HAA 1659 The Language of Japanese Aesthetics

(offered infrequently)

For over a thousand years, aesthetic values have been seen by the Japanese as central in defining the particular significance of their civilization, and the driving force of these insights into the beauty of truth remains powerful even today. Learning to appreciate the development of traditional Japanese aesthetic sensibilities and their historical manifestations in a variety of art forms, from poetry and painting to theatre and folk art, not only helps one to understand Japanese culture, but provides a non-Western model for thinking about the nature of creativity, beauty, and life. All readings are in English.