Course Name |
Long Title |
Min Credits |
Description |
Requisites |
HON-150 |
Philosophy of the Sublime : the Awesome |
3 |
This course is a historical introduction to the concept of the sublime , or the ' awesome '. The sublime , a feeling of great exhilaration , excitement , or awe , is a positive aesthetic experience in response to a vast or powerful object , or one that appears vast or powerful . Traditional examples of sublime objects , or things that evoke the feeling , are waterfalls , icebergs , raging storms , deep ravines , mountains ( Rockies , Alps , Himalayas ), and perhaps some works of art ( land art , film , poetry , fiction ). As " disinterested ," the experience of the sublime is not to be identified with fear ; as an intense feeling or " affect " ( emotion ), the sublime is to be distinguished from wonder and curiosity . Can the sublime be evoked by art and nature alike , or only one of these ? How is it distinguished from beauty ? How is it connected to , and different from , the ' moral feeling '? What causes it from a psychological or scientific point of view ? We will examine the theory of the sublime from its roots in Longinus ' s rhetorical theory , through the British and German traditions , concluding with the perspective of contemporary thinkers ( Lyotard , Danto ) and neuroscience . Students will read and respond to canonical ' sublime ' texts ( fiction , poetry ), react to works of art ( photos , film , etc .) associated with the sublime , and engage with texts from history of philosophy and rhetoric . The course will thus offer an opportunity to study basic ideas of logic ( argumentation ), rhetoric , and the relation between them . It may be taken for English or Philosophy credit . It may be used to fulfill a General Education requirement or an Honors Program requirement under " Rhetoric " or " Dialectic ." |
Take ENG-101 . ( Required , Previous ). |