31 August – 4 September 2026 , Università di Genova
Organized by Società Italiana di Estetica
and the ERC project “PEA – The Philosophy of Experiential Artifacts” (G.A. n. 101040535)

The Summer School aims to offer students, PhD candidates, and early-career researchers (PhD awarded in 2020 or later) an intensive five-day teaching and research programme that brings together aesthetics, philosophy of technology, and philosophy of mind. The goal is to investigate the relationship between art, technology and experience.

On the one hand, works of art are created entities just like artefacts. On the other hand, artefacts have functions but determining the function of art in general, and of individual works of art, is a problematic and divisive task in contemporary aesthetics. A possible solution to this problem is to reconceive works of art as artefacts whose function is to generate experiences. In this way, for instance, paintings can be assigned the function of eliciting visual experiences, and novels the function of generating imaginative experiences. Developing this proposal requires bringing aesthetics into dialogue with the philosophy of technology, in order to develop the notion of experiential function, and with the philosophy of mind, in order to analyse the experiences to be associated with different works of art. The Summer School’s programme will draw on the invited speakers’ specialised expertise in each of the research areas mentioned, providing interdisciplinary training on the relationship between art, technology and experience, so as to lead participants to develop personal research on this topic.

The Summer School is organised across five consecutive days: an initial half-day introduction (Day 1, afternoon only), three central days (Days 2-4), and a final day (Day 5). The structure is as follows: three conference sessions and three workshop sessions during the central days, preceded by a preparatory meeting and followed by a session in which students present their work, and a concluding roundtable.

In order to ensure that the workshop activities are focused, applicants are required to submit, as part of the application, a research idea (max 500 words) to be developed during the summer school workshops. The research idea will be used for selection, for the assignment of tutors, and as a reference point for the last day’s presentations to be developed during the afternoon workshop meetings. See below for further instructions on the submission process.

Coordinator: Enrico Terrone (Università di Genova)

Invited speakers:

María José Alcaraz León (Universidad de Murcia)
Elisa Caldarola (Università di Torino)
Simon Evnine (University of Miami)
Anna Giustina (Universitat de Valencia)
Wybo Houkes (Eindhoven University of Technology)
Derek Matravers (The Open University)
Elisabeth Schellekens (Uppsala Universitet)

Tutors: Luca Marchetti (Università di Genova), Nick Young (Università di Genova)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Please submit proposals by writing to: pea@unige.it

Submissions should be done as PDF files prepared for blind review and include:

• a research idea (max. 500 words, references excluded);
• a Curriculum Vitae;
• a motivation letter (max. 1 page).

The deadline for receipt is 30 April 2026.

Participants will be notified of decisions by 31 May 2026.

There will be no participation fee. Selected participants will be provided with accommodation for six nights, as well as lunches and coffee breaks during the Summer School. Travel support of up to €300 per person will also be available.

Supported by a ������Ƶ Small Grant

Organisers:

Lead: Vanessa Brassey (King’s College London, Centre for Philosophy & Art)
Advisory: Sacha Golob (King’s College London)
Advisory: Derek Matravers (The Open University)
Institutional affiliations: King’s College London; Centre for Philosophy & Art (); ������Ƶ; GLAM sector.

Overview

From oral dialogue to print, to broadcast, and now digital media, new technology reshapes how philosophical ideas are formatted. Although film-based research is increasingly recognised as a rigorous scholarly format, many philosophers lack the training and resources needed to use moving-image production to extend the reach and clarity of their work.

This project offers researchers the opportunity to develop a short research film or video essay with an experienced production team, funded by the ������Ƶ. Films will be approximately 10 minutes (or shorter). No prior experience in film or media production is required.

The production team (Vanessa Brassey and Jenny Bell) will produce the films and support selected researchers step by step through the process of:

1. Concept development

2. Scripting and budgets

3. Filming

4. Editing

5. Output formatting

Selected participants will be required to take part in an online masterclass reflecting on the process later in the year. This class will be advertised separately and will be open to all researchers.

Distribution

Completed films will be available open access, hosted via the Centre for Philosophy and Art, and shared through YouTube and ������Ƶ channels. All films will include subtitles and full transcripts for accessibility. 

