Professor: Denis Skopin
Semester: Fall 2023
Course Level: 100
Number of Bard Credits: 1
Course Title: Introduction to the Philosophy of Art
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: 5 weeks (September 20 – October 19), Wed Thurs 2:30 – 3:50 PM Berlin (UTC + 2)
Distribution Area: no
Program: Philosophy
Cross-Listing(s): no
Language of Instruction: Russian

The goal of the course is to introduce students to the history of aesthetic doctrines as well as the basic categories through which classical philosophy attempted to frame results of human

creativity. Additionally, we will be exploring a whole array of problems of contemporary aesthetics in order to demonstrate that it is no longer an abstract discipline focused only on the study of beauty. Perhaps more than any other area of philosophy, aesthetics addresses the phenomena of modern life: movies, photography, architecture, and the cutting-edge media. At the same time, like contemporary art itself, philosophy of art exhibits a great deal of political sensitivity. The course will aim to help students overcome certain prejudices against contemporary art – the medium with its own set of problems – and start treating it as a response to the historical events of the twentieth century.