This episode focuses on the issue of defining art and its experience, introducing some of the thoughts and philosophies of Tom Wolfe in his Painted Word and John Dewey in his Art as Experience. Also included are some ideas shared by my current students on defining 'art' and what types of things are considered are for what reasons. I then look at the issue of 'beauty' in aesthetics through some specific works, including Beloved, which rides the line of beauty and the horrible, and whether or not understanding is necessary to experience in art.

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