From the Author’s Perspective Aesthetics and Nature Glenn Parsons

Aesthetics and Nature is a single-author text surveying contemporary philosophical debates concerning the aesthetic appreciation of nature. Although philosophical aesthetics is widely conceived of as covering the appreciation of nature as well as art, courses in aesthetics tend to be focused primarily on the latter. The aesthetics of nature is sometimes included AMERICAN SOCIETY as a topic in such courses, and some aesthetics anthologies (Peter Lamarque and Stein Haugom Olsen’s Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art: The Analytic Tradition, for example) for aesthetics and some single-author textbooks (such as Robert Stecker’s Aesthetics and the Philosophy An Association for Aesthetics, of Art) are well-suited to this approach. Criticism and Theory of the Arts However, the philosophical study of the aesthetics of nature has reached the point where it Volume 29 Number 2 Summer 2009 is now also possible to deliver an aesthetics course focused primarily on the appreciation of nature, rather than the appreciation of art. Moreover, such an approach is attractive in light of interest in the aesthetics of nature among students oriented toward environmen- 3 Review of Parsons and Lin- tal issues. As yet, however, we have lacked texts appropriate for this approach. The 2004 tott, Nature, Aesthetics, and publication of an anthology of essays by various philosophers on the aesthetics of nature, Allen Carlson and Arnold Berleant’s The Aesthetics of Natural Environments, was a major Environmentalism, by Allison step toward filling this void. The need for a single-author survey text, however, persisted. Hagerman When I wrote Aesthetics and Nature, the available single-author volumes on the subject were Arnold Berleant’s The Aesthetics of Environment (1992), Allen Carlson’s Aesthetics and the Environment (2000), Malcolm Budd’s The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature (2002), 5 News from the National and Emily Brady’s Aesthetics of the Natural Environment (2003). Another volume, Ronald Office Moore’s Natural Beauty (2007), appeared while I was writing Aesthetics and Nature. These books, while excellent specimens of their kind, possess two important limitations when used in lieu of a survey text for undergraduate courses. First, some of them are essentially 6 Aesthetics News collections of published journal articles, and so are not structured using an overarching narrative. Second, and more importantly, each of these volumes is primarily a develop- Conference Reports ment and defence of one particular theoretical approach to the aesthetic appreciation of 7 nature. Thus, these books are not ideal for the instructor attempting to introduce students to the full range of philosophical views on the subject. In short, there existed a need for a 9 Calls for Papers survey text for the field, and Aesthetics and Nature was meant to meet this need.

The book consists of three parts. In the introductory part, consisting of chapter one and 12 Upcoming Events the first part of chapter two, I introduce the basic concepts that underlie the subsequent discussions. The second and central part of the book consists of chapters two through six. Active Aestheticians In these chapters, I survey and critically assess a range of different positions on the nature 15 of appropriate aesthetic appreciation of nature. These include what I call ‘postmodern- ism’ (the view that any sort of aesthetic appreciation is appropriate), Formalism (the view that appropriate aesthetic appreciation focuses upon nature as a perceptual array of pure lines, shapes and colours), the view that appropriate aesthetic appreciation must be informed by a scientific understanding of nature, two kinds of pluralism, and Arnold aesthetics-online.org Berleant’s ‘engaged aesthetic.’ In these chapters, I seek to succinctly catalogue and juxta-

Summer 2009 1 pose the different arguments that had been offered and critiqued in philosophers independently of one another, but together they provide the philosophical literature, in such a way that the reader can obtain a very useful ‘data set’ for testing intuitions about the philosophical an overall view of the field. In this, I tried to give a ‘neutral’ presenta- issues involved. Here once again, my aim was primarily to consolidate tion, which identified strengths and weaknesses in each view. This and synthesize, for the student’s use, the excellent resources already approach reflects my own instinct about teaching undergraduates, existing in the literature. which is to avoid endorsing any particular view and leave the final weighing of evidence to the student. Perhaps it is impossible to real- Perhaps the ideal way to employ a text like Aesthetics and Nature is to ize this ideal completely, and I’m sure my own views are discernible use it as a supplement to a collection of primary readings. The chapters in the book. Nonetheless, I do hope that philosophers whose views on Pluralism, for example, could be read along with Noël Carroll’s “On differ from mine will find their own perspectives represented fairly Being Moved by Nature” and Yuriko Saito’s “Appreciating Nature on and forcefully in it. its Own Terms”; the chapter on science-based approaches to nature appreciation can be read along with Carlson’s “Appreciation and the The arguments discussed in this second part of the book have consti- Natural Environment,” and so on. (For a full chapter-by-chapter list tuted the main philosophical debate in the aesthetics of nature over of suggestions for primary readings, see my “Teaching and Learning the last thirty years. Nonetheless, in recent years philosophers have Guide for: The Aesthetics of Nature,”in Philosophy Compass 3/5 (2008): begun taking on other questions as well, in much the way that phi- 1106–1112.) For this purpose, instructors can use the aforementioned losophers of art have increasingly broadened their focus beyond the anthology, Carlson and Berleant’s The Aesthetics of Natural Environ- traditional central question ‘What is Art?’ to confront questions about ments, which contains many of the relevant readings. This approach concepts such as expression and meaning, and about the ontology allows students to confront philosophers’ arguments directly, while and ethics of art. In the third part of the book, chapters seven through turning to the text for context, exposition, and critical analysis. nine, I pursue some other intriguing issues in the aesthetics of nature, including the possibility of aesthetic grounds for preserving nature, the The book might also be profitably employed in a graduate course on relation of gardens to nature, and the ethical status of environmental a particular topic in the aesthetics of nature. For instance, a course art. With this final topic, the book connects up with more traditional focusing on aesthetic arguments for nature preservation might be philosophical discussions about the nature and value of art. divided into two portions. In the first, the instructor might employ chapters one through six of Aesthetics and Nature, along with selected One important consideration in composing Aesthetics and Nature was primary readings, as the basis for an overview of the main positions in the diverse audience that a course on the topic might be expected the field. In the second and central portion of the course, the instructor to attract. As mentioned above, in addition to students with a back- might use chapter eight of Aesthetics and Nature as a general introduc- ground in philosophy, such a course would be of obvious interest to tion to aesthetic preservation and a point of departure into detailed students pursuing environmental studies. Also, a survey text on the study of the literature on that topic. This literature is now collected in topic could prove useful to non-students with a professional interest the excellent new anthology Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism in the topic but without a background in philosophy. Given this, I (2008), edited by Allen Carlson and Sheila Lintott. took pains to make the text accessible to readers without previous experience in philosophy. In the first chapter, for instance, I began In a survey text of this length and scope, one cannot give sufficient not with the concept of aesthetic appreciation, but rather with the attention to each deserving issue. But I hope that the material pre- more popular and familiar concept of natural beauty. I also tried to sented in Aesthetics and Nature will facilitate further discussion of highlight some issues of particular salience from the perspective of topics of particular interest to instructors or students. For instance, the environmental policy, such as the possibility of quantifying scenic provocative idea of Positive Aesthetics—the idea that nature, unlike value. Although this issue has somewhat fallen out of contemporary art, is always on balance aesthetically good—arises in chapter four philosophical debates, insightful discussions of it are present in the and can be spun out into an independent discussion there, or later older literature. Also, I collected a number of interesting case studies when it arises again in chapter eight. The aesthetic appreciation of of actual attempts at environmental preservation based on aesthetic animals, a subject almost entirely ignored in contemporary discus- value; these examples had been proposed and discussed by different sions but worthy of much scrutiny, can also be investigated using the resources of chapter four. One of my regrets about Aesthetics and Nature is the absence of a chapter devoted to the concept of the sublime, as it applies to nature. Nonetheless, the sublime is discussed Erratum at various points, particularly in relation to the engaged aesthetic, and instructors so inclined might take a detour from the text here, to The articles by Dominic McIver Lopes linger over some classic sources (Kant, Burke) or some more recent and Derek Matravers published in our investigations (Ronald Hepburn’s neglected essay “The Concept of the Sublime” (1988), or Malcolm Budd’s recent reappraisal of the Spring 2009 special issue on philosophy Kantian sublime (2002)). of computer art, we ommitted to note, were co-sponsored by The APA Newslet- Writing about the natural sciences, the historian Thomas Kuhn said that the emergence of textbooks signalled that a field had reached a ter on Philosophy and Computers, a project certain level of development, given that textbooks address themselves started by Ewa Bogusz-Boltuc. We regret to “an already articulated body of problems, data, and theory.” Aes- the oversight, and we look forward to thetics and Nature was written in the conviction that the aesthetics of nature had reached such a level of development, and was ripe for a bringing you the second set of co-spon- systematic treatment. Since it was published, a second survey text, sored articles in this series, forthcoming Allen Carlson’s Nature and Landscape (2009), has also appeared, and in our Winter 2009 issue. another such text is currently in preparation. These promise to further enrich our pedagogical resources, and also speak to the healthy state of this important sub-field of philosophical aesthetics.

