What is Good Taste?

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course is an introduction to art historical ways of knowing, and to the humanities more broadly. It takes as its premise longstanding ideas of "art appreciation," connoisseurship, and aesthetic judgment, but asks students to consider where our ideas of taste come from. What counts as art? What counts as good art? Where does the "canon" come from and what are its limitations? Who is art made for and where is it meant to be encountered? Along the way, this course will consider art from around the world and, yes, refine your critical faculties. Ultimately students will develop tools to help think about not only how to think about art, but how and why they are doing so. For more information about this and other courses in the Department of Art and Art History, please visit https://art.georgetown.edu This course is not available to audit.