The Aesthetics of Aby Warburg: Summer School Courses

This course investigates the aesthetics of Aby Warburg (1866–1929) by analysing some of his most important works. Students will develop critical and analytical skills by reading philosophical and interdisciplinary texts on interdisciplinary research, cultural memory, empathy, style, symbols, and the biology of images. Furthermore, students will learn to orient themselves in aesthetic thinking, addressing the following questions: How can we explain the recurrence of certain patterns in the history of art? What is the role of biology in cultural memory? What is the role of biology and psychology in the creation of styles? What does it mean to undertake interdisciplinary research? This course addresses these and other questions by focusing on the works of one of the foremost theorists of art and culture, Aby Warburg.