Anselm
Jappe
Anselm Jappe grew up in Germany, graduated in Philosophy in Rome under Mario Perniola, and completed his PhD at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He has taught aesthetics and the history of contemporary art at the Academies of Fine Arts in Frosinone, Palermo and Sassari. He has given lectures and talks at a number of universities, fine arts academies and cultural institutions in various European, Latin American and North American countries.
He is the author of Le Avventure della merce. Per una critica del valore (Mimesis, 2022), Uscire dall’economia. Un dialogo fra decrescita e critica del valore: letture della crisi e percorsi di liberazione (with Serge Latouche) (Mimesis, 2014), Contro il denaro (Mimesis, 2013), Guy Debord (1993, latest Italian edition: Manifestolibri, 2013), Il cemento armato. Arma di costruzione massiccia (Eleuthera, 2022). In French: La Société autophage. Capitalisme, démesure et autodestruction (La Découverte, 2017), Crédit à mort (Lignes, Paris, 2011), L’Avant-garde inacceptable. Réflexions sur Guy Debord (Lignes, Paris, 2004).
His work focuses primarily on the history of the artistic avant-garde (with a particular emphasis on the Situationist movement) and the links between aesthetics and the social sciences, as well as on the developments of contemporary capitalism.
Three-year course 2025/2026
Teams code for the 3-year course: pf14s72
Timetable:
1st semester
Wednesday 13:00–16:00, Aula Magna (Group A)
Thursday 13:00–16:00, Aula Magna (Group B)
Students are free to choose their group. The programme and delivery are identical.
Course objectives
To acquire knowledge of some basic concepts of aesthetics – the beautiful, the sublime, harmony, taste, inspiration, imagination, form – and of some key strands of the debate on art and beauty from the Greeks to Romanticism. To understand the relationship between modern art (from the Impressionists onwards) and modern society, particularly as an industrial society. To learn about the aesthetics of the main avant-garde movements.
The course will address the following topics:
- Philosophical aesthetics from the Greeks to the Romantics.
- Modern art as a response to the ‘disenchantment of the world’: new forms of beauty in industrial society between 1850 and 1970.
- The place of art in contemporary society, between aesthetic capitalism and engaged art.
Examination format:
The exam consists of an oral assessment covering selected aspects of the course and requires the completion of various readings.
Compulsory texts for all students:
Tatarkiewicz, Vladislav: Storia di sei idee (History of Six Ideas), Aestethica
Vattimo, Gianni: Introduzione all’estetica, ETS
Bodei, Remo: Le forme del bello, Il Mulino
If desired, Tatarkiewicz’s text may be replaced by one of the following textbooks, although it should be noted that these are primarily aimed at a university audience:
Franzini, Elio: Introduzione all’estetica, Il Mulino
Franzini, Elio / Mazzocut Mis, Maddalena: Breve storia dell’estetica, Mondadori
Franzini, Elio / Mazzocut Mis, Maddalena: Aesthetics. I nomi, i concetti, le correnti, Mondadori
Mazzocut Mis, Maddalena: Lineamenti di estetica. Temi e problemi, Mondadori Temi e problemi, Mondadori
Givone, Sergio: Storia dell’estetica, Laterza
Desideri, Fabrizio / Cantelli, Chiara: Storia dell’estetica occidentale da Omero alle neuroscienze, Carocci
Vercellone, Federico / Bertinetto, Alessandro / Garelli, Gianluca: Lineamenti di storia dell’estetica, Il Mulino
Carchia, Gianni / D’Angelo, Paolo: Dizionario d’estetica, Laterza
Tatarkiewicz, Vladislav: Storia dell’estetica, Einaudi
Texts of the student’s choice:
Each student on the course shall choose a set of texts corresponding to one of the numbers, which they must read in full and then take to the exam.
- Aristotle, Poetics, various editions available.