ASA Newsletter 2 The anthology offers a selection of many of the key texts contribut- Book Review ing to the discourse in contemporary environmental aesthetics, but very thoughtfully, the editors initiate the readings with a section called “Historical Foundations,” which contains excerpts from the works of Eugene Hargrove, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, John Burroughs, and Aldo Leopold. In this way, Review of Nature, Aesthetics, readers who may be venturing into environmental aesthetics for the first time can obtain some sense of historical context and are able to and Environmentalism: familiarize themselves with the work of writers whose ideas often surface in contemporary debate. Hargrove, the only contemporary From Beauty to Duty writer included in the section, is an appropriate place to begin because his essay, “The Historical Foundations of American Environmental Allison Hagerman Attitudes,” provides an overview of the influences of nineteenth- century developments in the arts and sciences on North American Allen Carlson and Sheila Lintott, editors. New York: Columbia University engagement and policy regarding the natural environment during Press, 2008. 472 pages. $79.50 (hb), $29.50 (pb). the last two centuries. The selections from the oeuvres of Emerson, Thoreau, Muir, Burroughs, and Leopold are classics. Several of the As a graduate student entering the twilight (hopefully) of my cheap contemporary texts featured later in the anthology refer back to these starch-fueled indentured servitude, I find myself at odd moments works and the vivid stories woven into their narratives. The inclusion (waiting in line at the grocery store, folding laundry, entering grade and placement of this first section makes it easy for the reader to get sheets at mid-term) daydreaming of courses I’d like to design and the most out of the more recent works that make up the majority of teach in the not-so-distant future. One of these courses would certainly the anthology; for example, when Yuriko Saito, in her essay “The Aes- be designed with the content of Allen Carlson and Sheila Lintott’s thetics of Unscenic Nature,” mentions the expectations of the artists Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism: From Beauty to Duty in mind. from John Muir’s essay and their attitude toward non-scenic nature, In addition to the fact that the organization of this anthology makes the reader is already familiar with Muir’s account and can even pause a course entirely devoted to environmental aesthetics feasible, it also to go back and re-read that segment if he or she so chooses. The edi- provides a thorough overview of the debates specifically centered tors show a thoughtful consideration of the reader and a pedagogical around Carlson’s version of scientific cognitivism and its implications mindfulness in placing these seminal texts from the Western tradi- for positive aesthetics. Thus, the book serves as a good introduction tion of environmental thought at the reader’s fingertips. The book for both students and instructors who are interested in the work of as a whole delivers a real sense of these texts’ impact on subsequent philosophers who understand that the link between aesthetic value writers due to the abundant evidence it provides of their influence and environmental issues is both intriguing and important. on contemporary discourse.

First, I’ll address the potential of this book as it pertains to course The second section of the book is titled “Nature and Aesthetic Value,” design, whether it serves to inspire the creation of a course or as a and as Carlson and Lintott explain in the section introduction, it text to be integrated into an already existing course that includes en- features the work of writers who ask, “What is the appropriate ap- vironmental aesthetics as a topic of study. I myself would have been preciation of nature?” and “How do we appreciate nature on its own grateful for exposure to the readings contained in this book during terms?” It features J. Baird Callicot’s “Leopold’s Land Aesthetic,” Allen the latter period of my undergraduate days, and most certainly upon Carlson’s “Aesthetic Appreciation of the Natural Environment,” Stan arrival at graduate school. As it happens, I did not learn of the exist- Godlovitch’s “Icebreakers: Environmentalism and Natural Aesthet- ence of some of the core writings in environmental aesthetics until ics,” Yuriko Saito’s “Appreciating Nature on Its Own Terms,” Noël very late in my graduate school course work, and the existence of Carroll’s “On Being Moved by Nature: Between Religion and Natural anthologies such as this one may serve to prevent such misfortune History,” and Patricia Matthews’ “Scientific Knowledge and the Aes- from befalling other students by presenting an assortment of readings thetic Appreciation of Nature.” The works of Callicott, Carlson, and that should be accessible to advanced undergraduates and informative Matthews offer arguments for the necessity of scientific knowledge and thought-provoking for graduate students in philosophy, envi- in forming an appropriate aesthetic appreciation of nature. Carlson ronmental studies, sustainable development, and landscape design. seeks to establish the necessity of scientific knowledge for appropri- ate aesthetic appreciation of nature by arguing that it is the analog of Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism easily provides a semester’s art history in Kendall Walton’s “Categories of Art” (which, as it is a worth of readings, divided into four sections with six essays contained piece that specifically deals with art appreciation, is not included in in each. The essays are more or less equal in length, give or take a few the anthology; instructors may choose to assign it as supplemental outliers, and that makes it easy to envision plotting a course from reading, as it is referred to quite a bit by several of the authors). The start to finish alongside its very logically sequenced contents. Each essay by Saito presents justifications for acknowledging that sources of the four sections contains an introductory segment by Carlson of knowledge other than western science may play a role in appro- and Lintott that provides the reader with a roadmap of the section, priate appreciation, and adds a moral dimension to the primarily briefly identifying the authors and their essays. The introductions then epistemological focus of the cognitivist approach. Godlovitch argues cycle through helpful summaries of the main points of each of the that even a scientific approach is too anthropocentric to constitute essays so that the reader becomes aware of the dialogical relationship appreciating nature “on its own terms,” and Carroll argues for the between the texts in each section. Lintott and Carlson also provide a appropriate appreciation of nature that can be accomplished via an very helpful general introduction that supplies a brief history of the emotive response. aesthetics of nature and an outline of recent developments, as well as a clear explanation of the demands involved in the enterprise of The third section of the book, “Nature and Positive Aesthetics,” is cultivating an aesthetic understanding and appreciation of nature perhaps the most technical: if the reader has been moving through that is appropriate and respectful. the text in its arranged sequence, he or she should be well prepared to engage with the ideas contained in this section. Even with the helpful

Summer 2009 3 section introduction provided by the editors, I wouldn’t recommend entailed by the assumption that all of our aesthetic appreciation must jumping in at this point (unless, of course, you are a professionally be disinterested. In reality, our cultural biases and social situation trained philosopher). In this section, the reader encounters the notion affect our perceptions and influence our aesthetic response, and that, when approached in a certain manner, all of nature may have any cultivation of an eco-friendly aesthetic must acknowledge this. positive aesthetic value. What approach would guarantee such an Lintott provides an illustrative case study involving the change of a evaluation? What are the implications of the positive aesthetic evalu- community’s perception, and subsequent cultivation of appreciation, ation of nature? What kinds of problems arise in trying to justify this of the bats that had taken to roosting en masse beneath one of their view? What is its relevance for protection of the environment? These bridges. Emily Brady’s “Aesthetic Character and Aesthetic Integrity are the questions that Allen Carlson, Yuriko Saito, Janna Thompson, in Environmental Conservation” brings to light the importance of Stan Godlovitch, Malcolm Budd, and Glenn Parsons pursue in the cultural, in addition to natural, history in establishing the character readings for this section. of a place, and discusses what role this recognition plays in making decisions regarding intentional alteration of the environment. Ned The final section of the book will appeal to those who are eager to Hettinger’s “Objectivity in Environmental Aesthetics and Protection see theory invigorated by practice. “Nature, Aesthetic Value, and of the Environment” closes the anthology with thought-provoking Environmentalism” contains reflections on the relationship between questions about the possibility of objectivity in aesthetic judgments aesthetics and ethics and how an articulation of this connection in- of nature, and whether or not scientific cognitivism offers the only forms environmentalism. Holmes Rolston III’s “From Beauty to Duty: route to such judgments. Aesthetics of Nature and Environmental Ethics” inspired the title of the anthology and advocates a cognitivist approach that is not merely All in all, the selection of readings this anthology provides is certainly intellectual, but participatory, in an appreciation of natural beauty not exhaustive of all that environmental aesthetics has to offer (the that is respectful of all life. Marcia Muelder Eaton’s “The Beauty That literature is growing by the day), but it is informative and delightful Requires Health” is a meditation on how perception under ecologi- in that the arrangement of readings themselves reflect an aesthetic cally informed concepts can cultivate aesthetic appreciation of healthy of health–that is, they are not isolated units but rather coalesce in environments and negative aesthetic response to unhealthy situations: organic interdependence. Not only do tendrils of thought running imagine a world where desert dwellers widely recognize that main- through the essays enlace and intertwine as the authors approach a tenance of a Kentucky blue grass lawn in the midst of an arid climate shared problem from different angles; the authors actually often refer is a sign of bad taste, in addition to inappropriate water consumption to each other’s arguments, and more often than not, these references and chemical use (an insight that is slowly taking hold where I live, are located in this anthology. Thus, performatively and in content, in Albuquerque, New Mexico). Joan Iverson Nassuaer discusses Nature, Aesthetics, and Environmentalism is a fine introduction to a eco-friendly design strategy that works as a form of environmental living and breathing discourse, one that invites a broader audience activism in that it both educates and heals nature within urban and while cutting no corners in rigorous philosophical debate. suburban contexts in “Cultural Sustainability: Aligning Aesthetics and Ecology.” In “Toward Eco-Friendly Aesthetics,” Sheila Lintott brings everyday aesthetics into the mix and discusses the problems

Editorial Change for the ASA Newsletter

This is the final ASA Newsletter co-edited by Sondra Bacharach, who served for six years in that capacity. We are all grateful for her excellent work dur- ing that tenure. The new co-editors, David Goldblatt and Henry Pratt, wish to express their thanks for her kind and patient work during the transition period. Sondra will be sorely missed!

