Bachelordegree.

Students are able to:

- clarify philosophically the central theme of the course

- provide a well-grounded analysis of the image production in contemporary art (including examples)

- define the central notions of contemporary esthetics

- articulate the 'deconstruction’ of these notions in contemporary (theories of) art

- consult primary literature on the theme and make use of it in their own research 

- explain the most important developments of philosophy of art of modern times

- interpret the history of modern esthetics in relation to recent tendencies in the field of art

- discuss a central issue of esthetics in relation to the work of one of the main artists / authors of contemporary art.

- compare some aspects in different philosophical approaches of contemporary art

Theme of the course (2012-2013): 'Art as representation after the End of Art'.

At the start of modern times, Hegel considered that the arts have irrevocably lost their social relevance: in modern times, the real dynamics of history is no longer given by the developments of the arts, but by the developments of the sciences and the civil society. His thesis on the end of art was actualized again at the end of the 20 century in Danto's philosophy of art which inteprets this end as an end of representation. The postmodern discourse tried to disconnect the arts from representation by introducing the theme of the not-representational in terms of which it considers the actuality of contemporary art. But what is this actuality about ? The discussion about the relation between the arts and representation  concerns among others the meaning of avant-garde, the interpetation of mimesis (representation) and the autonomy of the arts.

This course intends to clarify the significance of representation in philosophical aesthetics and contemporary art starting from Hegels dictum about the end of art. Primary texts will be analyzed and discussed as for instance from Hegel, Habermas, Danto, Adorno, Heidegger, Lyotard, Lacoue-Labarthe, Rancière e.a.

Students who are unable to understand and to communicate in Dutch can read the discussed texts in English and write their weblogs and papers in English. For the evaluation of a students weblog, a passive knowledge of Dutch is required.

The course sessions are on Wedensday from 18.00 to 19.30.

• Seminars/tutorials: alternative assignment possible

arthur.cools@ua.ac.be