A memorial celebration reflecting the many talents of Naomi Weisstein, radical feminist activist, psychologist, neuroscientist, author, and founder of the Chicago Women’s Liberation Rock Band.
A multi-media event, it will include recordings of the Chicago and New Haven Women’s Liberation Rock Band, photographs of Naomi by New Haven feminist Virginia Blaisdell, a selection of Naomi’s feminist cartoons.
Confirmed speakers are: Heather Booth (activist, founder of Jane, the early feminist abortion group), Patrick Cavanagh (neuroscientist), Martin Duberman (historian), Amy Kesselman (feminist historian), Jesse Lemisch (New Left Historian / activist, husband), Alix Kates Shulman (feminist novelist), Gloria Steinem (feminist, journalist, activist).
The event is co-sponsored by The Digital Humanities Initiative, Gender Studies, and Historical Studies.
“Sometimes people who are together are, if not hostile to one another, at least estranged in mood and feeling till perchance a story, a performance, a picture, or even a building, but most often of all music, unites them all as by an electric flash, and in place of their former isolation or even enmity they are all conscious of union and mutual love. Each is glad that another feels what he feels; glad of the communion established, not only between him and all present, but also with all now living who will yet share the same impression; and more than that, he feels the mysterious gladness of a communion which, reaching beyond the grave, unites us with all men of the past who have been moved by the same feelings, and with all men of the future who will yet be touched by them.“ – Tolstoy, “What is Art?”
What is it for a piece of music to express emotions like sadness or caring or joy? What role do emotions play in how we receive a piece of music? And what are emotions, exactly?
Coming up on Wednesday, October 17th at 7:30 PM, Saam Trivedi (Brooklyn College, author of the newly released Imagination, Music, and the Emotions: A Philosophical Study), joins us to share his work on these very questions. Here’s some more about the talk, in Dr. Trivedi’s own words.
“Emotions and Music”
I will begin with some brief remarks about the emotions. Next, I will discuss three philosophical theories about musical expressiveness. Finally, I will discuss one philosophical view about musical arousal.
As usual, we meet in the Dweck Center of the Grand Army Plaza branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Please note the time change: future BKPP talks will start at 7:30.
Tell your friends/co-workers/strangers! Bring a musician! Bring the last person you went to a concert with! See you there, I hope!
The extraordinary power of music to communicate complex emotions and thoughts has fascinated scholars for centuries. Music taps into cognitive mechanisms that govern our daily interactions with the world, such as expectations and violations of these expectations, and appears to have much in common with language. In addition, music plays social and ethical functions that can be understood from philosophical, historical, and cultural perspectives.
Join us for a discussion with three renowned scholars from the humanities and cognitive science who will show how these modes of inquiry bear on each other – and explain what makes music mean.
Speakers:
David Huron, Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor, School of Music & Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ohio State University
Aniruddh D. Patel, Professor of Psychology, Tufts University
Elizabeth Tolbert, Professor of Musicology, Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University
Moderators:
Andrew Goldman, Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience, Columbia University
Jacqueline Gottlieb, Professor of Neuroscience, Columbia University
The event is co-sponsored by the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies and Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience. Free and open to the public.
Nietzsche Circle Presents: An Evening with Music and Philosophy
Speakers:
- Michael Teinmann
- Yunus Tuncel
Pianist:
- Aysegul Durakoglu
RSVP required!
Refreshments will be served. If you like to attend, Please RSVP by sending email to Luke Trusso at trussol@nietzschecircle.com
It has been said that there are not different “types” or categories of music, only good music and bad music. How can we know the difference between good and bad music however? Well, on some accounts, there are indeed different types (‘low’ vs ‘high’ art), some of which are by definition bad, others good. Yet, on other accounts, music is music – there are no essential differences in kind, and it is simply each listener’s favorable or unfavorable reaction to any given song or piece of music that decides its quality. In very broad strokes, these two contrasting orientations represent attitudes common in modernist and postmodernist theories, respectively. In the former, Western classical music was privileged (unjustly, in some respects) above all other kinds. However, the latter orientation, which is currently in fashion, seems to reduce all musical meaning and appraisal to little more than our own mental projections. In this presentation, a third, alternative way to identify musical “types” is proposed, one that seeks to illuminate meaningful musical distinctions in the natures and functions of three musical kinds (folk, mass, and art music), with some surprising results. A brief piano performance will precede the talk.
Monday, December 11, 2017 at 6pm. This event is part of the Philosophy Series at The Cornelia Street Café, located at 29 Cornelia Street, New York, NY 10014 (near Sixth Avenue and West 4th St.). Admission is $10, which includes the price of one drink. Reservations are recommended (212. 989.9319)
Jason Cutmore is a concert pianist, teacher, and the founder and director of the Canadian music festival, Alberta Pianofest. He has performed solo piano and collaborative recitals across much of North America, Europe, and India, and has published articles in peer review journals and trade magazines. Mr Cutmore lives in New York City, and is currently completing a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Over the course of his 49 year career (48 years of which were spent at Rutgers), Peter established himself as a giant in the field of aesthetics, especially in the philosophy of music. Sadly, Peter passed away in 2017. To honor his memory, the Rutgers Philosophy Department is hosting a one-day conference on October 26, 2018, celebrating his life’s philosophical work.
The Conference will include talks by Christy Mag Uidhir (Houston), Jenefer Robinson (Cincinnati), Jerrold Levinson (Maryland), and David Davies (McGill). In addition, Aaron Meskin (Leeds) will introduce and read Peter Kivy’s unpublished ‘The Case of (Digital) Wagner.’ Finally, there will be a time set aside for remembrances from Peter’s friends and colleagues.
All are welcome to attend the conference. There is no registration fee; however, attendees are encouraged to pre-register (so that we have an accurate headcount for the lunch and reception). To pre-register, please email us at kivymemorial@philosophy.rutgers.edu
Conference Information
October 26, 2018
9:30 am – 5:00 pm – Conference
5:00 am – 6:15 pm – Reception
The conference and reception will take place at the Teleconference Room on the 4th Floor of Alexander Library (169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ). In addition to the reception at the close of the conference, a catered lunch will be served.
The exact conference schedule will be posted soon.
Questions can be directed to kivymemorial@philosophy.rutgers.edu