Heartland Community College
Master Course Syllabus
Division: Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Course Prefix and Number: PHIL 150
Course Title: Aesthetics and the Philosophy of the Arts
DATE PREPARED: 03/15
DATE REVIEWED:
DATE REVISED:
PCS/CIP CODE: 1.1-380101
IAI NO. (if available): None
EFFECTIVE DATE OF FIRST CLASS: 01/16
CREDIT HOURS: 3
CONTACT HOURS: 3
LECTURE HOURS: 3
LABORATORY HOURS: 0
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Prerequisite:
- Placement into college level English and reading.
In this course we will undertake a philosophical study of the various arts,
concentrating on definitions of art, aesthetic appreciation, and our interpretive and
evaluative responses to art. We will read philosophical essays about art (construed
broadly) and experience artwork (including theater, painting, photography, literature,
music, film, sculpture, architecture, etc.) that illuminates our philosophical
reflections.
TEXTBOOKS:
Brown, Lee B. and David Goldblatt, eds. Aesthetics: A Reader in Philosophy of the
Arts. Pearson, 2011, or a comparable text that addresses at a minimum the topics
listed in the Course Outline and that provides students with the opportunity to achieve
the learning outcomes for this course.
RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND
TRANSFERABILITY:
PHIL 150 fulfills 3 semester hours of elective credit for the A.A. and A. S.
degrees. It should transfer to most colleges and universities as an elective course.
However, since this course is not part of either the General Education Core
Curriculum or a baccalaureate major program described in the Illinois
Articulation Initiative, students should check with an academic advisor for
information about its transferability to other institutions.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Course Outcomes:
After successfully completing the course, students should be able to
1. Describe the main concerns of aesthetics and the philosophy of the arts.
2. Outline the major theories of art, matching important philosophical positions with
the individuals who held them.
3. Identify the problems involved in defining art and appraise the proposed
definitions.
4. Evaluate the main conceptual problems in philosophy of art in light of your own
experience and knowledge of art.
5. Interpret and evaluate artworks by synthesizing aesthetic concepts from diverse
theories of art.
6. Interpret and summarize difficult texts in the philosophy of art and support those
interpretations with reasoned arguments (CT 1).
7. Participate in critical and creative dialogues about issues in philosophy of art
(CO 1, CO 2).
8. Demonstrate the ability to speak and write critically and analytically about issues
in philosophy of art, supporting opinions with arguments, evidence, and reasoning
(CO 1, CO 2, CT 2, CT 3).
Essential Competencies:
CO 1: Students compose a message and provide ideas and information suitable to the
topic, purpose, and audience.
CO 2: Students effectively deliver a message via various channels/modalities.
CT 1: Students gather knowledge, apply it to a new situation, and draw reasonable
conclusions in ways that demonstrate comprehension.
CT 2: Students determine the value of multiple sources or strategies and select those
most appropriate in a given context.
CT 3: Students generate an answer, approach, or solution through an effective
synthesis of diverse sources and arguments and provide a rationale.
Range of Assessment Methods:
Assessment methods might include but are not limited to examinations, quizzes,
papers, informal writings, oral presentations, debates, and class participation.
COURSE/LAB OUTLINE:
1. Aesthetic Value
2. Theories of Art
A. Imitation Theories
B. Formalist Theories
C. Expressionist Theories
D. Non-Essentialist Theories
E. The Institutional Theory
3. Interpretation
4. Artistic Intention
5. Art, Morality, and Politics
6. The Philosophies of the Individual Arts
METHOD OF EVALUATION (Tests/Exams, Grading System):
Instructors may determine the most appropriate methods of evaluation for their
course. These methods of evaluation might include but are not limited to
examinations, quizzes, papers, informal writings, oral presentations, debates, class
participation, and attendance.
Grading System:
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
Below 60%
A
B
C
D
F
REQUIRED WRITING AND READING:
The number of pages to be read per week will average between 10 and 20 pages, but
because of the difficulty of philosophical reading, most readings will need to be read
at least twice. The number of papers to be written in the course and the length of
papers will vary across instructors, but the total number of written pages for the
course will generally be at least 10-12 pages. (Estimate is based on a 16 week course
schedule. Please note if your class is not a 16 week class your weekly reading
assignment will be increased.)