ASA Newsletter 4 you know an outgoing and detail-oriented no expectation of subsidies being available News From The graduate student who would be perfect for a (though assistance in any form, including position as journal editor, please have them “in kind” aid, is very welcome). The duties National Office contact me. The Trustees will consider an of the Local Arrangements Chair are not too appointment. Readers and manuscripts onerous. They consist primarily of acting as from graduate students continue to be solic- local liaison, helping with local reservations It is time to be making your plans to attend ited. Jenn has very successfully gotten the for events such as the Aesthetic Attitude the Annual Meeting in Denver. The dates ASAGE up and running. If you have not done performance, and arranging for help with reg- are 21-24 October. The hotel is the Warwick so, check it out at . Denver at 1776 Grant Street in downtown istration at the meeting. It is a good opportu- nity to involve students and other members Denver. For reservations, call 1-303-861- We are continuing to convert our membership of your department in the Society. 2000 or 1-800-525-2888; FAX: 1-720-207- lists to an annual renewal date. Please bear 2202. Please specify American Society for with us as we make the transition. Thanks The terms of Phil Alperson and Mary Wise- Aesthetics, GRP 082, so that we will receive again to Dom Lopes who has posted the in- man as trustees end on 31 January 2010. credit toward our room guarantee. As in the terim renewal schedule on the web site. Eve- We are grateful for their service. The Trus- past it is important to the Society that you ryone should expect an annual renewal letter tees will be nominating at least four candi- stay at the meeting hotel if possible. We for January of 2010 in addition to the current dates to fill the expiring three-year terms. receive complimentary meeting space based interim renewals that are going out now. Please send suggestions for nominees to on our room pick-up and are charged a pen- Thereafter, everyone will renew in January of me at . alty if we do not meet our guarantee. each year. This change does not affect when I will see that they are presented at the Trus- you receive the Journal or Newsletter. Wiley/ tees Meeting. Additional nominations may The meeting registration information and Blackwell handles institutional subscriptions be made by any eight members of the So- program are posted on our web site, . (Thanks to Dom Lopes They can be made at any time. for getting everything posted.) The Society the signatures of eight supporting members, must be filed with the Secretary-Treasurer is aware that budget cuts have made travel This past year, the Trustees initiated a special no later than two weeks following the annual funds hard to come by. Full time graduate competitive funding project to stimulate out- meeting. students who are on the program are eligible reach and promote the aims of the Society. for up to $750 in travel funds. Everyone who Funding could be up to $25,000 for a single Daniel Nathan will be the Program Chair for attends the meeting is eligible for a $75 travel project. Eight proposals were received. One the 2010 meeting in Victoria, BC. (In spite of rebate. Information and application mate- project submitted by Hans Maes and Jerrold rumors to the contrary, Victoria is relatively rial will be available at the registration desk. Levinson was funded under the regular sub- easily accessible, and we have an outstand- Please make every effort to attend. Paul mission process for conferences and other ing hotel arranged.) The Program Chair for Guyer, Program Chair, and Tim Gould, Local special projects (up to $2,500), and two were the 2011 meeting will be appointed by the Arrangements Chair, have planned an ambi- invited to submit an additional, more detailed Trustees at the Denver meeting. Anyone tious program. The plenary speaker is Denis proposal. The Montréal “Reflections on Art who would like to be considered or who Dutton from the University of Canterbury in and Aesthetics” Workshop, initiated by Olivier would like to suggest someone is invited to New Zealand, and Peter Lamarque will give Mathieu and a conference/symposium at send suggestions to me at the email address the inaugural Richard Wollheim Memorial the University of Texas at Austin titled “Art, above. Lecture. The usual opening reception will Beauty, and Beyond,” proposed by Kathleen be held Wednesday evening, and there will Higgins and Jenn Neilson, have been funded Sheila Lintott has stepped down as an editor be a second reception after the Wollheim at a total of up to $12,300 and up to $5,000 of the Newsletter after long and distinguished Lecture. respectively. Reports on these projects will service. Sondra Bacharach continues to appear after they are completed. The Trus- assist the new editors as the editorship tran- The Wollheim Lecture has been initiated as tees will evaluate the success of this initiative sitions to David Goldblatt and Henry Pratt. a joint project by the British Society for Aes- at the annual meeting. Comments and sug- Please send any news items to David () or Henry (). We will continue to send the delivered at the meeting of the other Society. Each year, the Society awards a $1,000 prize Newsletter both electronically (to everyone Thus, in 2010, the ASA nominates and the for an outstanding monograph in aesthetics for whom we have a valid email address) and lecture is given in the United Kingdom. The by a member of the ASA. Last year, the as a print copy. This year we are scheduled Trustees have nominated Noël Carroll to be prize went to Rachel Zuckert for her book, to also send an updated membership list. If the Wollheim Lecturer for 2010, and he has Kant on Beauty and Biology: An Interpreta- you do not want to be listed, please notify our accepted. tion of the ‘Critique of Judgment’. This year, office manager, Charlene Waldron, at . We will make every effort to On the subject of Annual Meetings, I am a monograph published in 2008. The com- accommodate your wishes. working on arrangements for the 2011 meet- mittee is promised anonymity because of the ing. If we follow our usual rotation, that meet- sensitive nature of judging outstanding work Jenn Neilson has asked that the following ing should be somewhere on the east coast, by a number of Society members (and the information be circulated with respect to the but exceptions could be made for special prize is for AN outstanding monograph, not ASA Graduate E-journal. The Journal is opportunities. Please consider hosting the THE MOST outstanding monograph). Any seeking a new graduate student manager meeting and get in touch with me if you think Society member publishing a monograph and web editor starting in January 2010, and you might be interested. We are aware of the in 2009 (introductions and edited collec- taking over full duties in September 2010. If tight university budgets, so there is currently tions, including those of one’s own work,

Summer 2009 5 are excluded) is invited to request that their This exciting position provides a great op- Table of Contents: “The Dynamic Phenom- publisher submit a copy of the book for con- portunity for an outgoing and detail-oriented enon of Art in Heidegger’s The Origin of the sideration. Anyone who would be willing to graduate student to gain insight into the Work of Art,” Aili Bresnahan (Temple Univer- serve on the Prize Committee is also invited inner workings of professional journals, to sity), “Aesthetic and Other Theoretical Virtues to submit their name either to me or to the forge professional relationships with working in Science,” Jason Simus (University of North President of the Society. aestheticians, to show dedication to advanc- Texas), “Book Review: Art, Emotion and Eth- ing the profession, to gain valuable work ics,” Charles Repp (University of Toronto). In alternate years, the Society also awards experience in online publishing and to make a prize for an outstanding work – either a contacts by representing the journal at the book or article – on dance theory or dance ASA’s annual meeting. National Humanities Center Fellowships aesthetics. The prize honors the memory 2010-2011 of Selma Jean Cohen, whose generous be- The editor is responsible for: sending out quest makes it possible. The Cohen Prize calls for papers and soliciting submissions, Purpose and Nature of Fellowships: The will be awarded next at the meeting in 2010. recruiting referees, assigning submissions to National Humanities Center offers 40 resi- Any member may nominate a book or article referees and overseeing the review process, dential fellowships for advanced study in the published in 2008 or 2009 for consideration selecting books to be reviewed from those humanities during the academic year, Sep- (it does not have to be by a Society member). proposed by student reviewers, hiring and tember 2010 through May 2011. Applicants Any member of the Society with an interest corresponding with the copy editor, advertis- must hold doctorate or equivalent scholarly in and knowledge of dance aesthetics is also ing the journal on listservs and in the ASA credentials. Young scholars as well as sen- invited to volunteer to serve on the prize Newsletter, corresponding with authors and ior scholars are encouraged to apply, but committee. reviewers with respect to submissions, decid- they must have a record of publication, and ing on the topic of special issues, in consulta- new Ph.D.s should be aware that the Center The Trustees have established a Committee tion with the advisory committee, reporting does not support the revision of a doctoral on Diversity in the Society chaired by Phil Al- to the Board of Trustees on the status of the dissertation. In addition to scholars from all person. The committee has a modest budget journal, keeping the online journal software fields of the humanities, the Center accepts to initiate activities to promote both philo- up-to-date, overseeing the journal’s annual individuals from the natural and social sci- sophical and ethnic/gender diversity in the budget, accepting invoices from employees ences, the arts, the professions, and public Society. Members with suggestions should and requesting payment from the ASA Sec- life who are engaged in humanistic projects. contact Phil at . retary-Treasurer, and maintaining contact The Center is also international and gladly and consulting with the advisory committee accepts applications from scholars outside See you in Denver! as needed. the United States.

