Course Description
Introduces students to art’s capacity to explore ethical questions related to ownership, public space, self-expression, and persuasion.
Athena Title
Art and Ethics
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to explain how ethical principles provide justification for standards of conduct in the creation, ownership, and display of visual art.
- Students will be able to analyze the complexities of competing ethical principles—such as cultural heritage versus intellectual property—in contemporary and historical art contexts.
- Students will be able to evaluate visual artworks as sites of ethical inquiry, identifying how issues of ownership, public space, self-expression, and persuasion manifest in artistic practice.
- Students will be able to interpret philosophical frameworks (e.g., Plato and Aristotle) and apply them to debates about art and ethics.
- Students will be able to assess the ethical implications of artistic interventions in public space, considering perspectives on community, accessibility, and authority.
- Students will be able to critically examine the role of art in persuasion and propaganda, distinguishing between aesthetic strategies and ethical consequences.
- Students will be able to develop informed arguments about ethical dilemmas in art, using evidence-based reasoning and disciplinary vocabulary.
- Students will be able to reflect on personal and societal values in relation to visual art, demonstrating awareness of cultural diversity and global perspectives.
- Students will be able to apply ethical reasoning to case studies involving appropriation, copyright, and repatriation, articulating multiple viewpoints and potential resolutions.
- Students will be able to describe, interpret, and critique works of visual art within their historical, cultural, and ethical contexts.
- Students will be able to analyze how artistic expression engages fundamental questions about human identity, community, and moral responsibility.
- Students will be able to evaluate art’s contribution to our understanding of the human condition by addressing power, property, and self-expression.
- Students will be able to assess art as a vehicle for exploring diverse human perspectives.
Topical Outline
- Plato v. Aristotle: First Words on Art and Ethics
- Art and the Ethics of Ownership
From repatriation to copyright, appropriation, and sampling
- Art and the Ethical Dimension of Public Space
From the Parthenon to Richard Serra’s Titled Arc and Relational Aesthetics
- Art and the Ethics of Self Expression
From Rembrandt to Abstract Expressionism to Cindy Sherman and Social Media
- Art and the Ethics of Persuasion
From Imperial Imagery to Triumph of the Will and Paul Pfeiffer’s RGB (2023)
Institutional Competencies
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
