60-373 Aesthetics from a Global Viewpoint
9 units, Carnegie Mellon University
The arts and their making is a behavior that differentiates our species. Artisticaesthetic differentiation is a global phenomenon occurring since the dawn of our species. This seminar will explore the articulated aesthetic philosophy of large historic cultures Western traditions from Plato to Heidegger, including Islam as integral to the Abrahamic traditions along with the vast and rich array of Hindu, Buddhist, and Shinto aesthetics. These broader traditions may be examined along with additional examples from small, isolated or ancient cultures, such as the Hopi or the Aborigines of Australia. Across cultures, we will explore the aesthetics of cardinal cultural objects architecture, painting, sculpture, performanceritual, dance, film, and other media through readings and discussions. Each students individual definition of the nature of the arts will be constantly measured with and against the ideas of other cultures, all developing an interactive and integrative dialogue. Other issues include the study and understandings of the roots of the iconoclastic traditions and their constant struggle and interaction between the meanings of the icon and the image the notion of cultural otherness and how aesthetic problems manifest themselves in our world in immediate and violent ways and the evolution of the drive for the preservation of cultural memory in light of recent destructive events in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Prerequisites: none listed
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