Dabney Townsend The new editor will shadow the current edi- Areas of Special Interest: Most of the Cent- Secretary-Treasurer tor starting in January 2010, and take over er’s fellowships are unrestricted. Several, American Society for Aesthetics editorial duties in September 2010, including however, are designated for particular areas P. O. Box 915 attending the ASA annual meeting each Fall. of research. These include environmental Pooler, GA 31322 This is a two-year position. Eligible candi- studies and history; English literature; art Telephone: 921-748-9524 dates must be pursuing a graduate degree history; French history, literature, or culture; 912-247-5868 (cell) in the US or Canada. Compensation is in Asian Studies; and theology. email: the form of an honorarium and travel stipend, web site: totaling up to $3776 per year (depending on Stipends: Fellowships are individually de- the number of issues published). Please send termined, the amount depending upon the an academic CV including details of past and needs of the Fellow and the Center’s ability current research, as well as a non-academic to meet them. The Center seeks to provide resume or other document detailing relevant at least half salary and also covers travel work or volunteer experience, in addition to expenses to and from North Carolina for Fel- the names of two referees who can attest to lows and their dependents. AESTHETICS your suitability for this position, one of which should be your supervisor. Please e-mail all Facilities and Services: Located in the Re- NEWS application materials to the current editor search Triangle Park of North Carolina, near (Jenn Neilson) at no Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, the Center later than 15 October 2009. provides an environment for individual re- Search for New ASAGE Editor search and the exchange of ideas. Its build- ing includes private studies for Fellows, The American Society for Aesthetics Gradu- The American Society for Aesthetics Grad- conference rooms, a central commons for ate E-journal is seeking a new graduate uate E-journal Second Issue dining, lounges, reading areas, a reference student manager and web editor starting in library, and a Fellows’ workroom. The Cent- January 2010, and taking over full duties in The American Society for Aesthetics Gradu- er’s noted library service delivers books and September 2010. If you know an outgoing ate E-journal has just published its second research materials to Fellows, and support and detail-oriented graduate student who issue at . We invite for information technology and editorial as- would be perfect for a position as journal you to review the Table of Contents below sistance are also provided. The Center lo- editor, please refer them to our online ad at: and to view the full text of all articles free of cates housing for Fellows in the neighboring .

6 ASA Newsletter Support: Fellowships are supported by the The meeting closed Friday morning with Center’s own endowment, private foundation Conference papers on matters related to images (Ben grants, alumni contributions, and the National Blumson and Flo Leibowitz) and aesthetic Endowment for the Humanities. Reports experience (Tom Leddy and Sheila Lintott).

Deadline and Application Procedures: Ap- ASA Pacific Division Meeting The meeting was greatly enhanced by excel- plicants submit the Center’s form, supported Pacific Grove, Callifornia lent commentaries delivered by Peter Alward, by a curriculum vitae, a 1000-word project 15-17 April 2009 Ben Caplan, Renee Conroy, John Gibson, proposal, and three letters of recommenda- Jillian Isenberg, Jo Ellen Jacobs, Peter Kivy, tion. You may request application material The annual meeting of the Pacific Division Carl Matheson, Derek Matravers, Andrew from Fellowship Program, National Humani- of the ASA was held 15-17 April 2009, at McGonigal, Taffy Ross, Marcelo Sabatés ties Center, Post Office Box 12256, Research the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific and Reed Winegar. I am grateful to session Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2256, Grove, California. The weather was brisk chairs Zed Adams, Emily Brady, Don Craw- or obtain the form and instructions from the and the fireplace in the meeting room much ford, Nick Diehl, Rick Fox, Justin London, Center’s website. Applications and letters of appreciated. Proceedings were made avail- Dom Lopes, James Mock and Rita Risser recommendation must be postmarked by 15 able electronically rather than mailed out, for helping to keep things running smoothly October, 2009. See or e-mail for further details. create a new student registration fee of $10 For general advice and assistance, I am to encourage undergraduate and graduate grateful to past program chairs Jim Hamilton, students to attend. The registration fee for Sheila Lintott, Aaron Meskin, David Osipovich BSA Seeks New Editor for Postgraduate others will rise slightly, from $90 to $100, for and, especially, my immediate predecessor, Journal of Aesthetics the first time in some years. Dustin Stokes; ASA Secretary-Treasurer Dabney Townsend; and web maestro ex- The British Society of Aesthetics seeks to The program included 13 papers (chosen traordinaire Dom Lopes. A warm thanks to appoint a new editor for the Postgraduate from 45 submissions) and 4 author-meets- Amy Coplan and Tom Leddy for supplying Journal of Aesthetics. Applicants should be critics sessions. There were 47 people on equipment that allowed us to have a proper enrolled on a postgraduate research pro- the program, including chairs and commen- aesthetics meeting with pictures and sounds gramme in philosophical aesthetics in the tators, and 61 total registrants. As usual, and things. Russ Quacchia provided helpful UK. The post is tenable for a minimum of the topics of discussion ranged widely, from binders with information about local eateries two years, maximum of three, commencing the aesthetics of pregnancy and childbirth and attractions. in November 2009. (Sheila Lintott) to the usefulness, or lack thereof, of higher-order ontologies of music For their service as referees on a very tight The successful candidate will shadow the cur- (Lee Brown). timeline, I am grateful to Catharine Abell, Tom rent editor for the Winter 2009 issue before Adajian, Phil Alperson, Lee Brown, Diarmuid taking over in full for the Spring 2010 issue. The program kicked off Wednesday afternoon Costello, Gregory Currie, David Davies, The journal is published on-line 3 times per with three papers on fiction by Eva Dadlez, Stephen Davies, Tobyn De Marco, Eileen year. For more information please see the fol- Amy Kind and Cathleen Muller, winner of the John, Emily Brady, David Goldblatt, Ted lowing link: . standing paper “Reply to Everett’s ‘Against Kulvicki, Paisley Livingston, Dom Lopes, Fictional Realism.’” Next up was an author- Derek Matravers, Aaron Meskin, Alex Neill, Applications should consist of an academic meets-critics session on Paul Woodruff’s The Glenn Parsons, Taffy Ross, Crispin Sartwell, CV including details of past and current Necessity of Theater, with Noël Carroll, David Bob Stecker, Dustin Stokes, Amie Thomas- research, relevant employment history if ap- Davies and Paul Thom serving as critics. son and Saam Trivedi. plicable, the names of two referees (one of whom should be the candidate’s supervisor), Thursday was action-packed, beginning For the 2010 meeting, I pass the torch to and a sample of written work not greater than with a panel on music (papers by Lee Brown David Davies. The 2011 meeting will be 4000 words. The above should be sent by and John Fisher) followed by a double au- co-chaired by Amy Coplan and Tobyn De e-mail to the current editor (Louise Hanson) thor-meets-critics session on Charles O. Marco. at: . The Nussbaum’s The Musical Representation: deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, Meaning, Ontology, and Emotion (with Kath- Sherri Irvin 28 August. Interviews will take place in Sep- leen Higgins as critic) and Aniruddh D. Pa- tember or October 2009. tel’s Music, Language, and the Brain (with Stephen Davies as critic). After lunch there ASA Rocky Mountain Division Meeting was a panel on literary matters (papers by Santa Fe, New Mexico Michael Gettings and Peter Goldie) and an- 10-12 July 2008 other on the relationship between aesthetics and ethics (papers by Gregory Currie and The Rocky Mountain Division held its 26th an- Jenn Neilson). The afternoon ended with an nual meeting in the historic Hotel St. Francis, author-meets-critics panel on Tom Warten- in downtown Santa Fe. Registration opened berg’s Thinking on Screen: Film as Philoso- at 8:00 on Friday, 10 July, with the first ses- phy, with critics Amy Coplan, Bruce Russell sions starting at 9:00 after opening remarks and George Wilson. at 8:45. The business meeting started at 11:30 Sunday, 12 July, after the final sessions

