(Chinese) Aesthetics and Critical Theory

4-None

What does it mean to aestheticize politics? Is politics inherently aesthetic? Is there such a thing as “apolitical aesthetic”? Why and how to study aesthetic theory comparatively? What is the relationship between aesthetics, modernity, and critical theory? This course explores the major issues and frameworks of critical theory by probing into the question of aesthetics; it also treats modern Chinese culture as an aesthetic and political project, focusing on theories of (Chinese) modernity, media, literature, film, and the relation of aesthetics and politics.