Course content and focus areas
In light of the dissolution of boundaries in the arts and the progressive aestheticization of the living world, the question of art and aesthetic experience has become more pressing. This issue demands answers that transcend subject matter and disciplines. Beyond the narrower field of philosophical aesthetics, which historically covers all areas of art theory, it is necessary to analyze new problematic situations of the aesthetic across different areas of artistic production and related humanities disciplines.
The two-year Master's program in Aesthetics addresses this challenge by taking an interdisciplinary approach to the field of aesthetics, incorporating philosophy, literary studies, theater studies, film studies, media studies, art history, and musicology. At the same time, it considers historical, sociocultural, political, empirical psychological, and ethnographic/ethnological perspectives. Another feature of the program is its connection to current artistic practice through cooperation with cultural institutions in the city and greater Frankfurt area: Offenbach University of Art and Design; the University of Music and Performing Arts, in collaboration with the Hessian Theatre Academy and the Hessian Film and Media Academy; and various galleries and literary forums. There is also cooperation with the Frankfurt Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics.
The program allows students to specialize in three of the seven subjects: philosophy, literary studies, musicology, art history, theater, film, and media studies. The program is designed for students who wish to further their education in aesthetic theory in a research-intensive manner, free from subject-specific constraints, both historically and systematically. The program's educational goals qualify students for a broad range of activities in literary, media, and art production, as well as art mediation. This field's institutional, technological, and media conditions are constantly changing. The degree program takes this into account through its specific orientation. It also forms the basis for doctoral studies in one of the participating disciplines.