Aesthetics for Birds

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art for Everyone

Category Archives: News & Announcements

December 14, 2016
by Rebecca Millsop
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New Arthur Danto/ASA Prize Announced

The American Philosophical Association and the American Society for Aesthetics are pleased to announce the establishment of the Arthur Danto/American Society for Aesthetics Prize. The prize recognizes outstanding published work in aesthetics in honor of the late Arthur Danto, a past-president of the APA-Eastern Division. The Prize will be awarded to a member of the APA and ASA for the best paper in the field of aesthetics, broadly understood, in a refereed journal, or an original book chapter or original essay published in a collection with a multiplicity of contributors. The award will be presented in even-numbered years, commencing in 2018. The winner will receive a $1,000 prize. In addition, a symposium in honor of the recipient of the Prize will be held at the APA Eastern Division meeting, normally the next such meeting following the selection of the prize winner. The symposium will normally include a summary of the … Continue reading →

November 16, 2016
by Aesthetics for Birds
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More Bibliographies

Last week, we presented three new diversity curricula supported by the ASA. Relatedly, here are a few bibliographies people might find useful in trying to assemble diverse course readings, or for those interested in exploring other areas: Race and Aesthetics, from the BSA-sponsored Race and Aesthetics Conference last year Feminism and Aesthetics (1990-2003), by Joshua James Shaw (Penn State, Behrend) Theological Aesthetics, by Laura Smit (Calvin College) Marxism & ‘the Left’ in Philosophy of Art & Aesthetics, by Patrick O’Donnell (Independent Scholar) Image credit: Nicolaes Maes, “An Old Woman Dozing over a Book” (1655), via NGA

November 15, 2016
by Rebecca Millsop
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Artists Respond to the 2016 Election Results + Auden Poem

Follow these links for some great coverage on how artists are responding to the 2016 election results. Please feel free to share any information about how artists are responding to the election results in the comments below. ArtNet News: Here’s What Artists Have to Say About the Future of America Under Donald Trump ArtNews: Morning Links The Art World Reacts to a Trump Victory Hyperallergic: Artists Respond with Devastation, Then Determination, to the Election of Donald Trump For your viewing pleasure, here is the cold open from Saturday Night Live this past weekend. A response to the 2016 election results and Leonard Cohen’s death from the obviously multi-talented artist and comedian, Kate McKinnon: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-_ZDrypec] In conclusion, an Auden poem: September 1, 1939 | W. H. Auden, 1907 – 1973 I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest … Continue reading →

November 9, 2016
by Rebecca Millsop
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ASA Funds Logos Dance Collective

The American Society for Aesthetics is pleased to announce that it has awarded $5136 in support of Post-Performance Philosophy Panels after programs of the Logos Dance Collective in New York City in March 2017. This project, organized by Professor Barbara Montero of the CUNY-Graduate Center, aims to engage academics, artists, and the general public with great questions of philosophy. The panels will draw from work by Proust, Aristotle, Tolstoy, Plato, Nietzsche, Kant, and others. As more information becomes available concerning the schedule and participating philosophers, it will be posted on the ASA web site and Facebook. For the complete list of grants awarded by ASA in 2011-2016: http://aesthetics-online.org/resource/resmgr/files/grantsprizes/Grants_awarded.pdf For the original posting: http://aesthetics-online.org/news/316351/ASA-funds-Logos-Dance-Collective.htm

November 9, 2016
by Rebecca Millsop
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New Diversity Curricula in Aesthetics

The American Society for Aesthetics is pleased to announce three new aesthetics diversity curricula prepared by ASA members. Asian Aesthetics by Meilin Chinn The Aesthetics of Portraiture by Hans Maes Aesthetic Othering—The Case of Photographic Representation by Mariana Ortega In addition, two curricula prepared in 2015 are available: What is Art? A Reading List by Simon Fokt Theories of the Aesthetic by Monique Roelofs Each received a grant of $5,000 to prepare a diversity curriculum. This is a project of the ASA Diversity Committee, chaired by A.W. Eaton. The ASA has a three-year commitment to this project. Three more awards will be made in 2017. Guidelines will be available in the spring of 2017. For future reference, all are available on this web site: http://aesthetics-online.org/?CurriculumGrants From the ASA web site, go to the red tabs in the upper right: ASA ==> Diversity

