242 Pages
    by Routledge

    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    Aesthetic theory in the West has, until now, been dominated by ideas of effect, autonomy, and reception. Transformative Aesthetics uncovers these theories’ mutual concern with the transformation of those involved.



    From artists to spectators, readers, listeners, or audiences, the idea of transformation is one familiar to cultures across the globe. Transformation of the individual is only one part of this aesthetic phenomenon, as contemporary artists are increasingly called upon to have a transformative, sustainable impact on society at large. To this end, Erika Fischer Lichte and Benjamin Wihstutz present a series of fresh perspectives on the discussion of aesthetics, uniting Western theory with that of India, China, Australia, and beyond.



    Each chapter of Transformative Aesthetics focuses on a different approach to transformation, from the foundations of aesthetics to contemporary theories, breaking new ground to establish a network of thought that spans theatre, performance, art history, cultural studies, and philosophy.

    Introduction: Transformative Aesthetics—Reflections on the Metamorphic Power of Art



    Erika Fischer-Lichte





    1 Aristotle’s theory of Katharsis in its Historical and Social Contexts



    Edith Hall





    2 The Taste of Art and Transcendence: Transformation(s) in Rasa and Bhakti Aesthetics



    Guillermo Rodriguez





    3 Metamorphosis in the Picture



    Bernhard Waldenfels





    4 Somaesthetics and Self-Cultivation in Chinese Art



    Richard Shusterman





    5 Schiller’s Transformative Aesthetics



    Benjamin Wihstutz





    6 Clairvoyance and Transformation: Wagner’s Neuroaesthetics



    Matthew Wilson Smith



    7 The Invisible Vanguard: Reflections on Political Movements and Contemporary AvantGarde Formations



    James Harding





    8 Applied Theatre: Theatre for Change



    Matthias Warstat





    9 Transformative Resistance and Aesthetics



    Bill Ashcroft





    10 The Art of not Relating with one Another—Notes on Some Issues and Potentials of Relational Art



    Sandra Umathum

    Biography

    Erika FISCHER-LICHTE is professor of Theatre Studies at Free University Berlin. She is past president of the International Federation for Theatre Research, and holds the chair of the Institute for Advanced Studies on "Interweaving Cultures in Performance".



    Benjamin WIHSTUTZ is assistant professor of Theatre Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, and a research fellow for eight years at the Interdisciplinary Research Center "Aesthetic Experience and the Dissolution of Artistic Limits".