Biopoetics: An Evolutionary Approach to Art, Literature and Music and Religion
Full course description
Students will familiarize themselves with the basic concepts of evolutionary theory and cognitive science in order to able to evaluate the controversies and debates within the framework of an evolutionary perspective on art, literature and music. Several themes will be discussed, such as: the mating mind; artistic universals; human nature: blank or pre-wired, the rhythm of poetry; the science of art; the origins of music, grooming, gossip, and the novel; art as adaptation vs. art as by-product; etc.
Course objectives
- To be able to evaluate and apply Darwinist approaches to practices in art, literature, music and religion.
Prerequisites
At least two 2000-level courses in the Humanities or at least two 2000-level courses in the Sciences.
Recommended reading
- Charlesworh, B., & Charlesworh, D. (2003). Evolution: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Carroll, J. (2004). Literary Darwinism: Evolution, Human Nature, and Literature. London: Routledge.
- Gotschall, J., & Wilson, D.S. (2005). The Literary Animal: Evolution and the Nature of Narrative. Northwestern University Press.
- Turner, M. (2006). The Artful Mind: Cognitive Science and the Riddle of Human Creativity. Oxford University Press.
HUM3042
Period 5
8 Apr 2024
7 Jun 2024
ECTS credits:
5.0Instruction language:
EnglishCoordinator:
Teaching methods:
PBL, Presentation(s), Lecture(s), Assignment(s), Paper(s)Assessment methods:
Final paper, Attendance, Participation, Written exam, Oral exam, Take home exam