FSEM 138: Artful Brain: An Exploration in Nero-aesthetics

This course consists of an exploration in the aesthetic experience of art as it relates to the sensory and perceptual mechanisms of the brain. Many of the topics discussed in the course are centered on the view that the function of art and the function of the visual brain are one and the same. Students thus consider that the aims of the artist in rendering a particular piece of art essentially constitute an extension of the processes of the visual brain. By taking this point of view (through an introductory understanding of the sensory and perceptual processes of the visual brain) students discuss possible outlines of a theory of aesthetics that is biologically based. Students are required to read chapters from different textbooks devoted to sensory and perceptual processes as they relate to visual art, as well as review articles from professional journals.