Summer 2009 7 ended at 11:10. The weather was splendid, The Saturday afternoon Artist at Work pres- In a session on irony, papers were presented the sessions well-attended, and the Saturday entation, “Experiments Useful for the Cure by Alexei Procyshyn (“The Irony of Kierkeg- evening reception a grand event apparently of Men’s Minds,” was by Jacquelyn McBain. aard’s Aesthetic”) and Victor Yelverton Haines enjoyed by the many attendees. I believe it She is represented in New York City by Lit- (“The Performing Arts and Musical Irony”); safe to say that the conference was well in tlejohn Contemporary, Inc. and a session under the broad heading of keeping with the expected standards for a “public appearances” joined Glenn Parsons’s division meeting. The 2010 meeting arrangements and the “The Value of Human Beauty” and Emma call for papers will be announced within the Lind’s essay on the politics of museum ex- This was the first year of Linda Dove’s three normal schedule on both the ASA and divi- hibitions (“Revisiting Into the Heart of Africa year term as division president. At the busi- sion websites. Once More”). Film aesthetics drew a pro- ness meeting, Elizabeth Graham, Brandon vocative response in two sessions: Evan University, Manitoba, was elected treasurer I note that there was a significant falling away Wm. Cameron’s “Robert Towne, Chinatown and John Sampson was thanked for his many of potential participants this year as a direct and the Bewitchments of ‘Tone’” (explor- years of dedicated service in that office. result of the national economic downturn. ing narrative incoherence in Chinatown’s President Dove asked for suggestions as Although we ultimately maintained our aver- screenplay, particularly the film’s final scene); to rescheduling and possibly relocating the age number of presenters, we had accepted and a symposium devoted first to screen- conference venue as a result of the massive more. A distressing number of those who ing filmmaker Peter Forgacs’s Wittgenstein restoration of the hotel and attendant cost submitted papers and accepted invitations Tractatus, followed by papers on the film’s and scheduling complexities: this discussion to the conference ultimately were forced to cinematic aspects (by Christina Stojanova) is being continued by email. withdraw because their travel funding was and then its correlations with Wittgenstein’s eliminated. This is a worrying situation that philosophical program (by Béla Szabados). There were twenty nine presentations in a other conference planners, I suggest, closely diverse program that emphasized, as always, monitor. The meeting’s final day featured a joint ses- the interdisciplinary nature of the division. sion of the CSA and the Canadian University The program panels were: Art, Artists, and James Mock Music Society. A benefit in meeting concur- Aesthetic Context (Peter Thompson, Michael rently with other societies is cross-disciplinary Greene, Karen Hillier); Marxism and the Mar- contact, enabling scholars in neighboring ket (Norman Fischer, Raphael Sassower); Canadian Society for Aesthetics Annual fields to recognize individual yet often com- Aesthetic Interplay Between Western and Meeting mon lines of interest. The joint session was Non-Western Forms (Allison Hagerman, Ottawa, Canada held in two segments. In the morning pa- Ryan Jordan, Cornelia Tsakiridou); Repre- 27-29 May 2009 pers were presented by Joel Rudinow (“Bio- sentation and the Problem of Make-Believe Rhythms: From Formalism to Somaesthet- (Mark Silcox, Heidi Silcox, Eva Dadlez); About thirty-five scholars attended the CSA’s ics”), Geordie McComb (“Towards a Revised Roundtable on the State of Contemporary annual meeting at Carleton University in Ot- Goodmanian Account of Musical Works”) and Letters: Is Hybridity the Word? (Dee Horne, tawa, from 27-29 May. The meeting was held John Dyck (“Against Levinson’s Instrumen- George Moore, Linda Dove); The Aesthetics concurrently with about fifty other societies tation Requirement”). The afternoon part of Self-Fashioning (Alain Beauclair, Lawrence under the sponsorship of the Canadian Fed- included papers by David Cecchetto (“Music Rhu); Aesthetics and Literature (Michael Man- eration for the Humanities and Social Scienc- and Catachresis: Lachenmann’s . . . zwei son, Reuben Ellis, Johan Samson, Joseph es. Although most of the participants were Gefuhle . . . in the Theatre of Judith Butler”), Vincenzo); Beauty and Taste: Practical and from Canadian universities, a number of U.S. Michael Szekely (“On a Spade Reddened in Theoretical Statements (Rick Chew, S.K. scholars found their way to Canada’s capital the Fire: Surrealism, Philosophy and Impro- Wertz, James Mock, Jon Mikkelsen); Aesthet- city, where all could enjoy the camaraderie vised Jazz”) and Michael W. Morse (“Cinder- ics and Architecture (Francis Downing, Roger that has come to distinguish the CSA’s small ella at the Corner of Broadway and 52nd St.: Paden); and Aesthetics and Music (David and intellectually stimulating meetings. Some Aristoxenian Notes on the Sociology of Conter, Martin Donougho, Arthur Stewart). Contemporary Harmony”). Special thanks to The intersections of the papers in the ses- The papers covered a wide range of aes- Murray Dineen for proposing the joint session sions provided thematic unity and facilitated thetic interests. The meeting opened with and for facilitating the project from the Cana- vigorous discussion. a session on depictive representation (M. dian University Music Society side. Carleton Simpson’s “Depiction and Detec- The session chairs managed the timing of tion in Still and Moving Photographs” and While the unhurried pace of the program presentations and discussions with uniform Reed Winegar’s “Do Trompe L’Oeil Paintings encouraged ample discussion opportunities excellence. Thanks are offered to the chairs: Represent?”); a session on natural aesthetics among attendees, socializing was enhanced Michael Manson, Eva Dadlez, Reuben Ellis, followed (John H. Brown’s “Beautiful Func- this year by two events. One was the annual Martin Donougho, Francis Downing, S.K. tionality” and Andrew Peter Ross’s “Emo- CSA banquet dinner held at the charming Wertz, Dee Horne, Arthur Stewart, George tional Finality: In Defense of Carroll’s Arousal Canal Ritz, on the bank of Ottawa’s historic Moore, James Mock, and John Samson. Model”). A session on Kantian aesthetic Rideau Canal. The second was a reception theory included papers by G. Anthony Bruno organized by our French-speaking colleagues The Friday afternoon Manuel Davenport (“Aesthetic Value, Intersubjectivity and the in the Society, François Chalifour and Su- Keynote Address, “Aesthetic Transcend- Absolute Conception of the World”) and Kurt zanne Foisy—to whom we are very grateful. ence,” was presented by Donald Kuspit, Mertel (“Kant’s Aesthetics and the Herme- It was a nice chance for all to come together Distinguished Professor of Art history and neutics of Art”); and a session on Aristotle in the convivial atmosphere established in Philosophy, State University of New York at included a paper by Ira Newman (“On the these two settings. Stony Brook. Road with Oedipus: Aristotle on Understand- ing Characters in the Poetics and Ethics”).

8 ASA Newsletter Congratulations to Reed Winegar and Andrew submissions are strongly preferred. Contact 7500 words and in accord with the general Peter Ross, who are the English-language David Davies: . guidelines for submissions (see “Submis- winners of the best graduate paper submis- sions” on the JAAC website ). Send submissions electronically arrangements coordinator, Jeanette Bicknell, as email attachments or by regular mail to for her meticulous care with all the details both guest editors, indicating clearly that that need attending for a conference to run American Society for Aesthetics 2010 your submission is for the special issue on as smoothly as this one did: this includes Eastern Division Meeting the aesthetics of architecture: Prof. David a taste test at several Ottawa restaurants, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Goldblatt, Department of Philosophy, Deni- before finding our banquet winner. Finally, 16-17 April 2010 son University, Granville, Ohio 43023 and Prof. Roger Paden, thank all the participants, whose well-crafted Plenary Lecture: Kendall Walton (Univer- Department of Philosophy, George Mason papers and good critical sense made this sity of Michigan), Monroe Beardsley Lecture: University Fairfax, VA 22030 . in aesthetics are invited, as well as propos- Glenn Parsons () has accepted the position as special sessions. We welcome volunteers English-language program chair for next to serve as session chairs and commenta- year’s meeting in Montreal, which will be held tors. All participants must be members of American Society for Aesthetics Graduate at Concordia University, 28-30 May 2010. the American Society for Aesthetics and must E-journal register for the conference. Papers should Fall 2009/Winter 2010 Issue Ira Newman not exceed 3000 words, should be accom- Mansfield University panied by a 100-word abstract, and must be The American Society for Aesthetics Gradu- prepared for blind review. ate E-journal (ASAGE) is now accepting high caliber work by graduate students in aesthet- Please send submissions in PDF, Word, or ics and the philosophy of art for its Fall 2009/ RTF format to Tiger Roholt: . Please feel free to direct normally exceed 3000 words. Authors are en- Calls for Papers questions to the Program Co-Chairs: Bill See- couraged to provide links to authorized online ley (Bates College) at images of art works and audio or video files or Tiger Roholt (Montclair State University) at referred to in the paper whenever possible. American Society for Aestheitcs 2010 . More information, including complete submis- Pacific Division Meeting sion guidelines, is available on our website at Pacific Grove, California Deadline: 15 January 2010 . 7-10 April 2010 ASAGE also publishes book reviews written The Pacific Division of the American Society The Aesthetics of Architecture: A Special by graduate students of recently published for Aesthetics invites papers and/or panel Issue of the Journal of Aesthetics and Art works in aesthetics. Details on how to sub- proposals for its annual conference. Paper Criticism mit a book review proposal are available at and panel submissions from persons in all Guest Editors: David Goldblatt (Denison . Any student interested arts-related disciplines, including graduate University) and Roger Paden (George Mason in becoming a referee for the journal can students, are welcome. Papers and panels University) find more information on how to apply at may treat any area of interest to aesthetics . ASAGE is edited by Jenn and the philosophy of art. Suggested topics Submissions on any philosophical subject Neilson (University of Texas at Austin) with include the relation of aesthetics to ethics, ar- related to architecture are welcome, but spe- advisory assistance from Phillip Alperson, tistic reception and embodiment, the ontology cific interests for this special issue include the Carolyn Korsmeyer, and Jenefer Robinson. of art, the nature of aesthetic experience, the following topics: the status of architecture history of aesthetics, aesthetics of the visual in aesthetics and philosophy; architecture’s Deadline: 1 September 2009 arts, environmental aesthetics, art interpre- relationship to the other arts (for example, tation, feminist aesthetics and aesthetics materially, when buildings store, display and society. Paper submissions must not or present other art forms; and concep- 8th Annual Hawaii International Confer- exceed 3000 words in length (20 minutes in tually, when terms—such as ‘audience,’ ence on Arts & Humanities presentation time), and should be accompa- ‘craft,’ ‘structure,’ or ‘narrative’—are used in Honolulu, Hawaii nied by 100-word abstracts. Panel proposals discussions of architecture and other arts); 13-16 January 2010 should include a general description of the how architecture helps to make a place (for topic or theme, along with the names and example, places interior to and around build- Sponsored by The University of Louisville - affiliations of all proposed participants and ings) and helps to determine a form of life (for Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods, brief abstracts of papers. Essays written by example, its relationships to ethics, self, com- the 8th Annual Hawaii International Confer- graduate students will be considered for a munity, environment, the city, and nature); the ence on Arts & Humanities will be held from $200 award. Graduate student submissions cultural role of anonymous and vernacular 13-16 January 2010 at the Waikiki Beach should be clearly marked as such. architecture; and philosophical implications Marriott Resort & Spa and the Hilton Waikiki of newer building technology. Prince Kuhio Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Volunteers to serve as commentators and/ conference will provide many opportunities or chairs of panels are welcome. Electronic Submissions should preferably be under for academicians and professionals from

