Scribner Seminar Program
Course Description
Capitalist Aesthetics
Instructor(s): Andrew Bozio, English
Much, if not all, of the world is dominated by capitalism. But even as it shapes our lives, capitalism itself often feels impossibly abstract. Terms like 鈥渋nflation,鈥� 鈥渟upply and demand,鈥� and 鈥渢he market鈥� are incredibly vague, and they often appear to have little (or no) relationship to the tangible realities of our lives. This course examines that paradox through a series of questions. What is capitalism? How does it shape culture, in general, and art, in particular? Finally, what can aesthetics (taken from the Greek word for 鈥渇eeling鈥�) tell us about what it means to live and work within capitalism? To answer those questions, we鈥檒l first consider what defines capitalism as a political and economic system and how capitalism shapes both our conception and our experience of the world. We鈥檒l then consider how capitalism influences the realm of aesthetics, drawing upon literature and film to guide our inquiry.
Course Offered: