The 23rd Annual CUNY Graduate Student Philosophy Conference invites graduate students to submit their work engaging with philosophical topics and traditions that consider or bridge the analytic/continental divide. The analytic/continental division typically assumes contrasting notions of what philosophy ‘is’ and what it ought to be. The divide also describes the varying methodologies employed when we practice philosophy. Whether it refers to meta-philosophical commitments or strategies used, the divide can do exactly that – divide. When concerned with the nature of philosophy and how one ought to conceive of the practice the stakes can be high; when we ask, “What counts as philosophy?” we implicitly ask, “What doesn’t ‘count’ as philosophy?” This conference aims to explore issues that need to be explored by the philosophical community at large, especially when the legitimacy of certain practices are under scrutiny. The conference also aims to create a space where we can learn to ask better questions concerning the nature of our academic practices, the traditions we draw from, the methodologies we employ, and the topics we consider.
Keynote speaker: Talia Mae Bettcher (California State University, Los Angeles)
We are particularly interested in papers from all areas of philosophy that:
- explore the meta-philosophical or sociological questions concerning the analytical/continental divide without exclusionary border-policing. Is such a divide legitimate? What has motivated this divide? What are the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the divide? How can we bridge or dismantle the divide? Etc.
- broadly engage with the question of “what can philosophy be?” How can philosophy establish fewer borders and more bridges?
- engage with philosophers (i.e. Rorty, Badiou, Williams, etc.), philosophical topics (i.e. race, gender, coloniality, etc.), and/or traditions (i.e. critical race theory, feminist philosophy, queer theory, postcolonial/decolonial theory, etc.) that have always or currently do bridge the analytic/continental divide, again without exclusionary border-policing.
- explore the analytic/continental divide in an interdisciplinary manner drawing from sociology, critical psychology, gender studies, race studies, literature, history, the arts, etc.
The conference is committed to providing a platform for marginalized persons and topics in the discipline. In answering some of the questions presented we highly encourage papers regarding, among other topics: critical race theory, feminist philosophy, queer theory, trans philosophy, and disabilities studies. Speakers from marginalized groups in the discipline are strongly encouraged to submit. Any abstracts that aim to discredit already marginalized philosophers or philosophies are strongly discouraged.
Facts about the increasing collective human influence on biological systems, from local ecosystems to planetary-level Earth systems, support the proposal that we now live in the Anthropocene. What do such facts imply, if anything, about norms and values guiding land management and conservation practices going forward? Do facts about anthropogenic drivers that can result in undesirable and irreversible changes to ecological and Earth systems license further intentional interventions and underwrite calls for “planetary management”? What would appropriate respect for wildness look like on a human-dominated planet? If human influence on environmental systems pushes them over thresholds into radically new states, are received Western or Indigenous ideologies sufficient to guide an appropriate response? How should we think about responding to such radical environmental change? How, if at all, should environmental ethics adapt to the Anthropocene?
September 4 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr University, Bochum)
Urban Aesthetics, Capabilities, and The Pursuit of Well-Being
September 18 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Antony Aumann (Northern Michigan University)
On Being Transformed by Literature: from Inspiration to Conversion
October 2 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alex King (Simon Fraser University)
Exquisite Feeling
October 16 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Joe Han (New York University)
Games, Art and The Magic Circle (provisional title)
October 30 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Vanda Metzger (Bergen Community College)
Aesthetics of Ornament
November 6 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Jeffrey Strayer (Purdue University Fort Wayne)
Art and Identity: Nothing, Something, and Everything
November 13 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Laura Di Summa (William Paterson University)
Who’s Reading? Children’s Aesthetics and an Epistemology of Parenting Through Picture Books (provisional title)
November 27 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Francesco Campana (University of Padua – The New School)
Artistic Space as Political Space
—
Upon entering the building, non-CUNY attendants will need to show an ordinary ID at the front desk.
—
Elisa Caldarola
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
RTDb
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin
September 4 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr University, Bochum)
Urban Aesthetics, Capabilities, and The Pursuit of Well-Being
September 18 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Antony Aumann (Northern Michigan University)
On Being Transformed by Literature: from Inspiration to Conversion
October 2 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alex King (Simon Fraser University)
Exquisite Feeling
October 16 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Joe Han (New York University)
Games, Art and The Magic Circle (provisional title)
October 30 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Vanda Metzger (Bergen Community College)
Aesthetics of Ornament
November 6 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Jeffrey Strayer (Purdue University Fort Wayne)
Art and Identity: Nothing, Something, and Everything
November 13 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Laura Di Summa (William Paterson University)
Who’s Reading? Children’s Aesthetics and an Epistemology of Parenting Through Picture Books (provisional title)
November 27 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Francesco Campana (University of Padua – The New School)
Artistic Space as Political Space
—
Upon entering the building, non-CUNY attendants will need to show an ordinary ID at the front desk.
—
Elisa Caldarola
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
RTDb
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin
September 4 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr University, Bochum)
Urban Aesthetics, Capabilities, and The Pursuit of Well-Being
September 18 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Antony Aumann (Northern Michigan University)
On Being Transformed by Literature: from Inspiration to Conversion
October 2 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alex King (Simon Fraser University)
Exquisite Feeling
October 16 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Joe Han (New York University)
Games, Art and The Magic Circle (provisional title)
October 30 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Vanda Metzger (Bergen Community College)
Aesthetics of Ornament
November 6 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Jeffrey Strayer (Purdue University Fort Wayne)
Art and Identity: Nothing, Something, and Everything
November 13 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Laura Di Summa (William Paterson University)
Who’s Reading? Children’s Aesthetics and an Epistemology of Parenting Through Picture Books (provisional title)
November 27 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Francesco Campana (University of Padua – The New School)
Artistic Space as Political Space
—
Upon entering the building, non-CUNY attendants will need to show an ordinary ID at the front desk.
—
Elisa Caldarola
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
RTDb
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin
The philosophy of art, as practiced in the western world, has tended to have two divided homes: in analytic philosophy and continental philosophy. Within the analytic tradition, the philosophy of art has recently undergone a revival with the emphasis on perception. This has more closely aligned art theory to science and questions of biology as well as to issues within psychology. The continental tradition has traditionally drawn upon phenomenology’s first-person experience with its ties to embodied perception as well as the social and historical concerns of the social aspect of art. In the realm itself of visual art, the state of (so-called) post-post modernism has resulted in both the dissolution of belief in progress and even, according to some art critics, a lamentable stagnation. But many philosophers of the last century, beginning with Walter Benjamin, Adorno, Nelson Goodman, etc., have suggested that art needs to be thought of within its social, pragmatic, or epistemological functions, suggesting perhaps a need to think of art outside the confines of modernism’s stylistic revolutions and formalist issues. Relatedly, the pluralism within science could be accessed as model for this enterprise. Multiple views on a phenomenon are required due to the complexity of the enterprise, and the practice of both making art and of perceiving it might be in that category. This conference seeks to bring these strands, the analytical and the continental ones, together and evaluate how to move forward with art theory in an age of globalization.
We welcome submissions on these possible questions:
1. Should we value a diversity of perspectives in art theory? If so, what is the value? If not, why not?
2. Are there aspects of art that we presume to be universal that are, in fact, culturally situated?
3. How should different ways of experiencing art be characterized?
4. What is the epistemological function of art?
5. How does the monetary role in art affect both the artist and the perceiver of art?
6. How do the mechanics of seeing (e.g., gist perception, peripheral vision, etc.) affect how we experience art?
7. How does the practice of making art relate to the first-person experience?
8. What role does Husserl’s “bracketing” have in the viewing or making of art?
9. Are there specific non-western traditions that provide a better explanatory solution for the role of art than have the competing paradigms of continental and analytic?
We welcome your participation and look forward to your contributions. Papers should not extend over 45 minutes. Q & A are 15 minutes.
To submit anonymized abstract BY JULY 15, 2024: papers: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5c9bmoBYb3hCAb0YWWfzV0BLWbhig2PD5VeKU358VA3RKGw/viewform?usp=sf_link
September 4 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr University, Bochum)
Urban Aesthetics, Capabilities, and The Pursuit of Well-Being
September 18 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Antony Aumann (Northern Michigan University)
On Being Transformed by Literature: from Inspiration to Conversion
October 2 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alex King (Simon Fraser University)
Exquisite Feeling
October 16 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Joe Han (New York University)
Games, Art and The Magic Circle (provisional title)
October 30 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Vanda Metzger (Bergen Community College)
Aesthetics of Ornament
November 6 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Jeffrey Strayer (Purdue University Fort Wayne)
Art and Identity: Nothing, Something, and Everything
November 13 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Laura Di Summa (William Paterson University)
Who’s Reading? Children’s Aesthetics and an Epistemology of Parenting Through Picture Books (provisional title)
November 27 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Francesco Campana (University of Padua – The New School)
Artistic Space as Political Space
—
Upon entering the building, non-CUNY attendants will need to show an ordinary ID at the front desk.
—
Elisa Caldarola
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
RTDb
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin
September 4 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr University, Bochum)
Urban Aesthetics, Capabilities, and The Pursuit of Well-Being
September 18 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Antony Aumann (Northern Michigan University)
On Being Transformed by Literature: from Inspiration to Conversion
October 2 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alex King (Simon Fraser University)
Exquisite Feeling
October 16 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Joe Han (New York University)
Games, Art and The Magic Circle (provisional title)
October 30 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Vanda Metzger (Bergen Community College)
Aesthetics of Ornament
November 6 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Jeffrey Strayer (Purdue University Fort Wayne)
Art and Identity: Nothing, Something, and Everything
November 13 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Laura Di Summa (William Paterson University)
Who’s Reading? Children’s Aesthetics and an Epistemology of Parenting Through Picture Books (provisional title)
November 27 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Francesco Campana (University of Padua – The New School)
Artistic Space as Political Space
—
Upon entering the building, non-CUNY attendants will need to show an ordinary ID at the front desk.
—
Elisa Caldarola
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
RTDb
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin
September 4 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr University, Bochum)
Urban Aesthetics, Capabilities, and The Pursuit of Well-Being
September 18 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Antony Aumann (Northern Michigan University)
On Being Transformed by Literature: from Inspiration to Conversion
October 2 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alex King (Simon Fraser University)
Exquisite Feeling
October 16 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Joe Han (New York University)
Games, Art and The Magic Circle (provisional title)
October 30 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Vanda Metzger (Bergen Community College)
Aesthetics of Ornament
November 6 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Jeffrey Strayer (Purdue University Fort Wayne)
Art and Identity: Nothing, Something, and Everything
November 13 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Laura Di Summa (William Paterson University)
Who’s Reading? Children’s Aesthetics and an Epistemology of Parenting Through Picture Books (provisional title)
November 27 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Francesco Campana (University of Padua – The New School)
Artistic Space as Political Space
—
Upon entering the building, non-CUNY attendants will need to show an ordinary ID at the front desk.
—
Elisa Caldarola
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
RTDb
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin
September 4 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alfredo Vernazzani (Ruhr University, Bochum)
Urban Aesthetics, Capabilities, and The Pursuit of Well-Being
September 18 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Antony Aumann (Northern Michigan University)
On Being Transformed by Literature: from Inspiration to Conversion
October 2 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Alex King (Simon Fraser University)
Exquisite Feeling
October 16 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Joe Han (New York University)
Games, Art and The Magic Circle (provisional title)
October 30 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Vanda Metzger (Bergen Community College)
Aesthetics of Ornament
November 6 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Jeffrey Strayer (Purdue University Fort Wayne)
Art and Identity: Nothing, Something, and Everything
November 13 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Laura Di Summa (William Paterson University)
Who’s Reading? Children’s Aesthetics and an Epistemology of Parenting Through Picture Books (provisional title)
November 27 (Wed), 11.45 – 1.15
Francesco Campana (University of Padua – The New School)
Artistic Space as Political Space
—
Upon entering the building, non-CUNY attendants will need to show an ordinary ID at the front desk.
—
Elisa Caldarola
Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
RTDb
Department of Philosophy and Education Sciences, University of Turin