Summer 2009 9 arts and humanities related fields to interact a phenomenological concept of the subject tion and truth) which are highly discussed in with members inside and outside their own may alter our approach to politics, law and contemporary philosophy. particular disciplines. Cross-disciplinary sub- art appreciation. Each area - subjectivity and missions with other fields are welcome. All consciousness, political philosophy, social The volume is open to systematic studies Areas of Arts & Humanities are invited. contract theory and aesthetics - has benefited in specific problems of Meinong inspired from insights gleaned from thinking of the self aesthetics or of contemporary aesthetics in Submitting a Proposal: You may now sub- and object as a synthetic unity. The benefits respect of Meinong as well as to historical mit your paper/proposal by using our online gained from such philosophical analysis have analyses or exegetical discussions of Mei- submission system. To use the system, and been enhanced by the fruitful dialogue with nong’s and his followers’ positions. Contact for detailed information about submitting see feminism over issues such as objectivity, re- Jutta Valent at . . conference is to continue with this dialogue Submission deadline: 31 October 2009 in a productive and constructive fashion and Contact Hawaii International Conference on to clarify a number of conceptual problems in Arts & Humanities, P.O. Box 75036, Honolulu, these areas of practical concern. Expression and the Inner: 6th Inter-Univer- HI 96836 USA, Telephone: (808) 542-4385 sity Workshop on Mind, Art, and Morality Fax: (808) 947-2420, E-mail: , Website: . Kimberly Hutchings; Rachel Jones; Diane Morgan; Janice Richardson; Stella Sandford; The workshop: The Inter-University Work- Deadline: 21 August 2009 Linnell Secomb; Margrit Shildrick and Alison shop on Mind, Art and Morality promotes the Stone. relation among different areas of philosophy; more specifically, the Workshop aims at ex- The Society for the Philosophic Study of This conference is a celebration of the work ploring those issues where ethical, aestheti- the Contemporary Visual Arts (SPSCVA) of Christine Battersby and is supported by the cal and the philosophy of mind’s discussion Pacific APA Meeting European Journal of Philosophy, the Society topics converge and interweave. In former San Fransisco, California of Women in Philosophy and the University editions, the Workshop has been devoted 31 March - 4 April 2010 of Liverpool. either to the work of the philosophers Richard Wollheim, Jonathan Dancy, Christine Kors- SPSCVA invites papers to be presented at its Contact , gaard, Shaun Nichols or to broad subjects divisional meetings held in conjunction with or . Registration fee: £40. Bursaries presence of Peter Kivy, Noël Carroll or Derek Philosophical Association. Papers may ad- available. Matravers). In this occasion, the Workshop dress any topic that involves the connection will receive David H. Finkelstein who will between philosophy and the visual arts: film, Deadline: 4 September 2009 present his recent research on first-person photography, video, or other aesthetic media. authority. The Society also welcomes proposals for panels, author-meets-critics, or other special Meinong Studies Special Issue Contributed Papers: We invite philosophers sessions, as well as volunteers to serve as and other scholars interested in discuss- panel chairs and commentators. Presenta- Aesthetics sets out in terms of Meinong and ing these or other related topics to join the tions should be 20-25 minutes (10-12 pages Witasek as a special part of a broad subjectiv- Workshop, for an exchange of ideas on these in length). Participants must be currently ist or emotivist account of value-theory trying subjects. Contributions focused on David paid members of the SPSCVA. The Society to explain the (aesthetic) value of something Finkelstein’s book are especially encouraged, expects to hold two sessions at the meeting. as founded in specific value-feelings of the but papers on any aspect of the first-person Electronic submission of papers as e-mail perceiving subject. But later on Meinong and authority, self-knowledge, expression, con- attachments is strongly encouraged. Witasek switch to a somewhat value-realist scious and unconscious states, are also wel- position, stating that we are presented in our come. Papers should be about 15 pages long Contact Professor Julie Van Camp, Depart- experiences both subjective and objective (5000 words), to be presented in 40 minutes ment of Philosophy, California State Univer- impersonal values. This tension mirrors the maximum, and to allow 20 minutes discus- sity, Long Beach 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long fundamental distinction of subjectivism and sion. Extended abstracts, of about 2000 Beach, CA 90840-2408, . less Meinong’s value-realist position might overcome it and, combined with his onto- Correspondence and Submissions: Contact Deadline: 1 September 2009 logical reconstruction of values as objects of Luis M. Valdés-Villanueva at , Departamento de Filosofía, Univer- range of promising suggestions in solving sidad de Oviedo, Campus de Humanidades, Situated Selves: Phenomenology, Law, central problems of aesthetics. Meinong’s E-33071 Oviedo, Spain. and Aesthetics object theory and the theory of assump- University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England tions contain theses which encounter fertile Deadline: 1 February 2010 30-31 October 2009 applications into ontology of art works and specifically of narrative discourse; such the- This conference will bring together research- ses deal with arguments (as fictional objects ers in phenomenology, law and contract and aesthetic properties, aesthetic emotions theory and philosophy of art to discuss how and enjoyment, the relationship between fic-

10 ASA Newsletter British Society for Aesthetics Essay essay that merits publication in the BJA is 2010 Canadian Society for Aesthetics An- Prize submitted, the prize will not be awarded. The nual Meeting decision of the judges is final. The winning Montreal, Quebec, Canada The British Society of Aesthetics is running author will have the opportunity to read the 28-30 May 2010 an essay prize competition, open to young paper at the 2010 annual conference of the researchers in aesthetics. The winning au- Society. If the author is an enrolled student, The 2010 annual meeting of the Canadian thor will receive £500 and an opportunity to they will be automatically eligible for a BSA Society for Aesthetics will take place in com- present the paper at the Society’s annual postgraduate conference subsidy. The win- pany with meetings of other Canadian asso- conference. The winning essay will normally ner’s name will be announced in the British ciations, including the Canadian Philosophi- be published in the British Journal of Aes- Journal of Aesthetics. cal Association, as part of the 79th Congress thetics. The aim of the prize is to encourage of the Humanities and Social Sciences. and reward new talent in the field of aes- Submissions should be clearly identified Submissions on any topic in aesthetics are thetics. The Prize is intended to foster the as entries for the BSA Essay Prize and be invited. In the initial stage of consideration, development of the field of aesthetics. The sent electronically to the Secretary of the preference will be given to completed papers competition is open to anyone who has not BSA, Kathleen Stock: email: . Entries should be in 150-word abstract and suitable for presenta- at a higher education institution for more English, and should not exceed 7,500 words tion in fewer than 25 minutes. Abstracts, if than five years. Persons in doubt about their in length (including footnotes). Each entry submitted alone, will be assessed later and qualifications are encouraged to consult the must be accompanied by an abstract not ex- only if vacancies occur in the program. Pro- secretary of the British Society of Aesthetics ceeding 150 words. Entries that are too long posals for panels on special topics or recent in advance. Entrants must include with their or without an abstract will not be considered. publications are also invited, and should entry a statement indicating how they qualify. Essays should be prepared for blind review include names and affiliations of all partici- Entry is not limited to members of the BSA and should follow guidelines for submissions pants plus an abstract of the subject matter. nor to residents of the United Kingdom. The to the British Journal of Aesthetics. Each Participants selected for inclusion on the pro- essay may be on any topic in aesthetics or entry should contain a separate title page giv- gram are required to pay CSA membership the philosophy of art. The essay should be a ing the name, institution and address of the and conference registration fees. For gradu- maximum of 7,500 words (about 25 double- author. Candidates should supply evidence ate submissions included on the program, we spaced typed pages). The panel of judges that they are eligible for the prize. Essays offer an annual prize for the best graduate will comprise members of the Executive will not be considered for the prize if they paper presented. Submissions must be sent Committee of the British Society of Aesthetics are currently under consideration by another as e-mail attachments (MS Word or .RTF and one of the Editors of the British Journal journal or competition. No non-winning essay format). Inquiries or submissions may be of Aesthetics. will be considered for publication in the BJA sent to Glenn Parsons (Ryerson University) unless it has been separately submitted to at . It is a condition of entry to the Prize competi- that journal. tion that the essay has not been (and will Deadline: 15 February 2010 not be until the result of the competition is Deadline: 1 February 2010 announced) submitted for publication else- where. If, in the opinion of the judges, no

ASAGE Seeks New Graduate Student Editor

The American Society for Aesthetics Graduate E-journal is seeking a new graduate student managing and web editor starting in January 2010, and taking over full duties in Sept 2010. If you know or are an outgoing and detail-oriented graduate student who would be perfect for a position as journal editor, please see our listing in Aesthetics News on p. 6 of this Newsletter, or refer to the online ad at: .

