Beauty today is a paradox. The cult of beauty is ubiquitous but it has lost its transcendence and become little more than an aspect of consumerism, the aesthetic dimension of capitalism. The sublime and unsettling aspects of beauty have given way to corporeal pleasures and 'likes', resulting in a kind of 'pornography' of beauty.
In this book, cultural theorist Byung-Chul Han reinvigorates aesthetic theory for our digital age. He interrogates our preoccupation with all things slick and smooth, from Jeff Koon's sculptures and the iPhone to Brazilian waxing. Reaching far deeper than our superficial reactions to viral videos and memes, Han reclaims beauty, showing how it manifests itself as truth, temptation and even disaster.
This wide-ranging and profound exploration of beauty, encompassing ethical and political considerations as well as aesthetic, will appeal to all those interested in cultural and aesthetic theory, philosophy and digital media.
Also available as an audiobook.
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Saving Beauty
About this book
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- 1. The Smooth
- 2. The Smooth Body
- 3. The Aesthetics of the Smooth
- 4. Digital Beauty
- 5. The Aesthetics of Veiling
- 6. The Aesthetics of Injury
- 7. The Aesthetics of Disaster
- 8. The Ideal of Beauty
- 9. Beauty as Truth
- 10. The Politics of Beauty
- 11. Pornographic Theatre
- 12. Lingering on Beauty
- 13. Beauty as Reminiscence
- 14. Giving Birth in Beauty
- End User License Agreement
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Information
Publisher
PolityEdition
1Year
2017Topic
Social SciencesPrint ISBN
9781509515103
9781509515097
Subtopic
SociologyeBook ISBN
9781509515134
Index
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Yes, you can access Saving Beauty by Byung-Chul Han, Daniel Steuer in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Sociology. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.