The relationship between art and beauty in recent history is not always simple, direct, or conventional. Who determines what is beautiful? How do we define beauty? In a world in which multiple viewpoints are inevitable, these questions take on added significance. This upper-level IDS course addresses issues related to the development of current aesthetics through exposure to some varied notions of beauty throughout history with special emphasis on the twentieth-century. It will examine some intentions and manifestations of beauty in various cultural practices, the valuation of and departure from ideal depictions in visual and textual sources, and the way these conceptions come to life through the vehicles of art, advertising, history, and fiction. In addition to lectures highlighting aesthetics and art history, student participation and class discussion are integral components of this course.

This course serves as an interdisciplinary course because, in addition to the interdisciplinary nature of art history itself, specific texts illustrating methodologies from philosophy, cultural theory, history, sociology, women’s studies, and literature will be the focus of the class. Our concentration on the conception and portrayal of women and gendered notions of looking, which will be an undercurrent throughout the course, warrant credit as a Women’s Studies course as well.

The interdisciplinary nature of this course takes shape as we confront the theme of beauty from various distinct disciplines, including art, art history, philosophy, psychology, history, sociology, and literature. Students will examine the topic of beauty from their own disciplines and learn how other disciplines approach it. The content of lectures, readings, and writing assignments will be discussed in terms of its disciplinary (or interdisciplinary, as the case may be) nature as the material is presented throughout the semester in order to appreciate each discipline with regard to its own merits, limitations, and biases. Over time we will be able to address implications for understanding the individual reading assignments and artworks under investigation in an inclusive context as we see the various disciplines overlap and inform one another. In addition to discussions in class, interdisciplinarity will be important in the selection of artists and/or writers and/or thinkers for the papers. Students will be expected to demonstrate an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary understanding of the topic of beauty on their exams.