Celebrating faculty: Alessandro Giovannelli

Alessandro Giovannelli, professor of philosophy and James Renwick Hogg Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy

What is the focus of your research?

The two main foci of my research have been: first, the possible intersections between art and ethics, especially the so-called ethical criticism question, i.e., whether the ethical evaluation of an artwork may legitimately bear on the work’s artistic value; and second, the ways in which audiences engage with works of art, especially with respect to narratives and their characters; when should we speak of empathy, or sympathy, or perhaps identification with respect to the character of a novel? I also have a long-standing interest in questions regarding visual representation: on what is distinctive of pictorial representation versus conveying meaning, say, by words or music. Or what makes some pictures ‘portraits,’ or some portraits ‘caricatures,’ etc. While most of my theoretical claims are meant to apply to all art forms, my examples and analyses often surround specific artworks—hence they combine philosophical analysis to art criticism, to address specific movies, works of literature, or popular songs.

How do students benefit from your scholarship and research?

Being an active researcher requires keeping oneself updated on current debates, new theories or questions emerging from the scholarly debates, novel ways of looking at a problem, and the like. So, when I teach my courses, naturally my encounters with the students are rather pervasively affected by my scholarly work. And when I return from a conference, for example, there is always something I myself learned, which I end up incorporating in my lectures. Further, since I work on topics that are quite central to the contemporary debates in my area of specialty, I can easily introduce some of my own work in my art-related courses—starting, of course, from the history of aesthetics book I edited: Aesthetics: The Key Thinkers (2020). But I enjoy receiving the students’ feedback on some of my own articles or draft articles, whether to support the class discussion on, say, Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut in my philosophy of film course, or when addressing empathy in Philosophy of Literature or ethical criticism in the Philosophy Capstone.

What will you be teaching in the fall?

The 200-level Philosophy of Art (a foundational course that I always recommend to anyone interested in better understanding what art is and how it affects our lives) and the 300-level Philosophy of Film. Both courses are cross-listed as film and media courses as well.

What does receiving an endowed chair mean to you, and how does this endowed position further your teaching and/or research?

It’s a great honor, of course, for which I am very grateful. Mr. James Renwick Hogg generously donated the funds for the chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy in 1905. It is interesting that, 120 years later, the chair would go to a philosopher who in a sense works on both mental and moral matters. The development funds the chair comes with will provide valuable assistance primarily to my travel to conferences, institutes, and workshops.

Read more about faculty members newly named to endowed positions.