Required Reading: Warburton. (2013): Chapters 2 and 8.
Warburton. (2014): Chapter 1 (Read only “Against Art”), Chapter 2, Chapter 15, Chapter 17 (Read only “Art”), Chapter 19, and Chapter 26
Suggested Learning Activities: (All PowerPoints can be found in the Course Companion Shell: Content – Week 2 – Additional Resources)
Listen to the PowerPoint: The Status of Moral Claims. Select an ethical problem, such as ISIS’s destruction of antiquities, Mary Midgley’s, “Trying Out One’s Sword” ( HYPERLINK “http://www.ghandchi.com/IONA/newsword.pdf”http://www.ghandchi.com/IONA/newsword.pdf), or another problem of your choosing and ask students to make a moral judgment: is the action right or wrong?
Is their moral judgment relativist or objective? What are the strengths and weaknesses of relativism and objectivism?
Listen to the narrated PowerPoint: “Three Normative Ethical Theories” and ask students to apply at least two theories to an ethical problem. (Poaching is discussed in the course companion shell, Activity #2).
View the following: A) Video: What is Art For? Alain de Botton’s Animated GuideHYPERLINK “http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/video/2014/sep/10/what-is-art-for-alain-de-botton-guide-video”http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/video/2014/sep/10/what-is-art-for-alain-de-botton-guide-video; B) Video: Beauty HYPERLINK “http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003k9hf”http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p003k9hf; and C) Video: film clip from Mona Lisa Smile HYPERLINK “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkteNuJepzU”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkteNuJepzU. Draw on videos and student papers to discuss: What is art? What is beauty?
Context: This is an experiential learning activity. You will need to visit a local art museum to complete this assignment. After working through the assigned materials on art, visit a local art museum. As you walk through the galleries, think about the objects on display. You will likely encounter a variety of objects, including but not limited to paintings, photographs, furniture, eating utensils, and sculptures. Why are they there? What makes them different from other objects and therefore worthy of inclusion in an art gallery? Is it because they meet objective criteria for beauty, or is it merely a matter of someone’s taste or authority, such as that of the curator? Alternatively, is their inclusion based on their evocative power or usefulness?
As you walk through the museum, select two objects, one that counts as art and one that does not. Your activity this week will be based on this selection and will provide you with the opportunity to evaluate theories of art and determine your own position on the question of what constitutes art.
Writing Assignment: Write a (3-5 page) paper in which you do the following: First, plan to include representations of your two selections in the Appendix of your paper. You may or may not be able to photograph your selections in the art gallery, so make sure an image is available online that can be downloaded and copied into your paper. Second, begin your paper by naming the gallery you visited and the exhibition. Third, draw on this week’s readings and video materials to discuss why one of your object counts as art and the other does not. Fourth, describe what you will take away from your visit and this paper project? What role does art play in your life and in society? Be sure to determine the name of the artist responsible for each work you have elected to discuss, so that you can properly cite theseartworks in your Works Cite page.