October 28, 2016
by Aesthetics for Birds
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Leiter Rankings of Aesthetics Grad Programs

From Leiter Reports, the 2016-2017 Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art grad program rankings. Group 1 (1-5) City University of New York Graduate Center New York University University of British Columbia University of St Andrews/University of Stirling Joint Program University of York Group 2 (6-10) Brown University Columbia University (incl. Barnard) University of Auckland University of Leeds University of Maryland, College Park Group 3 (11-17) Birkbeck College, University of London McGill University Princeton University Stanford University University of Manchester University of Texas, Austin University of Warwick (Note:   Michigan was close to Group 3 [I think it was underrated in 2014, and should be at least in Group 2]; also take note of the programs not evaluated in 2014 but that were viewed as worth recommending by the Advisory Board”  Buffalo, Temple, Hull, Oklahoma & Southampton.  Stanford’s presence on the list is due primarily to a part-time visiting appointment of the distinguished philosopher of … Continue reading →

October 26, 2016
by Rebecca Millsop
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ASA Funds Symposium on Black Aesthetics

The American Society for Aesthetics is pleased to provide $7500 in partial support of the Questioning Aesthetics Symposium: Black Aesthetics, to be held at Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, March 31-April 1, 2017. Funding is also being provided by Hampshire College, the Five Colleges, and the Transdisciplinary Aesthetics Foundation. The conference is co-organized by Monique Roelofs, Professor of Philosophy at Hampshire College, and Michael Kelly, Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and the Founder and President of the Transdisciplinary Aesthetics Foundation. The symposium will be free and open to the public. As more information becomes available, including the schedule of events, it will be posted on ASA’s website: http://aesthetics-online.org/news/314368/ASA-Funds-Symposium-on-Black-Aesthetics.htm.

October 26, 2016
by Rebecca Millsop
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Heidegger Meets Van Gogh: Art, Freedom, and Technology – Free Online IAI Course

About the Course Modern philosophers traditionally thought of science as the realm of truth and art as the realm of beauty. And with the industrial revolution, western societies followed suit. Technology became the driving force of history as art became a sphere of entertainment. In this two-part course, Philosopher Simon Glendinning challenges this conception by outlining Heidegger’s critique of technology whilst arguing that art is the path to freedom. You will learn about: Heidegger’s critique of modernity and the predominance of technology. The nature and history of scientific rationality. Heidegger’s reading of the work of Vincent Van Gogh. Art’s relationship to truth and freedom. Through video lectures, questions and suggested reading discover why art remains a true source of wisdom.  Share your ideas and support your learning through our discussion boards and test your knowledge through questions throughout the course. Requirements This course is designed for anyone interested in art, … Continue reading →

October 19, 2016
by Rebecca Millsop
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ASA Present: Notes on the Aesthetics of Grunge

The American Society for Aesthetics is hosting their 74th Annual Meeting. Along with a bunch of awesome talks and presentations, you can also attend a talk on the aesthetics of grunge! The event is taking place in Seattle, WA… so break out your plaid and your old cassette tape of Nevermind and join the fun! For more information on the 74th Annual Meeting, check out the ASA site: http://aesthetics-online.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=671718

October 5, 2016
by Aesthetics for Birds
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The Philosophy of Jazz

What is the philosophy of jazz? In a sort of order of strength of the foundational questions philosophers of jazz often research and pursue we have: What is jazz? Can it be defined?  Does it have a musical essence? Are there necessary and sufficient conditions for a musical performance to be jazz? How does one determine if free jazz, or jazz-rock fusion is jazz?  Was the movement to free jazz inevitable? Could Martians who know nothing about music on planet Earth play jazz? Why or why not? What is improvisation? Why is improvisation important to jazz?  Can improvisation be taught?  Are improvised (spontaneously composed) works inherently inferior aesthetically to pre-composed ones? What is a musical work? Does jazz have musical works?  Can an improvised jazz performance be a musical work? What does the ideal jazz musician need to know? Why? How does the brain and mind work when playing and … Continue reading →