Syllabus
1. Introduction – Art, Aesthetics and Politics
2. Early Romantics I. – Schiller and the Aesthetic Education of Men
3. Early Romantics II. – The Aesthetic Revolution
4. Ideology and Utopia
5. Critical Theory I. – Culture as a Problem
6. Critical Theory II. – Art as the Redemption of Society
7. Critical Theory III. – Art and Freedom
8. Aesthetic and Political Judgement
9. Distribution of the Sensible – On Jacques Rancière
10. Aesthetic Democracy
11. Conclusion – The Political Role of Art
12. Exam
Annotation
Art and Politics
This course will be dedicated to the question of the relationship between art, aesthetics and politics. It will offer a general overview of the topic from the Early Romanticism to contemporary discussions. We will deal with terms such as ideology, autonomy of art, freedom and judgement. The main question which we will follow during the lessons is, whether art can have any political impact, and if so, what kind of impact it is and how does art achieve it. Art can be seen as a unique means of social change or social critique, but also as an ideological and dangerous medium of influence and enforcement of the status quo. The course will first introduce the idea of the political role of art in the thoughts of the authors of Romantic era (Friedrich Schiller, Friedrich Schelling). Then we will focus on Critical Theory, mainly on its most prominent authors (Theodor W. Adorno, Herbert Marcuse and Walter Benjamin) but also recent German philosophers elaborating on the tradition (Albrecht Wellmer, Christoph Menke, Juliane Rebentisch, Axel Honneth). The third part of the course will be dedicated to the problem of judgement (Hannah Arendt) and the aesthetic democracy (Jacques Rancière, Boris Groys).