Prof. Herzfeld-Schild

Prof. Herzfeld-Schild (Utrecht University) will give a talk entitled "From Anthropological to Empirical Aesthetics. Transformations of Knowledge about the Emotional Effects of Music between the 'Two Cultures' since the 1750s"

Abstract

My research explores the history of knowledge about the emotional effects of music in the 18th and 19th centuries, concentrating on the interactions between German aesthetics and medicine. Historical knowledge about the operating modes of the ear, the nervous system and the brain are relevant for the project, as are historical conceptions of the interaction of body and soul, the understanding of emotions and changing conceptions of music, medicine and aesthetic conceptions themselves. In this talk I describe the changing knowledge about the emotional effects of music and follow its path between the two disciplines. Starting with Krüger's Anthropological Aesthetics, I present how mutual interactions that had been fruitful exchanges between German aesthetics and medicine in 18th century were successively transformed into rejection, ignorance and devaluation in the course of the 19th century until  – so one hypotheses of my research – they merged anew in Fechner’s empirical approach to aesthetics.

This talk will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, Dec 7 2021 at 17:00 CET; please contact Ms. Diana Gleiss if you wish to attend.