KUN4232 ¨C Philosophies of the Visual

Course content

Philosophy has historically had a vexed and ambivalent relationship with making and spectating images. For Plato, the question about the image is imperative to understanding the connection between the sensible world of appearances and permanent and ideal being. Ever since Plato, Western philosophy has been tackling the paradoxical status of images as situated between being and nonbeing, truth and illusion, essence and appearance. The history of philosophy abounds in debates about what images can do to us; whether they merely deceive their beholders, or are able to disclose the real and the authentic. Philosophers have questioned the relationship between image and language, between showing and telling: can images articulate and analyse the world like language does, and are their epistemic possibilities more limited? Most recently, arguments have emerged that we should consider images as forms of thought in their own right, endowed with their own agency.

This course investigates such philosophical debates about the image, starting from the questions posed in ancient Greek philosophy and spanning both modern philosophy and recent discussions in art history and visual studies. The course focuses on three areas: 1) the relationship between image and truth; 2) the relationship between image and language; 3) the notion of "pensive images," the idea that can images act as conditions, rather than as mere supports, of thinking. The course invites students to engage in close-analysis of both philosophical texts and artistic and others kinds of images from a range of historical periods.

Learning outcome

After completion of the course students will:

• Be able to analyse, contextualise, historicize and theorize philosophical discussions about the nature and power of images
• Have comprehensive and critical understanding of key philosophical debates about the relationship of image and truth as well as image and language
• Be able to analyse and assess critically philosophical discourses about images
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the role that images have played in the development of Western thought

Admission to the course

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

The course is available to students admitted to Kunsthistorie og visuelle studier (master). Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Overlapping courses

• 10 credits overlap with KUN2232 ¨C Philosophies of the Visual.

Teaching

Classes consist of combined lectures and seminars (one session per week). Classes will primarily be held at Blindern Campus.

Students are required to be regularly present in classes, to actively participate in seminar discussion, and to give short presentations on assigned topics/texts.

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

Examination

The examination is a three-day digital home exam.

The length of the assignment should be 6-7 pages with 2,300 characters without spaces on each page and not including bibliography and notes. The exam can be answered in English, Norwegian, Danish or Swedish.

Language of examination

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• How to use AI as a student
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.