Aesthetics for Birds

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art for Everyone

Category Archives: The Profession

November 29, 2017
by Aesthetics for Birds
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The ASA at 75: Diversity and the Tipping Point

The following is a guest post by Charles Peterson (Oberlin College). This is the third of three companion pieces that reflect on the ASA’s 75th anniversary. Click here for the first, by A.W. Eaton, and the second, by Paul C. Taylor. See also the ASA Officers’ response letter here. The age of 75 can signify multiple indicators. At 75 years old, an ant would be ancient. At 75 years old a mountain would be considered infantile in its span and at 75 years old a human being, has lived to a ripe and healthy age. For an academic organization, 75 years is a perfect time to celebrate its longevity and take stock of its future. The American Society for Aesthetics is at this point in regards to the inclusion of diverse scholars and discourses in its proceedings.  The ASA stands at the threshold where its present efforts to open up, … Continue reading →

November 27, 2017
by Aesthetics for Birds
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The ASA at 75: ‘Splaining and Safaris

What follows is a guest post by Paul C. Taylor (Penn State). [Updated:] This is the second of three companion pieces that reflect on the ASA’s 75th anniversary. Click here for the first, by A.W. Eaton, and the third, by Charles Peterson. See also the ASA Officers’ response letter here. By the time my father turned 75, he was freely exercising the wide-ranging license to offend that family elders often enjoy. He could say or do pretty much anything, and we would chalk it up to him being set in his ways. We would weigh the costs and benefits of contesting his frequently insensitive and sometimes just rude behavior, or of reminding him of all the considerations that militate against talking about women or Jews or whatever like that anymore. And we would usually decide that discretion was the better part of valour, and we would let him alone. So on he … Continue reading →

November 27, 2017
by Aesthetics for Birds
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The ASA at 75: How Are We Doing with Diversity and Inclusion?

What follows is a guest post by A.W. Eaton (University of Illinois-Chicago). [Updated:] This is the first of three companion pieces that reflect on the ASA’s 75th anniversary. Click here for the second, by Paul C. Taylor, and the third, by Charles Peterson. See also the ASA Officers’ response letter here. The 75th anniversary of the American Society of Aesthetics is an opportunity to reflect upon both our progress regarding inclusion and diversity and also upon the remaining work to be done. I discuss them here in turn.

September 28, 2017
by Aesthetics for Birds
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Site-specific Art: Robert Smithson, Ooldouz Alaei Novin, and the Marble House Project

What follows is a guest post by Shannon M. Mussett (Utah Valley University). I am an academic philosopher. This means that my contact with my peers consists mainly in electronic communication, or, a few times a year (if I am lucky) a conference—varying in length from a day to a week. If I am very lucky, there may be an occasional workshop peppered here and there throughout the course of a decade. Academic philosophy conferences consist largely of sitting in ill-lit rooms, on uncomfortable chairs, listening to someone either read a paper at you, or click through power point slides where the gist of the paper is presented to you. (Christy Wampole’s Conference Manifesto pretty much nails it). Afterwards, questions and dialogue follow—which can be more or less lively—depending on many factors, most of which boil down to how much coffee is available and whether or not people are in … Continue reading →

June 14, 2017
by Rebecca Millsop
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ASA 75th Annual Meeting Preliminary Program Now Available

The 75th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Aesthetics will be held in New Orleans November 15-18, 2017. Check out the preliminary program PDF: ASA Preliminary Meeting Program REGISTRATION: Early-bird registration is available on-line through October 15. To register on-line (with a credit card), click the red REGISTER button on this page. To receive the discounted ASA member rates, please log into the ASA site FIRST. To mail in registration (with a check), use this form. Early-bird deadline for mail-in registration: postmark by October 10 Everyone on the  program (as a presenter, panelist, commentator, or chair) MUST register for the meeting and MUST be a member of the ASA. The Wollheim Lecturer at this meeting will be Professor Derek Matravers, Open University, UK. The ASA will provide: Day Care Subsidies Registration waivers for local Minority Serving Institutions Highlights: New Orleans Museum of Art: https://noma.org/ Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans: http://cacno.org/ Ogden … Continue reading →

May 27, 2017
by utahphilosoraptor
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Art Rules: Conference Recap, DAY 2

Mary-Beth Willard (Weber State) offers pseudo-live-blogging/recap/latergram of the Art Rules Conference, Day 2 I’ve found (n = a few) that aesthetics conferences have some of the best philosophical audiences and discussions. I am not sure why this has been the case – the small size of the subfield? The somewhat more interdisciplinary nature of aesthetics? Whatever the reason, the participants at Art Rules were no exception. Discussion has been great.

May 17, 2017
by Rebecca Millsop
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Workshop in Aesthetics and Cognitive Science

The American Society for Aesthetics is providing $4000 to support the Workshop in Aesthetics and Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, June 28, 2017. The Workshop is being held in conjunction with the 2017 meeting of the Society of Philosophy and Psychology (SPP) June 28-July 1. Funding for the workshop is also being provided by the Neuroaesthetics Initiative of Johns Hopkins’ Brain Science Institute (BSI) and by the Johns Hopkins Humanities Institute (JHU HI). The organizers are Steven Gross (Johns Hopkins, Philosophy) and Mohan Matthen (University of Toronto, Philosophy). The workshop will consist of three invited symposia (on art and skill, art and pleasure, and creativity), with four speakers each; a general roundtable discussion; a dance performance and discussion; a closing reception; and a poster session. Wednesday, June 28 – Saturday, July 1, 2017 Johns Hopkins University Keynote Speakers: Brit Brogaard, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Alison Gopnik, and Dan Schacter Invited … Continue reading →

May 16, 2017
by Aesthetics for Birds
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Differences: Remembering Peter Kivy

What Follows is a guest post by Aaron Meskin (University of Leeds) Peter Kivy, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University and an incredibly influential contemporary philosopher of art, passed away last week. See other announcements here, along with a statement from the Rutgers Philosophy Department. What follows is a guest post by Aaron Meskin, a former student of Peter Kivy’s. Please feel free to share any stories, comments, or reflections below.

April 19, 2017
by Rebecca Millsop
0 comments

Workshop: Art, Perception and History

The American Society for Aesthetics Board of Trustees has approved support for the Workshop on Art, Perception, and History, at the University of Toronto, May 5-6, 2017. The Workshop is organized by Sonia Sedivy, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto. ASA has awarded up to $4,600 in support, plus an additional $1000 to support attendance at the Workshop by ASA student members. Support is also being provided by several units of the University of Toronto. The workshop is free and open to the public. CONFERENCE WEB SITE NEW! Poster for the Workshop   Speakers at the workshop will include: From Art History Whitney Davis, University of California, Berkeley, Art History http://arthistory.berkeley.edu/person/1639581-whitney-davis Jason Gaiger, University of Oxford, The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art http://www.rsa.ox.ac.uk/people/jason-gaiger Amy Powell, University of California, Irvine, Art History http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=5553 Paul G. Smith, University of Warwick, History of Art https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/arthistory/staff/smith/ From Philosophy of Art or … Continue reading →