And one of the following two texts:
Lombardo, Giovanni: L’estetica antica, Il Mulino
Vernant, Jean-Pierre: The Origins of Greek Thought, Feltrinelli - Two texts from among the following:
Belting, Hans: The Canons of Vision. A History of Visual Culture from East to West, Bollati Boringhieri
Belting, Hans: The Invisible Masterpiece. The Modern Myth of Art, Carocci
Belting, Hans: Antropologia delle immagini, Carocci
Belting, Hans: La fine della storia dell’arte o la libertà dell’arte, Einaudi
Belting, Hans: Image and Worship. Una storia dell’immagine prima dell’età dell’arte, Carocci - Burke, Edmund: An Enquiry into the Beautiful and the Sublime, Aesthetica
And one of the following two texts:
Saint-Girons, Baldine: Il sublime, Il Mulino (available on the website)
Giordanetti, Piero / Mazzocut Mis, Maddalena: I luoghi del sublime moderno. Percorso antologico-critico, Percorso antologico-critico” (“Places of the Modern Sublime: An Anthological-Critical Overview”), Edizioni universitarie di lettere, economia e diritto- Kant, Immanuel: Critique of Judgement (Part One), various editions,
to be supplemented with:
Menegoni, Francesca: La critica del giudizio di Kant. Introduzione alla lettura, Carrocci- Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich: Lectures on Aesthetics (in part, to be agreed with the lecturer), various editions,
to be supplemented with:
Hegel, Estetica (introduction and anthology edited by Francesco Valagussa), Morcelliana Scuola
or
L’estetica di Hegel (edited by A. L. Siani and M. Farina), Il Mulino, 2014- Two texts from among the following:
Schiller, Friedrich: Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man, Armando Editore (other editions also available),
to be supplemented with:
Pinna, Giovanna, Introduzione a Schiller, Laterza
D’Angelo, Paolo: L’estetica del romanticismo, Il Mulino
Nietzsche, Friedrich: The Birth of Tragedy, various editions available
Praz, Mario: La carne, la morte e il diavolo nella letteratura romantica (Flesh, Death and the Devil in Romantic Literature), Rizzoli
Löwy, Michael / Sayre, Robert: Revolt and Melancholy. Il romanticismo contro la modernità, Neri Pozza- Wölfflin, Heinrich: Principles of Art History, Abscondita
Worringer, Wilhelm: Abstraction and Empathy. Un contributo alla psicologia dello stile, Einaudi
(both books)- Two of the following texts:
Dal Lago, Alessandro / Giordano, Serena: Mercanti d’aura. Logiche dell’arte contemporanea, Il Mulino
Gilles Lipovetsky / Jean Serroy: L’estetizzazione del mondo. Vivere nell’era del capitalismo artistico, Sellerio
Heinich, Nathalie: The Paradigm of Contemporary Art. Strutture di una rivoluzione artistica, Johan e Levi
Toscano, Alberto / Jeff Kinkle: Cartographies of the Absolute, Zerobooks (available on Teams)
Bishop, Claire: Artificial Hells. The Politics of Spectatorship in Participatory Art, Luca Sossella Editore- Three of the following texts:
Bourriaud, Nicolas: Estetica relazionale, Postmedia
Fischer, Mark: Capitalist Realism, Produzioni Nero
Groy, Boris: In the flow, Postmedia (in Italian)
Perniola, Mario: L’arte espansa, Einaudi
Ullrich, Wolfgang: L’arte dopo la fine dell’autonomia dell’arte, Castelvecchi
Taccone, Stefano: La radicalità dell’avanguardia, Ombrecorte - Kant, Immanuel: Critique of Judgement (Part One), various editions,
Any changes must be agreed with the lecturer.
A short essay is not required (although it is permitted), but students may bring notes, a ‘concept map’ or images to the exam in order to present the books they have chosen and, if desired, expand on the topic.
Please note that lecture notes covering the content of the lectures will be uploaded to Teams as they become available. Therefore, even students who are unable to attend all the lectures will be able to catch up on the essential content. Indeed, in the exam, questions will be asked on the course content, even to students who have attended only a small number of classes.
The lecturer will make notes, links, images, bibliographies, etc. available. It is therefore recommended that students regularly check the ‘Files’ page on Teams.
The lecturer can be contacted via the Academy’s email address: a.jappe@abaroma.it or via Teams. The lecturer is not active on social media.
Two-year course 2025/2026
Teams code for the 2-year course: 9ouscld
Timetable:
1st semester
Friday 9:00–12:00, Room 305
The two-year Aesthetics course addresses the following interrelated topics.
The non-fine arts: the sublime, the ugly, the evil, the excessive, the formless
Reference will be made, among others, to the following texts:
Burke, Edmund: An Enquiry into the Beautiful and the Sublime, Aesthetica;
Schiller, Friedrich: On the Sublime, Abscondita;
Saint Girons, Baldine: Il sublime, Il Mulino;
Giordanetti, Piero / Mazzocut Mis, Maddalena: I luoghi del sublime moderno. Percorso antologico-critico, Edizioni universitarie di lettere, economia e diritto; Percorso antologico-critico, Edizioni universitarie di lettere, economia e diritto;
Mazzocut Mis, Maddalena: Il senso del limite. Il dolore, l’eccesso, l’osceno, Mondadori;
Rosenkranz, Karl: Ästhetik des Hässlichen, Aestethica;
Baudelaire, Charles: Opere, Mondadori, or individual editions of his various works;
Eco, Umberto: Storia della bruttezza, Bompiani;
Bodei, Remo: Le forme del bello, Il Mulino;
Praz, Mario: La carne, la morte e il diavolo nella letteratura romantica (Flesh, Death and the Devil in Romantic Literature), Rizzoli;
Bataille, Georges: La letteratura e il male (Literature and Evil), SE;
Bataille, Georges: La partie maudite, Bollati Boringhieri;
Bataille, Georges: Erotism, SE;
Bataille, Georges: Manet, Abscondita 2016;
Bataille, Georges: Lascaux. La nascita dell’arte, Abscondita 2020;
Bataille, Georges: Le lacrime di Eros (‘The Tears of Eros’), Abscondita;
Didi-Huberman, Georges: Opening Venus. Nudity, Dream, Cruelty, Abscondita;
De Quincey, Thomas: Murder as One of the Fine Arts, various editions available;
Perniola, Mario: Disgusti. Le nuove tendenze estetiche, Costa e Nolan; Le nuove tendenze estetiche, Costa e Nolan;
Perniola, Mario: Transiti. Filosofia e perversione, Castelvecchi; Filosofia e perversione, Castelvecchi;
Perniola, Mario: Il sex appeal dell’inorganico, Einaudi;
Yve-Alain Bois, Rosalind Krauss: L’informe. Instructions for Use, Bruno Mondadori 2008.
