Instructor:
Do you get it? In this course, we will study and analyze what it means to get—or become attuned to—various types of art objects: paintings, movies, music, TV shows, and books. Attunement refers to the experience we have when we fall in love with a movie, feel in sync with a song, or become absorbed in a book. What causes these types of experiences? What are the various factors that shape them? How can experiences of attunement forge different types of relations? We will put different theoretical accounts of attunement—from psychologists and philosophers, literary scholars and art historians, novelists and memoirists—in conversation with examples from our own lives, thinking about how analyzing these moments can them help us better understand ourselves, others, and the world in which we live.