories and issues addressed within aesthetics. Notions as agency, performance and embodiment will be addressed. Along the way, students will be called on to critically compare the fundamental authors and concepts of this disciplinary field, and to develop an understanding of its methods and specialized terminology.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
Students will acquire the skills necessary to apply the conceptual frameworks of the major aesthetic theories to situations pertaining to aesthesiology, visual and performance studies, and performative practices, through recourse to an adequate specialized lexicon. They will be able to critically discuss the main theoretical models (of both the continental and analytic traditions) and the corresponding literature. Students will be able to securely navigate interdisciplinary study environments. They will be encouraged to propose original and stand-alone solutions to problems arising from the joint discussion.
Students will acquire an in-depth knowledge and critical awareness of the main theories and issues addressed within aesthetics. Notions as agency, performance and embodiment will be addressed. Along the way, students will be called on to critically compare the fundamental authors and concepts of this disciplinary field, and to develop an understanding of its methods and specialized terminology.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
Students will acquire the skills necessary to apply the conceptual frameworks of the major aesthetic theories to situations pertaining to aesthesiology, visual and performance studies, and performative practices, through recourse to an adequate specialized lexicon. They will be able to critically discuss the main theoretical models (of both the continental and analytic traditions) and the corresponding literature. Students will be able to securely navigate interdisciplinary study environments. They will be encouraged to propose original and stand-alone solutions to problems arising from the joint discussion.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Title: Living images
Traditionally, the notion of the image has been considered as going hand in hand with the concept of irreality: an unbridgeable gap opens up between the image-world and the real world, like between sleep and wakefulness, or fiction and truth. Under certain circumstances, however, images seem to blur the threshold that keeps them clearly separated from our life-world, thus becoming part of our very same reality. The course aims to address the notion of the agency of the images by paying special attention to case studies that, from Antiquity to the most recent image-making techniques (VR, AR, XR, AI), seem to challenge the notion of the image itself.
Traditionally, the notion of the image has been considered as going hand in hand with the concept of irreality: an unbridgeable gap opens up between the image-world and the real world, like between sleep and wakefulness, or fiction and truth. Under certain circumstances, however, images seem to blur the threshold that keeps them clearly separated from our life-world, thus becoming part of our very same reality. The course aims to address the notion of the agency of the images by paying special attention to case studies that, from Antiquity to the most recent image-making techniques (VR, AR, XR, AI), seem to challenge the notion of the image itself.
Prerequisites for admission
None.
Teaching methods
Frontal lessons with PPT slides; critical reading of the texts; classroom discussions; projections of schemes, images and videos.
Teaching Resources
Assignments for both 6 (UNITS A+B) and 9 ECTS (UNITS A+B+C) exams:
· MODULO A: Atti linguistici e atti iconici
- J.L. Austin, Enunciati performativi, in Saggi filosofici, Guerini 1990, pp. 221-236.
- W.J.T. Mitchell, G. Boehm, Iconic turn / Ikonische Wende, «Lebenswelt» 2 (2012), pp. 118-143.
- E. Panofsky, Iconografia e iconologia, in Il significato delle arti visive (1955), Einaudi 1962, pp. 31-44.
- M. Imdahl, Iconica (1995), «Aisthesis» 5, 2 (2012), pp. 11-32.
- M. Bal, Leggere l'arte? (1996), in Teorie dell'immagine, Cortina, Milano 2009, pp. 210-240.
· MODULO B: Rappresentanza: dall'antichità all'epoca moderna
- C. Ginzburg, Rappresentazione, in Id., Occhiacci di legno, Quodlibet 2019, pp. 89-110.
- J.-P. Vernant, Figurazione dell'invisibile e categoria psicologica del doppio: il kolossos (1965), in Id., L'immagine e il suo doppio, Mimesis 2010, pp. 81-94.
- M. Bettini, La morte e il suo doppio, in Id., Dei e uomini nella città, Carocci 2015, pp. 77-97.
- H. Belting, Immagine e morte. L'incarnazione nelle culture dell'anticihità, in Id., Antropologia dell'immagine, Carocci 2011, pp. 173-225.
- G. Didi-Huberman, Ex-voto, Raffaello Cortina 2007.
- E. Husserl, Fantasia e immagine, Rubbettino 2017, pp. 20-41 e 48-50.
- D. Freedberg, Verisimiglianza e somiglianza: dai sacri monti alle cere, in Id., Il potere delle immagini, Einaudi 2009, pp. 292-367.
· MODULO C: L'agency delle immagini oggi
- A. Pinotti, Alla soglia dell'immagine. Da Narciso alla realtà virtuale, Einaudi 2021.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS ADD:
· 6 ECTS: H. Bredekamp, Immagini che ci guardano, Cortina 2015.
· 9 ECTS: E. Fischer-Lichte, Estetica del performativo (2010), Carocci 2014.
Texts and other digital resources will be made available on https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=95
· MODULO A: Atti linguistici e atti iconici
- J.L. Austin, Enunciati performativi, in Saggi filosofici, Guerini 1990, pp. 221-236.
- W.J.T. Mitchell, G. Boehm, Iconic turn / Ikonische Wende, «Lebenswelt» 2 (2012), pp. 118-143.
- E. Panofsky, Iconografia e iconologia, in Il significato delle arti visive (1955), Einaudi 1962, pp. 31-44.
- M. Imdahl, Iconica (1995), «Aisthesis» 5, 2 (2012), pp. 11-32.
- M. Bal, Leggere l'arte? (1996), in Teorie dell'immagine, Cortina, Milano 2009, pp. 210-240.
· MODULO B: Rappresentanza: dall'antichità all'epoca moderna
- C. Ginzburg, Rappresentazione, in Id., Occhiacci di legno, Quodlibet 2019, pp. 89-110.
- J.-P. Vernant, Figurazione dell'invisibile e categoria psicologica del doppio: il kolossos (1965), in Id., L'immagine e il suo doppio, Mimesis 2010, pp. 81-94.
- M. Bettini, La morte e il suo doppio, in Id., Dei e uomini nella città, Carocci 2015, pp. 77-97.
- H. Belting, Immagine e morte. L'incarnazione nelle culture dell'anticihità, in Id., Antropologia dell'immagine, Carocci 2011, pp. 173-225.
- G. Didi-Huberman, Ex-voto, Raffaello Cortina 2007.
- E. Husserl, Fantasia e immagine, Rubbettino 2017, pp. 20-41 e 48-50.
- D. Freedberg, Verisimiglianza e somiglianza: dai sacri monti alle cere, in Id., Il potere delle immagini, Einaudi 2009, pp. 292-367.
· MODULO C: L'agency delle immagini oggi
- A. Pinotti, Alla soglia dell'immagine. Da Narciso alla realtà virtuale, Einaudi 2021.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS ADD:
· 6 ECTS: H. Bredekamp, Immagini che ci guardano, Cortina 2015.
· 9 ECTS: E. Fischer-Lichte, Estetica del performativo (2010), Carocci 2014.
Texts and other digital resources will be made available on https://myariel.unimi.it/course/view.php?id=95
Assessment methods and Criteria
The learning objectives of the course will be tested through a 20-30-minute oral exam during which students are expected to show their ability to master the multifarious aspects of the course's subject matter. All questions aim at evaluating whether students know and understand the main concepts of the course, and if they are able to link the various topics and issues that the course has covered. They are also intended to verify the students' ability in communicating the different positions with clarity and pertinence as well as critical awareness.
M-FIL/04 - AESTHETICS - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Conte Pietro Jacopo Alessandro
Professor(s)