On "Secondary Aesthetics, Without Isolation": Philosophical Origins of Mikhail Bakhtin's Theory of Form

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Dušan Radunović
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Judgment ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Empirical Reality ◽  
Literary Aesthetics ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Aesthetic Autonomy ◽  
Aesthetic Form ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Intellectual Movements

This paper discusses the philosophical origins as well as the social context of Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of aesthetic form. Bakhtin’s critique of the Russian Formalist conception of form, which reaches its most elaborate form in his 1924 article “The Methodological Questions of Literary Aesthetics” (“K voprosam metodologii estetiki slovesnogo tvorchestva”), is methodologically rooted in various strands of neo-Kantian philosophy and aesthetics, most notably, in the works of Hermann Cohen and Broder Christiansen. It was from the neo-Kantian philosophical repertoire that Bakhtin derived his foundational argument that aesthetic activity represents a “secondary creation.” Art, according to Bakhtin, stands in contrast to the “primary creative acts” of cognition and ethical judgment, hence it encounters a “reality” that had already been articulated and ordered by cognitive and moral acts. In keeping with this principle, Bakhtin postulates that the aesthetic act is the reassessment of, rather than a direct intervention into, empirical reality. In this constellation, artistic form is seen as the quintessential achievement of aesthetic activity that incorporates, but is categorically irreducible to, cognitively and ethically inarticulate material. Having traced the philosophical origins of Bakhtin’s meditation on form in turn-of-the-century German neo-Kantianism, the paper finally aims to appraise Bakhtin’s inquiry into aesthetic form, especially his emphatic rebuttal of the Russian Formalist assertion of the idea of aesthetic autonomy, against the background of more general trends in the humanities, both European and Russian, toward the separation and specialization of disciplines. Bakhtin’s neo-Kantian unitary vision of arts and humanities, the paper concludes, was fundamentally in conflict with the modernizing tendency in arts and humanities, the offshoots of which he recognized, and thus fervently denied, in a number of contemporaneous artistic and intellectual movements and practices.

Concluding Note

2020 ◽  
pp. 309-320
Author(s):  
Maroona Murmu
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Literary Tradition ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Women Authors ◽  
Literary Aesthetics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Feminine Ideals

The conclusion focuses upon reception-based approach to understand the significance of women authors in the social map of reading community in nineteenth-century Bengal. It demonstrates how, even after the emergence of a sizeable reading community catering to books authored by women, due to the spatial ‘respectability’ of the presses from which their books got published the reception of prohibited penmanship by women by the bhadralok society in ‘renascent’ Bengal was disappointing. Since some women flouted the norms of literary aesthetics and tutored tastes, the bhadralok critics, in their reviews of book by women, often censured the authors if their autonomous selfhood in print became threatening and praised them for imparting ‘feminine’ ideals alone. However, such sarcastic comments and caustic critique could not strip women authors of their creative foray in the literary world. By the turn of the century, they had begun creating a literary tradition of their own in Bengali.

The New Lyric Studies of the 21th Century: The Aesthetic and the Social in Poetry Criticism

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 401-413
Author(s):  
Valeria Odnoral ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Contemporary Poetry ◽  
Poetic Form ◽  
Speaking Up ◽  
The Social ◽  
Aesthetic Form ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The Right

The article considers the problem of correlation of aesthetic form and social content in contemporary poetry through the prism of contemporary poetry criticism, in particular, the New Lyric Studies of 2008 (M. Perloff, Y. Prins, R. Terada, V. Jackson, etc.). A representation of the lyrics as a genre of poetry, in which historically structured subjectivism and identity of author are interrelated with poetic writing, is at the center of the New Lyric Studies. In this context the lyrics is relative and volatile but also is the closest genre to the poetic nature, that allows to merge an autonomous entity of poetry with ‘agendas’ in the poem, which were difficult to connect in either too formal or too contextual critical approaches to the poetry in the 20th century. This became possible in the conditions of New Lyric critics speaking up against a substitution of poetry and literary criticism for historical, anthropological and cultural criticism because of the high popularity of cultural studies in the 1990s and the ensuing incorporation of interdisciplinarity in literary studies. Despite the objective of New Lyric critics to revitalize a theoretical study of poetry in the spirit of academic criticism of the New Criticism, the modifications in the methods for producing, existence and broadcasting of poetry and therefore in poetry of the last 50 years, poetry itself prevented the New Lyric from becoming the regressive movement. Some representatives of the New Lyric Studies subsequently expressed the need to study poetry in terms of new historical poetics and to create different methods capable to analyze the relations between culture and poetic form – between the social and the aesthetic. Having considered advantages and limitations of the New Lyric studies in the context of contemporary poetry discourse, reflecting not only the nature of contemporary criticism, but also perhaps the history of poetry criticism of 20-21th centuries, which is the dynamical coexistence and the mutual succession of different movements, the author draws a conclusion that this movement defines the right vector for the reconciliation of the long-standing struggle of formalism and contextualism in the poetry criticism as well as social and aesthetic components which poetic work includes.