Summer 2009 11 The British Society of Aesthetics 2009 An- istic of modernity’s orientation around the Upcoming Events nual Conference individual and as a means of counteracting St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, England the rationalisations of modern life. This two 4-6 September 2009 day-conference will investigate the many and ASA Annual Meeting conflicting relationships between aesthetics Denver, Colorado Plenary Speakers: Dominic McIver Lopes and modernity. In particular, the 250th an- 21-24 October 2010 (University of British Columbia), James Shel- niversary of Schiller’s birth in 1759 seems a ley (Auburn University). The 2009 William timely point to reflect on the German tradition The meeting will be held on 21-24 October, Empson Lecture will be given by Martin of socio-cultural and aesthetic theory and 2009 at the Warwick Denver Hotel. Please Gayford, author of The Yellow House: Van artistic practice from the late Enlightenment make your hotel reservations directly with Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks to the Frankfurt School and beyond, in which the hotel and specify that you are request- in Arles (Fig Tree). Programme Co-Chairs: Schiller played such a seminal role. Co- ing the American Society for Aesthetics rate Stacie Friend and Aaron Meskin See or contact Aaron Carroll and Dr Maike Oergel (University of be sure to meet our room pick-up guar- Meskin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Nottingham). Contact: Jerome Carroll . Denver Hotel 1776 Grant Street, Denver 9JT . 861-2000, Fax: 720.207.2202, . The deadline for reser- nual White Rose Aesthetics Conference vations is 28 September, 2009. Please note International Merleau-Ponty Circle 34th University of Sheffield, Humanities Research that in consideration of the economy and the Annual Conference: The Experience and Institute curtailment of travel funds by many institu- Expression of Space 22 September 2009 tions, the American Society for Aesthetics Mississippi State University School of Archi- is offering a $75 travel rebate to everyone tecture Invited Speakers: Fabian Dorsch (Philosophy, who attends the meeting. All members are 10-12 September 2009 Fribourg), Jonathan Ichikawa (Arché, St. An- eligible. Information on obtaining the rebate drews), Kathleen Stock (Philosophy, Sussex), will be available at the registration desk at Keynote speakers: Suzanne Cataldi (South- Jonathan Weinberg (Philosophy, Indiana). the meeting. ern Illinois University, Edwardsville), Helen Fielding (The University of Western Ontario, The imagination is of central concern both for The Program Committee, chaired by Paul London), Alberto Pérez-Gómez (McGill Uni- aesthetics and the philosophy of mind and Guyer, has planned a challenging and ex- versity, Montreal). For further information, in recent years it has provided an important panded program that includes papers and see , or contact Rachel McCann () or Patricia M. attending to cutting edge theories about the anniversaries of the births of Charles Darwin Locke ([email protected]). nature of the imagination, philosophers of and Abraham Lincoln, the one-hundred- mind have in turn learned much from attend- and-fiftieth anniversary of the birth of John ing to the imaginative phenomena catalogued Dewey, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Aesthetics and Modernity from Schiller by contemporary aestheticians. But while publication of Dewey’s Art as Experience, to Marcuse most of this work has focused on ‘belief-like’ and the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, cognitive imaginings, it is commonly thought Herbert Marcuse. The Program Committee University of London that imagining comes in at least two main has, therefore, adopted the theme of ART, 10-11 September 2009 varieties: cognitive or propositional imagining NATURE, AND FREEDOM. Of special note and sensory or experiential imagining. This is the Plenary Lecture to be given by Denis From Schiller to Marcuse, the aesthetic di- conference explores the relation between Dutton and the Inaugural Wollheim Memo- mension has been conceived among other these two forms of imagining. What, if any- rial Lecture to be given by Peter Lamarque. things as a kind of moral forum, a critical thing, unifies the two mental activities? And There will be two receptions and the Aes- mirror for society, an outlet for otherwise what is the significance of an answer for the thetic Attitude Jazz Group is working on plans impermissible drives, and as a dimension in philosophy of art? to play on Saturday. Please make your plans which a more affirmative mode of existence to attend! is possible. It has been seen as character-

ADDRESS ALERT

Have you moved? Does the ASA have your most recent mailing address? Let us know:

America Society for Aesthetics c/o Charlene Waldron Armstrong Atlantic State University 11935 Abercorn St. Savannah GA 31419 phone: (912) 921-2124, fax: (912) 921-5740 email:

12 ASA Newsletter There is no fee to attend this conference but Gimme Shelter: Global Discourses in this emergent tradition. For further informa- registration is required. For more information Aesthetics tion, contact: Reneé van de Vall, via email: or to register contact Rob Hopkins (. [email protected]>) or Aaron Meskin (). Information about the location of the University of Sheffield Humani- Presented by the Dutch Aesthetics Fed- Seventh International Conference on the ties Research Institute is available at . Aesthetics. The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland The conference is organized by the White Globalization is far more than an economic 16-18 October 2009 Rose Aesthetics Forum. The Forum is a col- process; it affects social and cultural dimen- laboration between those working in philo- sions of life. Not only money and goods, The Book Conference serves as an inclusive sophical aesthetics at the Universities of but also people wander around and so do forum for examining the past, current and Leeds, Sheffield and York. It meets three images, sounds and texts. The corollary of future role of the book. It proceeds from rec- times a year, for papers from the participat- these globalization processes is the tendency ognition that although the book is an old me- ing departments and once for a one-day to seek shelter, as it were, in the supposed dium of expression, it embodies thousands workshop with invited speakers. See for further information. Sponsored by traditional cultures were ever closed and continues to shape newer forms of infor- the British Society of Aesthetics; the Depart- homogeneous, territorially defined wholes; mation technology, while at the same time ment of Philosophy, University of Leeds; the through contemporary media, however, the providing a reference point for innovation. Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of geographical boundaries between cultures The Book Conference not only considers the Sheffield; and the Mind Association. seem to dissolve rapidly in favor of other, book and other information technologies as less clear-cut ones defined by religious, po- artifacts or discrete objects, it also examines litical or life-style preferences. The Internet, other key aspects of the information society, The Copenhagen Neuroaesthetics Con- in particular, has enabled dissemination of including publishing, libraries, information ference professional and amateur cultural production systems, literacy, and education. Broadly Copenhagen, Denmark and consumption on an unprecedented scale, speaking, the Conference engages the inter- 24-26 September 2009 providing new venues of cultural exchange relation between changes in thought, crea- but also fostering new types of cultural con- tion, production and distribution, and the role Neuroaesthetics is a fairly new field of inquiry. flict. Local cultures are increasingly being and meaning of the book and other informa- This conference is convened to discuss affected by global processes, but the global tion technologies. The Book Conference wel- the state of the art of the field. It will bring might acquire different meanings in different comes a wide range of participants from the together a number of leading researchers localities. In this context, the discourses of world of books including authors, publishers, working on all aspects of neuroaesthetics. aesthetics and philosophies of art need to printers, librarians, IT specialists, book retail- The conference will include sessions on face some central questions. How do artistic ers, editors, literacy educators, and academic Visual Art, Music, Literature, Dance and Film, practices and aesthetic experiences change researchers and scholars from all disciplinary Aesthetic Preferences, Neuropsychology of in response to these developments and how traditions. The Conference includes plenary Art, Experimental Aesthetics, and Evolution- are these changes adequately articulated presentations by accomplished research- ary Aesthetics. It will also offer an opportunity theoretically? When reflections on the sig- ers, scholars and practitioners, as well as to present new work in poster form. nificance of art and aesthetic experiences numerous paper, workshop and colloquium can no longer pretend to be universal, is presentations. Presenters may choose to Confirmed Speakers include Beatriz Calvo- there still a possibility to lay claim on a wider submit written papers for publication in the Merino (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuro- validity than merely that of one’s particular fully refereed International Journal of the science), Anjan Chatterjee (University of culture? What type of vocabulary allows Book. Full details of the Conference are to Pennsylvania), Ellen Dissanayake (Univer- for mutual, dialogical or even polylogical ex- be found at the Conference website: . Boltzmann-Institute for Urban Ethology), traditions meet, without obliterating local dif- Torben Grodal (University of Copenhagen), ferences? Is there a possibility for a creative Andrea R. Halpern (Bucknell University), re-description of globalization? And is there 31st Annual Nietzsche Society Meeting Alumit Ishai (University of Zürich), Stefan a meaning of ‘the global’ that cannot be re- with the Society for Phenomenology and Koelsch (University of Sussex), Helmut Leder duced to universalism and unification? Can Existential Philosophy (University of Vienna), David Miall (University we seek shelter in a legitimate way? Arlington, Virginia of Alberta), Marcos Nadal (Universitat de 29 October 2009 les Illes Balears), Martin Skov (Copenha- In the last decade, the IAA has developed gen University Hospital Hvidovre), Christa into a truly international forum. In 2003 the For further information contact by email Sütterlin (The Max-Planck-Society), Oshin International Congress was held in Rio de . Vartanian (DRDC Toronto), Edward Vessel Janeiro with participants from 35 countries (NYU Center for Neural Science), and Dahlia and five continents; the 2007 International W. Zaidel (UCLA). Congress in Ankara counted participants from 42 countries, many of them from Africa, For more information, contact or see . topics and this DAF conference will continue

