3 Courses on Aesthetics at Tate Modern for 2010

Booking for these courses (which can be taken independently of each other) will open in early January 2010 c/o Tate Modern ticketing (either call 0207 887 8888 or register online here). Last year these courses sold out very soon after booking opened.

Aesthetics: An introduction to the philosophy of art in three courses

Thinking about art has a long history. These three courses will give you the opportunity to explore some of that history through a combination of short lectures and discussion in groups. Part of each session will be spent in the Tate Modern galleries. The price of the course also includes a glass of wine after each session and the opportunity to discuss ideas further in an informal setting.

Major themes explored throughout these courses include the nature of aesthetic experience, beauty, creativity, the definition of art, the place of emotion in the arts, interpreting works of art, and the bases of qualitative judgments about art.

Each course lasts six weeks and is independent of the other courses. You can take, one, two or all three courses. Together they provide a comprehensive introduction to the philosophy of art through a consideration of some key readings. No prior knowledge of philosophy or art is assumed.

The set book for the courses is Aesthetics:  A Comprehensive Anthology  ed. Steven M. Cahn and Aaron Meskin, published by Blackwell (2008). You will need access to a copy of this book and will be expected to read a specified section in advance of each session. After each session recommended further reading and hyperlinks will be provided on a weblog.

Course 1:

Classic Aesthetics

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art

Led by Nigel Warburton, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at The Open University

Mondays 22 February – 29 March 2010

Tate Modern, Level 7 East Room

£110(£90 concessions)

30 places

 Thinking about art has a long history. This 6-session course provides an opportunity to explore ideas from Plato's Ion and Republic through to Kant's Critique of Judgement. Each week we will discuss a reading from Cahn and Meskin eds. Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology (Blackwell, 2008). You will also have the opportunity to think about particular works in the Tate Modern collection in relation to these ideas. Key themes include the nature of art, beauty, the sublime, and value judgements about the arts.

 

Course 2:

Modern Aesthetics

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art

Led by Nigel Warburton, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at The Open University

Mondays 7 June – 12 July 2010

£110(£90 concessions)

30 places

Emotion and expression are key themes in this course which explores ideas from Romanticism through to the mid-twentieth century. Major thinkers whose work we will examine include Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Collingwood, Benjamin and Heidedgger.  Each week we will discuss a reading from Cahn and Meskin eds. Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology (Blackwell, 2008). You will also have the opportunity to think about particular works in the Tate Modern collection in relation to these ideas.

Course 3:

Contemporary Aesthetics

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art

Led by Nigel Warburton, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at The Open University

Mondays 18 October – 22 November 2010

£110(£90 concessions)

30 places

What is art? and How should we understand art? are two key questions explored in this course which ranges from examination of ideas from Arthur Danto through to Kendall Walton and other thinkers in the Anglo-American analytic tradition in the philosophy of art. Each week we will discuss a reading from Cahn and Meskin eds. Aesthetics: A Comprehensive Anthology (Blackwell, 2008). You will also have the opportunity to think about particular works in the Tate Modern collection in relation to these ideas.