scholarly journals RITUEL GESTUS: Kroppen som skala og som æstetisk form

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jørgen Østergård Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Social Order ◽  
The Body ◽  
Material Objects ◽  
Ritual Studies ◽  
Concrete Material ◽  
The Social ◽  
Aesthetic Form ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Semantic Domains

Jørgen Østergård Andersen: Ritual Gestures. The Body as Scale and as Aesthetic Form The article focuses on ritual gestures, and it delineates a theoretical field of investigation, which gives expression to aesthetic practices, which are beyond - or rather, intersticial zones in - the semantic domains. It is argued that the ritual gestures generate a contact with a sphere, which is termed “sacred” in the anthropological tradition and “sublime” in the aesthetic, philosophical tradition. It is further argued that the aesthetic field cannot be reduced to the social order of semantic domains, since this would imply a misrepresentation of the meaning of ritual performances. The widespread contextual signification of rituals in anthropological debates and in ritual studies is therefore challenged in the article, and it is argued that such analyses do not give expression to the meaning or structure of the rituals. Such analysis, which merely describes the social context of the ritual, puts an end to the theoretical exploration into the singular meaning of the ritual - even before the analysis of the meaning gets under way. To illustrate these points, the ahjaliputa gesture is decribed and two “rites de passage” in Sri Lanka are analysed: kota hålu (giris puberty rituals) and upasampadå (monks higher ordination rituals). The subtitle - the body as scale and as aesthetic form - points to a further argument in the article that the body is a scale, which organises the semantic domains in a hierarchy of concrete, material objects. The aesthetic zones are found in such transitions from object to domain and they imply a transition from one scale to another. It is argued that the ambiguity of ritual gestures explores such intersticial zones.

STUDY OF DECORATIVE VARIETY IN GORONTALO KARAWO FABRIC IN AESTHETIC AND SYMBOLIC ELEMENTS

ARTic ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Apsari Dj Hasan
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Aesthetic Form ◽  
Decorative Motifs ◽  
Symbolic Meanings ◽  
The Aesthetic

This study aims to examine the decorative types of Gorontalo karawo fabrics in aesthetic and symbolic elements. Researchers want to know as made in the research design, aspects that are present in the decoration of fabrics in aesthetic and symbolic elements. This study uses a number of related theories to get results, and as a determinant, the authors use aesthetic theory, as well as historical approaches. With this theoretical basis, the author seeks to describe the aesthetic aspects and symbolic meanings that exist in Gorontalo karawo fabric. Through the data collection of the chosen motif and provide a classification of motives, the part is used as a reference for research material. The results showed that Gorontalo filigree had an aesthetic value consisting of unity formed from the overall decorative motifs displayed, complexity formed by complexity in the manufacturing process, and intensity of seriousness in the manufacturing process or the impression displayed on the filigree motif. The aesthetic form also reflects the diversity of meanings for communication, such as the symbol of a leader with his noble instincts, a symbol of cultural cooperation, which is worth maintaining, and ideas about nature conservation. This research proves that the decoration in Gorontalo filigree cloth (karawo) does not only act as a visual value, but also as a communication of cultural meanings and social status. Of all these distinctive motifs show a relationship between humans and humans and humans with nature. The influence of culture from the Philippines is also known to have a strong influence on the emergence of the Gorontalo filigree namely manila filigree.

A sketch of the education landscape in biomimetic and biohybrid systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Mura ◽  
Tony J. Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Course Development ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
Societal Context ◽  
Discipline Programs

The Living Machines approach, which can be seen as an exemplar methodology for a wider initiative towards “convergent science,” implies and requires a transdisciplinary understanding that bridges from between science and engineering and to the social sciences, arts, and humanities. In addition, it emphasizes a mix of basic and applied approaches whilst also requiring an awareness of the societal context in which modern research and innovation activities are conducted. This chapter explores the education landscape for postgraduate programs related to the concept of Living Machines, highlighting some challenges that should be addressed and providing suggestions for future course development and policy making. The chapter also reviews some of the within-discipline and across-discipline programs that currently exist, particularly within Europe and the US, and outlines an exemplar degree program that could provide the multi-faceted training needed to pursue research and innovation in Living Machines.