Summer 2009 13 Faith, Film, and Philosophy: “The Lives Charles Darwin and the 150th Anniversary interdisciplinary understanding or applica- of Others: Human Transformation and of the publication of Origins of Species at tion of music cognition, perception, action, Film” San Diego State University, 20-22 November performance and communication. It follows Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington 2009. For more information, contact: Mark the successful inaugural conference held in 6-7 November 2009 Wheeler, Symposium Chair Department of 2007 and is organised jointly by the Austral- Philosophy, SDSU (619) 594-6706 or by ian Music & Psychology Society (AMPS) and Gonzaga University’s Faith and Reason email: . HCSNet. ICoMCS2 will be held in Sydney, Institute and Whitworth University’s Wey- 3-4 December 2009, during the week-long erhaeuser Center for Faith and Learning HCSNet SummerFest with HCSNet summer are pleased to announce their Third Annual Style in Theory/Styling Theory: Inaugural school courses linked to ICoMCS2. A keynote Seminar on Faith, Film and Philosophy, en- Event, International Literary Criticism and address at ICoMCS2 will be Eckhart Alten- titled “The Lives of Others: Human Trans- Theory Conference Series müller: “Is Music the Universal Language formation and Film.” The seminar and its University of Malta, Valetta, Malta of Emotions--Some Insights from the ‘Chill- associated public lectures are part of a series 26-28 November 2009 Response’.” of jointly-sponsored programs focused on “Faith, Reason and Popular Culture.” The Confirmed Speakers: Catherine Belsey, Si- The broad theme of music communica- conviction behind these programs is that if mon Critchley, Stefan Herbrechter, Giuseppe tion science is designed to attract people Christian institutions of higher learning are Mazzotta, Laurent Milesi, Jean-Michel Ra- from all walks of research and performance to respond properly to their charge to be baté. Organizers: Ivan Callus, James Cor- life, including musicologists, psychologists, places where faith seeks understanding, then by, Gloria Lauri-Lucente Contact E-Mail: educators, linguists, ethnomusicologists, they must engage contemporary popular . Website: composers, engineers, computer scientists, culture. Film is among the most power- . and performance artists. Research topics Thus, the seminar organizers seek scholars include music performance, perception, and who will engage in two days of discussion cognition, intermodal processes, music in- investigating issues of faith and philosophi- Australian Society for Continental Phi- formation retrieval, audio-visual search and cal import raised by contemporary popular losophy Annual Conference: Philosophy retrieval, music, language, and speech, gen- film. Presenters need not have any formal and the Work of Art erative systems, music and medicine, music academic appointment. Monash University, Caulfield Campus, Aus- education, ethnomusicology, music therapy, tralia sonification, spatialization, musical interfaces, Seminar sessions will take place on Friday 29 November- 1 December 2009 digital media, interactive arts, psychophysics (6 November) and Saturday (7 Novem- and psychoacoustics. Submissions for per- ber). Public lectures associated with the Keynote Speakers will include: Tina Chanter formance and installation sessions are also seminar will be given on the evenings of (De Paul University, Chicago), Miguel de welcome. For more information, including 4-6 November 2009. This year’s seminar Beistegui (Warwick University, UK), Rosalyn details of submission formats and important theme takes its inspiration from the German Diprose (University of New South Wales, dates, please see: . is not the focus of the seminar. The film fol- Houston). The Conference will also include lows Captain Gerd Wiesler of the East Ger- special sessions on the work of: Genevieve man State Security (Stasi) as he carries out Lloyd (Macquarie University, Australia), Jeff American Society for Aesthetics Program his assignment to supervise an “Operative Malpas (University of Tasmania, Australia), for the Group Meetings at the Eastern Procedure” requiring close monitoring and Paul Redding (University of Sydney, Aus- Division Meeting of the American Philo- surveillance of a prominent playwright and tralia). sophical Association his associates. Wiesler is profoundly af- New York, New York fected by what he observes and is thereby For more information please visit the confer- 27-30 December 2009 transformed. We wish to explore human ence website at: or contact Dr. Rob- The topic of this program will be: Author physical, psychological, social—both as it ert Sinnerbrink, Lecturer, Department of Meets Critics: Noël Carroll’s On Criticism. is portrayed in contemporary film and as Philosophy, Building W6A, Balaclava Rd., The program will be chaired by James Harold contemporary film seeks to promote such Macquarie University North Ryde, NSW (Mount Holyoke College). transformation. 2109, Sydney Australia, e-mail: . Tel: +61 2 9850 9935. Critics will be Jonathan Gilmore (Yale Uni- For further information consult . staff/sinnerbrink.htm> Buffalo, SUNY), and James Shelley (Auburn University). Noël Carroll (The Graduate Center, City University of New York) wil re- 150 Years of Evolution: Darwin’s Impact 2nd International Conference on Music spond. on the Humanities and Social Sciences Communication Science (ICoMCS2) San Diego University, San Diego, California Sydney, Australia For specific details, see the APA website: 20—22 November 2009 3-4 December 2009 . 150 Years of Evolution: Darwin’s Impact on The 2nd International Conference on Mu- the Humanities and Social Sciences is a sic Communication Science (ICoMCS2) symposium in honor of the 200th Birthday of will bring together people interested in an

14 ASA Newsletter RITA RALEY published Tactical Media, from sue prize to the Council of Editors of Learned Active the University of Minnesota Press. Societies. In addition, Ellen was elected to membership in the New York Institute for the Aestheticians MONIQUE ROELOFS has edited Aesthetics Humanities, and was awarded a fellowship and Race: New Philosophical Perspectives,in and served as the Erik H. Erikson Scholar in TSION AVITAL has published the Chinese Contemporary Aesthetics, Special Volume residence at the Austen Riggs Center, Stock- edition of his book Art Versus Nonart: Art 2 (2009). Bringing together postcolonial, bridge, Massachusetts. Ellen also wrote a Out of Mind, originally published in English feminist, and critical race theorists, aestheti- quarterly column on the arts and aesthet- by Cambridge University Press, 2003. The cians, political philosophers, and artists, this ics for American Imago, a journal originally Publisher of the Chinese edition is The Com- special volume explores the connections founded in 1939 and currently published by mercial Press, Beijing. between aesthetics and race. Eleven essays the Johns Hopkins University Press. on “looks and images,” “framing encounters,” MATTHEW BIRO published The Dada Cy- “the global and the cosmopolitan,” “taste,” THOMAS WARTENBERG’S new book, Big borg: Visions of the New Human in Wei- and “ethics and politics” address philosophi- Ideas for Little Kids: Teaching Philosophy mar Berlin, with the University of Minnesota cal questions in this multidisciplinary field. Through Children’s Literature has just been Press. Contributors include Nalini Bhushan, Namita published by Rowman and Littlefield Educa- Goswami, Robin James, Mariana Ortega, tion. Tom has also begun a 3-year term on JAMES HAROLD recently became the Di- Mickaella Perina, Monique Roelofs, Crispin the APA Committee for Pre-College Instruc- rector of the Weissman Center for Leadership Sartwell, Falguni A. Sheth, Mariángeles Soto- tion in Philosophy and has been appointed and the Liberal Arts at Mount Holyoke Col- Díaz, Ronald Sundstrom, and Paul C. Taylor. to the advisory board of the Squire Family lege, as well as the Book Review Editor for The volume is freely available at Art Criticism. contempaesthetics.org>.

ANDREW KANIA has edited a collection of ELLEN HANDLER SPITZ guest edited a essays on the film Memento, which has just Special Issue of The Journal of Aesthetic come out in Routledge’s series Philosophers Education, on Children’s Literature, Vol. 43, on Film. It includes essays by Andrew Kania, No. 2, Summer 2009. The University of Illi- Noël Carroll, and Deborah Knight & George nois Press has submitted it for the special is- McKnight (co-authors), among others.

ASA Annual Meeting Information

The meeting will be heldo on 21-24 October 2009 at the Warwick Denver Hotel. The theme is Art, Nature, and Freedom; the Plenary Lecture is to be given by Denis Dutton, and the Inaugural Wollheim Memorial Lecture will be given by Peter Lamarque.

Register online at our secure website: or download the reg- istration form and mail it with payment to The American Society for Aesthetics c/o Dabney Townsend P. O. Box 915 Pooler, GA 31322-0915 Early registration deadline is 28 September 2009; registration on site adds $25. Refunds less 10% until 27 September 2009. No refunds after 27 September 2009 except for special circumstances.

Please make your hotel reservations directly with the hotel and specify that you are re- questing the American Society for Aesthetics rate of $149 (single or double) so that we will be sure to meet our room pick-up guarantee. The hotel information is: Warwick Den- ver Hotel 1776 Grant Street Denver CO 80203 Phone: 800-525-2888 or 303-861-2000 Fax: 720.207.2202, . The deadline for reservations is 28 September 2009.

Summer 2009 15 American Society for ­Aesthetics Non-Profit Organization Armstrong Atlantic State University U.S. POSTAGE 11935 Abercorn Street PAID Savannah GA USA SAVANNAH GA Permit No. 1565 31419

ASA Newsletter edited by David Goldblatt and Henry Pratt ISSN 1089-1668

The Newsletter is published three times a year by the ­American Society for Aesthetics. Subscriptions are available to non-mem- bers for $15 per year plus postage. For subscription or membership information: ASA, Armstrong Atlantic State University, 11935 Abercorn St., Savannah GA, USA 31419; Tel. 912-961-3189; Fax: 912-961-1395; email: .

Send calls for papers, event announcements, conference reports, and other items of interest to:

David Goldblatt, Department of Philosophy, Denison University, Granville, OH 43023, or Henry Pratt, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Marist College, 3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601,

Deadlines: November 1, April 15, August 1

16 ASA Newsletter