Aesthetics are often treated as an accessory quality of an entity and overlooked as superfluous. However, aesthetics is a directly political terrain, and “it is through the realm of the everyday, through its most basic perceptions, experiences and events that politics operates as aesthetics” (Vihalem Margus). 

Throughout this course, we will question the ambiguous distinction between art and aesthetics, as well as their role in what Guy Debord termed 'the society of the spectacle'. Art and aesthetics have the power to shape public opinion, as well as legal and policy decisions. They provide a social practice for civic engagement and help us to reimagine our future. Conversely, art and aesthetics can be used to obscure realities and deceive us. As we explore these topics, we will go beyond what our eyes can see and we will journey through virtuous advertisements, colorful packaging, solarpunk,  human-AI collaborations and more...