The Situationists – the society of the spectacle, psychogeography, drift, détournement; walking as an artistic practice
Reference will be made to:
Internationale Situationniste, translation of issues 1–12 of the magazine (1958–1969), Edizioni Nautilus;
Potlatch, translation of issues 1–29 of the magazine (1954–1957), Edizioni Nautilus;
Debord, Guy: La società dello spettacolo, Baldini & Castoldi;
Jappe, Anselm: Guy Debord, Mimesis;
Jappe, Anselm: Un complotto contro il mondo intero. Essays on Guy Debord, Mimesis;
Urbanismo Unitario. Antologia situazionista (edited by Leonardo Lippolis), Edizioni Testo & Immagini;
Carreri, Francesco: Walkscapes. Camminare come pratica estetica, Einaudi.
What impact has the widespread use of electric light had on perception in general and on artistic creation?
Schivelbusch, Wolfgang: Light. A History of Artificial Light in the 19th Century, Pratiche;
Crary, Jonathan: 24/7: Il capitalismo all’assalto del sonno, Einaudi.
Further texts will be provided in PDF format.
Can art still be defined? Is everything art? Is the history of art over? What should we make of recent criticisms of contemporary art? Can art exist without works?
Reference will be made, among others, to the following texts:
Clair, Jean: Critique of Modernity, Allemandi;
Clair, Jean: L’inverno della cultura, Skira;
Clair, Jean: De immundo, Abscondita;
Zecchi, Stefano: L’artista armato. Contro i crimini della modernità, Mondadori;
Baudrillard, Jean: La sparizione dell’arte, Politi;
Perniola, Mario: Contro la comunicazione, Einaudi;
Michaud, Yves: L’arte allo stato gassoso, Edison;
Danto, Arthur: After the End of Art. L’arte contemporanea e il confine della storia, Mondadori;
Belting, Hans: The End of Art History: Or, the Freedom of Art, Einaudi;
Wolfe, Tom: The Great Worst Architects: From the Bauhaus to Our Home, Bompiani;
Meneguzzo, Marco: Il capitale ignorante. Ovvero come l’ignoranza sta cambiando l’arte, Johan e Levi 2020;
Meneguzzo, Marco: Breve storia della globalizzazione in arte (e delle sue conseguenze) (A Brief History of Globalisation in Art [and Its Consequences]), Johan e Levi, 2014;
F. Bonami, L’arte nel cesso. Da Duchamp a Cattelan: ascesa e declino dell’arte contemporanea, Mondadori 2017, and other works by the author;
Montanari, Tomaso / Vincenzo Trione: Contro le mostre, Einaudi;
Pablo Echaurren: Adopt an Artist and Convince Them to Quit for Their Own Good, Kellermann, 2021;
Scotin, Marco: Artecrazia, Macchine espositive e governo dei pubblici, Deriveapprodi, 2021;
Balzer, David: Curatori d’assalto. L’irrefrenabile impulso alla curatela nel mondo dell’arte e in tutto il resto, Johan e Levi 2016;
Wolfgang Ullrich, L’arte dopo la fine dell’autonomia dell’arte, Castelvecchi 2024;
Le Brun, Annie: L’eccesso di realtà. La mercificazione del sensibile, Biblioteca Franco Serrantini 2020;
Bishop, Claire: Inferni artificiali. La politica della spettatorialità nell’arte partecipativa, Luca Sossella Editore, 2024; The Politics of Spectatorship in Participatory Art, Luca Sossella Editore, 2024;
Trione, Vincenzo: Artivismo. Arte, politica, impegno, Einaudi, 2022; Arte, politica, impegno, Einaudi 2022.
Other texts:
Jappe, Anselm: Cemento. Weapon of Mass Construction, Eleuthera;
Jappe, Anselm: The Adventure of the Commodity. Per una critica del valore, Mimesis.
The lecturer will make notes, links, images, bibliographies, etc. available. Therefore, all students are advised to regularly check the ‘Files’ page on Teams.
Assessment method
Discussion of a short essay of around ten pages, to be agreed with the lecturer, covering the topics and readings of the course. The essay may be replaced by a class presentation.
The lecturer can be contacted via the Academy’s email address: a.jappe@abaroma.it or via Teams. The lecturer is not active on social media.