The course investigates some of the central questions of Modern and Contemporary Aesthetics, with special reference to Architecture’s cultural environment and to the behavioral, anthropological, and political issues arising at the intersection between Aesthetics and Urban Design and Planning. After an introductive part dedicated to the deepening of the origins of the notion of Aesthetics - carried out through a recognition on the greek term 'Aisthesis' and on the role of sensibility and perception in knowing processes in ancient philosophy and on the modern foundation of the discipline meant to compare Baumgarten and Kant accounts of Aesthetics - the focus will be on the the contemporary theoretical contributions which broadened the array of problems into aesthetical inquiry, especially addressing the relationship betwen perception and technique as well as the one between the perceptive subject and the physical and cultural environment inhabited. Particularly considering the Phenomenological perspective in philosophy, the crucial role of perception of the landscapes - especially of the ones deeply modified if not compromised by human intervention - will be deepened, at first considering the psychological impact as described and analyzed by Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Kurt Lewin, and finally delving how different perspectives, both in contemporary Philosophy and Architecture’s theories, take in account the social implications for the current shaping of urban forms-of-life. This latter part of the course will focus on Steven Holl's notion of 'crisscrossing' and its relevance in his architectural theory, on Henri Lefebvre's projective definition of the city as crucial to his critique of urbanization processes, on Rem Koolhaas genealogy of the urban metropolis, lastly on Judith Butler's theory of frames as normative scheme which delimit or extend our visual perception. Outcome Statement: Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the main philosophical questions in the area of contemporary Phenomenological Aesthetics. Particularly, a comprehension of the historical and conceptual development of the topics will permit to understand the turning of the meaning of Landscape itself through a brief exposure of the History of the theories of perception and to articulate some of the main problems and responses central to this area of philosophy, as well as a motivating perspective on the role of Aesthetics in Architecture and Design nowadays.

- Introductive Handout provided by the Instructor, summarizing the origins of the notions of Aesthetics, Technique, Art, and remarking their development in the history of philosophy and in the theory of art. - M. Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978 (Preface, Introduction, Part II, Chapter II “The Space” and selected parts) - M. Merleau-Ponty, “Cezanne’s doubt”, in Sense and Non-Sense [trans. by Hubert Dreyfus and Patricia Allen Dreyfus], Evanston, Northwestern University Press, 1964. - K. Lewin, The Landscape of War, [trans. by Jonathan Blower], in “Art in Translation” , no. 2: 199–209. - H. Lefebvre, Right to the City, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014. - R. Koolhaas, Delirious New York. A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan, Oxford University Press, 1978. - J. Butler, Frames of War. When Life is Grievable?, London, Verso, 2009 (selected parts)