“Tradition,” Vernacularism, and Learning to Be a Folk Musician With Social Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 442-466
Author(s):  
Simon Keegan-Phipps ◽  
Lucy Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Folk Music ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Shaping

This chapter considers the role of social media (broadly conceived) in the learning experiences of folk musicians in the Anglophone West. The chapter draws on the findings of the Digital Folk project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK), and begins by summarizing and problematizing the nature of learning as a concept in the folk music context. It briefly explicates the instructive, appropriative, and locative impacts of digital media for folk music learning before exploring in detail two case studies of folk-oriented social media: (1) the phenomenon of abc notation as a transmissive media and (2) the Mudcat Café website as an example of the folk-oriented discussion forum. These case studies are shown to exemplify and illuminate the constructs of traditional transmission and vernacularism as significant influences on the social shaping and deployment of folk-related media technologies. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the need to understand the musical learning process as a culturally performative act and to recognize online learning mechanisms as sites for the (re)negotiation of musical, cultural, local, and personal identities.

scholarly journals Music to My Ears: A Material-semiotic Analysis of Fetal Heart Sounds in Midwifery Prenatal Care

2021 ◽  
pp. 016224392110051
Author(s):  
Annekatrin Skeide
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Prenatal Care ◽  
Fetal Heart ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Parental Love ◽  
The Social ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
The Aesthetic

Unlike sonographic examinations, sonic fetal heartbeat monitoring has received relatively little attention from scholars in the social sciences. Using the case of fetal heartbeat monitoring as part of midwifery prenatal care in Germany, this contribution introduces music as an analytical tool for exploring the aesthetic dimensions of obstetrical surveillance practices. Based on ethnographic stories, three orchestrations are compared in which three different instruments help audiences to listen to what becomes fetal heartbeat music and to qualify fetal and pregnant lives in relation to each other. In the Doppler-based orchestration, audible heartbeat music is taken as a sign of a child in need of parental love and care cultivated to listen. The Pinard horn makes esoteric fetal music that can be appreciated by the midwife as a skilled instrumentalist alone and helps to enact a child hidden in the belly. The cardiotocograph brings about soothing music and a reassuring relationship with a child but also durable scripts of juridical beauty. This material-semiotic analysis amplifies how well-being is shaped in midwifery prenatal care practices.

Adorno’s Philistine: the Dialectic of Art and its Other

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Paul Ingram
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Critical Potential ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
Critical Turn ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract Theodor Adorno’s philistine functions as the other of art, or as the ideal embodiment of everything that the bourgeois aesthetic subject is not. He insists on the truth-content of the derogation, while recognising its unjust social foundation, and seeking to reflect that tension in a self-critical turn. His model of advanced art is negatively delimited by the philistinism of art with a cause and the philistinism of art for enjoyment, which represent the poles of the aesthetic and the social. The philistine is also the counterpart to the connoisseur, with the interplay between them pointing to his preferred approach to aesthetics, in which an affinity for art and alienness to it are combined without compromise. However, Adorno fails to realise fully the critical potential of the philistine as the immanent negation of art and aesthetics.

Rewriting the Body: Aida Overton Walker and the Social Formation of Cakewalking

1996 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Krasner
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
West African ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
The Body ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
The Social ◽  
Anna Julia Cooper ◽  
And Gender

Although Aida Overton Walker (1880–1914) belonged to the same generation of turn-of-the-century African American performers as did Bob Cole, J. Rosamond Johnson, Bert Williams, and George Walker, she had a rather different view of how best to represent her race and gender in the performing arts. Walker taught white society in New York City how to do the Cakewalk, a celebratory dance with links to West African festival dance. In Walker's choreography of it, it was reconfigured with some ingenuity to accommodate race, gender, and class identities in an era in which all three were in flux. Her strategy depended on being flexible, on being able to make the transition from one cultural milieu to another, and on adjusting to new patterns of thinking. Walker had to elaborate her choreography as hybrid, merging her interpretation of cakewalking with the preconceptions of a white culture that became captivated by its form. To complicate matters, Walker's choreography developed during a particularly unstable and volatile period. As Anna Julia Cooper remarked in 1892.

Feminism in the French Theatre: a Turn-of-the-Century Perspective

1986 ◽  
Vol 2 (7) ◽  
pp. 237-242
Author(s):  
Elaine Aston
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Social Drama ◽  
The Social ◽  
French Theatre

Even to sympathetic theatrical observers, ‘feminism’ in France at the turn of the century was often regarded as merely incidental to the larger concerns of the ‘social’ drama; and dramatic debate tended to focus on the issue of a woman's assertion of ‘freedom’ versus her presumably ‘natural’ functions as wife and mother. In this article, Elaine Aston illuminates such attitudes, utilizing both the texts of contemporary plays and discussion in journals current at the time. But she also detects early theatrical evidence of a slow shift towards a questioning of prevailing assumptions – and a belief (which today strikes her as enviable) in the power of theatre to effect social change.

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