This course explores the ways in which art teaches us about emotions and emotions teach us about art. It will critically examine scientific and philosophical theories of emotion and the variety of ways that the relationship between emotion and art has been understood in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of the role of emotion in art and hence of the importance of art in human life. Art will be considered in its broadest sense as picture, text, performance, music, and film and we will pay equal attention to both content and form in the solicitation of emotion. Analytical essays, group presentations, and close focus upon examples from many cultures will allow students to develop their critical and interpretative skills, discriminate how art expresses and evokes emotional response, understand how cultural understanding frames emotional response, and appreciate more deeply their own emotional responses to art.