Back
| Semester | fall semester 2012 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Ridvan Askin (ridvan.askin@unibas.ch)
Andreas Hägler (andreas.haegler@unibas.ch, Assessor) Philipp Schweighauser (ph.schweighauser@unibas.ch) |
| Content | While much of 20th century theory and literary criticism was arguably dominated by a linguistic bias (formalism, structuralism, post-structuralism) the first decade of the 21st century has witnessed the resurgence of aesthetics as a focal point of inquiry. Literary and cultural studies are increasingly engaged in aesthetic issues as evidenced by a general interest in visual cultures, influential works such as Isobel Armstrong's The Radical Aesthetic or the essay collection The New Aestheticism, and a fast increasing literature on affect and modes of affection (The Affective Turn, The Affect Theory Reader, Post-Cinematic Affect). Similarly, recent works of major contemporary thinkers such as Jean-Luc Nancy (Muses II), Jacques Rancière (The Aesthetic Unconscious, The Politics of Aesthetics) and Alain Badiou (Handbook of Inaesthetics) display such a renewed engagement with the aesthetic. All these approaches emphasize the very fundamentals of aesthetics, namely the sensual encounter and the primacy of sensation. In their most radical formulations and in clear contradistinction to the traditional focus on epistemology (Baumgarten, Kant), these recent developments theorize sensation and the sensual encounter in terms of ontology. Aesthetics thus becomes first philosophy. But this tendency, one could argue, runs the danger of effacing the particularity of aesthetics as an autonomous discourse by sublating it in the larger framework of a metaphysical program. In this vein, it would be less the marriage between aesthetics and ontology but rather the encounter with the specific work of art that has to assume center stage. The workshop wants to assess these seemingly divergent currents in contemporary aesthetics in view of the general question of how they might inform and challenge us with respect to our own received theoretical presuppositions, broaden our critical practice and extend our views of literature and art beyond the grip of established procedures. Three scholars who have published widely on the subject will support us in this endeavor: Prof. Steven Shaviro (De Roy Professor of English, Wayne State University) and Dr. Stewart Martin (Senior Lecturer in Modern European Philosophy, Aesthetics and Art Theory, Middlesex University) will each chair a seminar session based on a selection of texts relevant to recent aesthetics, and Prof. Thomas Claviez (Professor for Literary Theory, University of Berne) will round off our stay with a response to the proceedings of the workshop. Besides engaging with aesthetic matters, doctoral students will also have the opportunity to present their current research and discuss it with our invited experts and other students. In addition to these academic pursuits, we will also go for a welcome walk in the beautiful Brienzer region on the first day of the workshop. |
| Learning objectives | Our aim is to foster doctoral researchers' understanding of new paradigms in aesthetics to help them make use of these theories in their own work. |
| Bibliography | Texts will be distributed via email at the end of July. |
| Comments | The workshop takes place from September 7 to September 9. The registration deadline is on Monday, July 16. Please send a one- or two-paragraph abstract of your PhD project to andreas.haegler@unibas.ch by Monday, July 16. Note that the number of available spots is limited and that early registration is recommended. The reading material and a more detailed program of the workshop will be distributed to participants via email at the end of July. Expenses for second-class rail travel, accommodation, and meals will be reimbursed for students from CUSO-affiliated universities. For further questions on the workshop, please contact andreas.haegler@unibas.ch |
| Weblink | http://english.cuso.ch/modules-2012/deta |
| Course application | The registration deadline is on Monday, July 16. Since preference has to be given to English doctoral students, researchers from other subjects will be put on a waiting list and notified by July 17. Upon registering in MOnA, please send an email to Andreas Hägler (andreas.haegler@unibas.ch) confirming your registration. In addition to registering for the course, doctoral students are requested to send a one- or two-paragraph abstract of their thesis project to Andreas Hägler (andreas.haegler@unibas.ch) by July 16. Note that the number of available spots is limited and that early registration is recommended. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Lehrveranstaltungen Doktorat an der Philosophisch-Historischen Fakultät (Doctorate Philosophy (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences)) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |