MA Political Science - Philosophy and Political Theory

This course unit will consider some contemporary issues in philosophical aesthetics. The exact topics will change from year to year, but may include questions about representation, imagination, creativity, affective engagement, aesthetic experience, and the relations between aesthetic and ethical evaluation. We will explore philosophical questions about specific features of aesthetic engagement across a range of forms and media, which could include film, literature, stand-up comedy, video games, musical performance, or experiences of the natural world. The course unit is suitable both for those who have studied aesthetics at undergraduate level and for those with no previous experience of the subject.

The course unit aims to:

Introduce students to some central concepts and some current questions in aesthetics and the philosophy of art
Develop students’ critical understanding of these questions
Develop students’ ability to approach these questions through critical analysis and the construction of careful arguments
Help students engage with some of the seminal and recent literature on these topics

On completion of this unit successful students will be able to demonstrate:

- A detailed understanding of some questions and ideas within philosophical aesthetics.
- The ability to engage analytically and critically with some of these questions and ideas, and to articulate and defend their own views in the area.
- The ability to understand, critically assess, and respond to important and/or recent work in philosophical aesthetics.
- The ability to form a justified position and argue for it in writing.

Teaching will take place in weekly two-hour seminars. There will usually be an assigned piece of reading for each seminar, along with some preparatory questions, and seminars will sometimes begin with a presentation from a student on that week’s assigned reading, summarising its themes and argument and raising ideas and questions for further discussion. In some weeks, case studies will be set alongside reading. Seminars will consist largely of group-based discussion, with context-setting and guidance from the course convenor where appropriate. Students will also have the opportunity to discuss their coursework essay one-to-one with the course convenor.

The course will be supported by an online VLE course space, and may also make use of the University’s access to Box of Broadcasts and/or Kanopy.

Reflective journal (3000 words) - 100%

Around 200 words per week, setting out a theme or idea you found interesting from that week's topic(maximum 2000 words in total), plus an essay (maximum 1000 words) that develops one of these reflections into a fuller argument.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (ed. Edward N. Zalta) includes some open-access articles on relevant issues and debates in aesthetics, such as: Emine Hande Tuna, ‘Imaginative Resistance’ (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/imaginative-resistance/); Fred Kroon and Alberto Voltolini, ‘Fiction’ (https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/fiction/); Thomas Wartenberg, ‘Philosophy of Film’ (https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2015/entries/film/); Yuriko Saito, ‘Aesthetics of the Everyday’ (https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2019/entries/aesthetics-of-everyday/)

Set readings for seminars will be provided during the course, along with week-by-week suggestions for further reading.