Lydia Goehr

You need to be engaged to take this class. If you're planning on not doing the readings or using chatGPT for all the papers, it's just not worth it. Goehr is not for everyone: she's dry and sarcastic but surprisingly kind. The readings are short and to the point. Her classnotes are scatterbrained and sometimes hard to understand, but once you get her style, they start making sense.

Lydia's course Philosophy of Art begins with essentialist questions (what is art? what is beauty?) and ends with sociological and political questions (how does art figure in the political realm? how does the institutional art world wield its power to decide on questions of taste? why are there no great women artists?), using selected philosophical texts as markers. The readings are very enjoyable as are Goehr's lectures. Sometimes, however, her lectures are winding and discursive, in large part because she takes questions. So this class is part seminar, part lecture. I think Goehr is a very visual and abstract thinker. She often draws large abstracted maps of argument and history. And she is clearly very spiritually invested in art too; this makes sense as she comes from a family of artists, a fact she will make sure you know about her. The problem with this course is a lack of direction re writing and argumentation. You will be asked to write on a number of highly open-ended questions--to "make an argument," and yet spend most of your time "in exposition." TAs are open and helpful enough. However, it seems like they keep their standards intentionally esoteric which I don't approve of.

I have taken many of Professor Goehr’s classes while at Columbia, and the Philosophy of Music senior seminar was my final class with her before graduating. I have become accustomed to the pedagogic style, which is not to spoon feed and coddle, but rather to seriously engage with students, debate, provoke independent thinking, and illuminate misnomers and gaps in knowledge while the class is in session, (as opposed to after the fact, or not at all, which is very much the case with many other profs at CU.) I count the critical thinking skills, and rhetorical and argumentative methods that I have gleaned from Professor Goehr as among my most valuable assets acquired during my BA. This class is arguably one of the most difficult she teaches, music philosophy being a notoriously complex and evasive subject of study. It is advisable to take at least one of her introductory courses to begin to understand what the expectations are, and how aesthetics differs from other branches of philosophy, and perhaps more importantly, how philosophy of music diverges from the philosophy of art. Professor Goehr is a leader in this area of research, so the opportunity to study the subject with her means one is at the forefront of enquiry in the field. As far as I am concerned, this academic challenge is what attending Columbia is all about, and has served me extremely well in my postgraduate studies.

Excellent class, if somewhat superficial philosophically. Prof. Goehr is an GREAT lecturer, and the subject matter was fascinating for the most part. I'd recommend the course, especially if you just want to get a taste of what philosophy is like and are not too concerned with great philosophical depth.

It was an very good class overall and the readings are excellent. Certainly Prof. Goehr is not God; however, the praise often given to her is, in my opinion, well deserved. Her lectures were, although long, very engaging and very knowledgable. Like other lecture classes, participation by students is very limited (perhaps one or two questions at the end of class), which may disappoint some. Other students may complain that she simply recaps the readings in her lectures, but this criticism seems inappropriate. The readings are very dense and philosophically involved. If you think that you can figure out everything that is going on in the texts on your own, you are either extremely brilliant or extremely stupid. In either case, do not take this class. Her lectures do very well to clarify complex arguments and ideas. It is an excellent introduction to aesthetics in western philosophic tradition. If you are expecting deep discussion and involvement that one would get from a seminar, simply pay more attention to the fact to the course bulletin; its a lecture. I cannot agree with those who criticize Prof. Goehr as particularly arrogant. I did not get the same sense. Although she obviously doesn't want to deal with undergraduates in many respects, there is a reason for it: it is a graduate course. Yes, the TA is not the best, but Columbia is not know for its aesthetics, so you shouldn…

After taking Lit Hum with her, I think I want to BE Lydia Goehr. Not only is she an awesome person all around, but I feel like I've learned more from her than from most of my other professors combined. She's quite demanding in class and values our effort in discussions far more than papers and exams. Class NEVER feels dull or aimless with Lydia. Some people may feel intimidated when she responds to student's comments with "no, that's absolutely wrong," but you'll leave class much more knowledgeable than with professors who nod sympathetically at every random thought that's thrown out. If you're comfortable deferring to the opinions of a true scholar, you'll like any class she teaches.

A really good chance to focus on something that you're really interested in, and the opportunity to discuss it in a respectful, intimate seminar setting with other MA students. Also a good opportunity to learn about other topics in philosophy that others are interested in. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Spring 2023 Course: PHILGR6100_001_2023_1-MARESEARCHSEMINAR : PHILGR6100_001_2023_1 - MA RESEARCH SEMINAR Instructor: Katja Vogt

This was my first philosophy class at Columbia and I absolutely loved it. Each week we dissected one work on the philosophy of history across two lectures. Professor Goehr effortlessly conducted the class towards a final, full understanding of the works through a combination of question-answer and lecture. As others have said, she is not afraid to call people out if their questions or answers are inadequate, but this never seemed mean-spirited. Instead, it forced the class towards pointed understanding of the philosophical ideas instead of falling prey to diversion, as sometimes happens in the hands of a less skilled and honest professor. Because of their brisk focus, I found these classes to be consistently engaging and downright intellectually thrilling.

I can't believe that Lydia is only listed as "silver." She is the most brilliant, engaging, and wonderful professor I have had at Columbia. Her classes are always interesting and captivating, no matter the subject being discussed. She relates the material in the most accessible way. Lydia, if you ever read this...you are worth a million gold ratings!! For the rest of you, your Columbia experience would be incomplete without taking a class with Lydia!!

The absolute worst professor I have had in my 4 undergrad years. She was rude and self-absorbed. Sure, she is very intelligent, but she is unapproachable and condescending to students. The first 2-3 weeks of class, students actively tried to participate in discussion, but by the end of the semester, everyone was afraid to talk because she might wag her finger at you (which she actually did in one class). She plays off her rudeness as if it is just sarcasm, except her sarcasm is not funny. She somehow always managed to talk about herself when lecture on other philosophers, and she did not encourage discussion or critical thought from her students. Often times, when students were giving their presentations, she would interrupt them, tell them they were wrong, and even not let the student finish their presentation.