First-Year Writing Seminar (101-8-21)

Topic

Is Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?

Instructors

Eskil Juul Elling

Meeting Info

Shepard Hall B25: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

In this course, we will consider the problem of disagreements about taste or beauty: On the one hand, we all claim the right to have our own tastes and opinions regarding art and beauty. On the other hand, we tend to want others to share our opinions, and we are sometimes seriously hurt or offended when they don't. How can we make sense of our disagreements about what counts as beautiful while also accounting for the immense force of shared aesthetic experiences? Along the way to answer such questions, we will practice the skills that go into good academic writing: analyzing the arguments of others, accurately describing them, and critically engaging with them; constructing clearly articulated arguments of one's own and anticipating objections; and, if possible, doing all of this with as much grace in one's prose as possible.
We will begin by considering a range of classical accounts of beauty and aesthetic disagreement: Plato on the love of beauty, Abhinavagupta on beauty and self-transcendence, Charles Batteux on objectivity in aesthetic judgments, and Hume on the role of "judges" in disputes about taste. We will also examine the idea that evolution has somehow primed us to appreciate certain kinds of beauty. From there, we will explore modern and contemporary authors who have argued for the importance, both personal and political, of having a developed individual taste. Finally, we will employ the knowledge we have gained to a wide range of concrete aesthetic phenomena, from contemporary sexual politics to relative merits of "high" and "low" art.

Evaluation Method

Take home final paper

Class Materials (Required)

All reading materials will be available to students on Canvas.

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Weinberg First Year Seminars are only available to first-year students.