Theme

The theme of the Open Call is “A New Philosophical Perspective on Art”, where ‘art’ is understood broadly to encompass both visual and narrative media.

We are particularly interested in contributions that turn on a clean, focused philosophical move, for example:

— a neat logical insight

— a counterexample that unsettles a familiar assumption

— the identification of a previously overlooked problem

— a claim defended with elegant precision

— a clarification that brings unexpected simplicity to a difficult idea

Topics for Submission

Submissions should address any of the following themes in an artistic context:

representation and depiction;

emotions and their expression;

space and time;

memory, dreams and related mental states;

perspectives and perspective taking.

Key Dates

Given the collaborative nature of the project, the selection process will take place in two stages, allowing room for the practical demands of filming and production.

The proposed schedule is:

• Call for Papers: opens December 2025; deadline 15 January 2026

• Notification of Shortlist: end January 2026, 

• Online Meetings with shortlist candidates: early February 2026

• Notification to participants: end February 2026, 

• Scripting & Filming window: April–May 2026

• Edited films completed: Summer 2026

• Masterclass online workshop session: Autumn 2026

How to Submit

We invite proposals rather than full papers. Submissions must include:

• Title;

• Abstract (approx. 200 words);

• A concise statement of the argument (this can be one line each for premises and conclusion with a short introductory paragraph, (when submitted as a prose max 350 words);

• A short contextual paragraph (max 150 words) outlining the debate you are engaging with, how your proposal sits within or departs from work in related disciplines, and any artworks essential to your discussion;

• Eight keywords;

• A brief researcher biography (maximum 100 words);

Please submit your proposal as a Word document or PDF to:vanessa.1.brassey[at]

Eligibility

The opportunity is open to PhD students, early-career researchers, and established academics. We aim to ensure that the workshop reflects the breadth of researchers working in the field, and we actively welcome submissions from groups underrepresented in philosophy, including those who are BAME, disabled, trans or non-binary, from low-income backgrounds, or first-generation university attendees.

Diversity considerations will inform decisions at each stage of selection and planning. Graduate and early-career researchers who require travel support are encouraged to apply to the ������Ƶ Travel Stipend scheme; where applicants have already used the annual allowance or are unsuccessful, limited support may be available through this project.

Enquiries: vanessa.1.brassey[at]

The Team

Vanessa Brassey (KCL)

Vanessa Brassey spent many years in corporate and commercial branding and creative production. She completed her PhD at King’s College London in 2020, became a Lecturer in the department, was the ������Ƶ Fellow in 2022–23, and has been Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Arts since 2021. Her research focuses on emotional expression in art, with emphasis on imagination and emotional perspective. She is published in several peer-reviewed journals, and edited a collection for Routledge on The Expression of Emotion in the Visual Arts (2025). She has produced short-form philosophy films for The National Gallery, three one-hour specials on Time and Beauty, and an animated explanation of Richard Wollheim’s theory of expression. She will lead on production, administration, and participant support.

Sacha Golob (KCL)

An internationally recognised expert on post-Kantian philosophy and Co-Editor of the British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Sacha Golob has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles and is author of a monograph on Heidegger (CUP) and the forthcoming Cambridge Handbook of Continental Philosophy. He co-directs the Centre for Philosophy and Art and is collaborating with the Francis Bacon Estate on a phenomenological study of Bacon’s work.

Derek Matravers (Open University; Cambridge)

Professor of Philosophy at The Open University and Extraordinary Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, Derek Matravers’ books include Art and Emotion (OUP, 1998), Introducing Philosophy of Art (Routledge, 2013), Fiction and Narrative (OUP, 2014), and, with Helen Frowe, Stones and Lives: The Ethics of Protecting Heritage in War(OUP, 2024). He co-edits The British Journal of Aesthetics.

Jenny Bell (Envis Media)

Our preferred video-production partner, with extensive experience producing philosophy films as well as hundreds of commercial works. Director Jen Bell has over seventeen years’ experience in filming and editing, specialising in storytelling and visual clarity. Her work is known for its collaborative and highly personal approach.

Aesthetics
Contemporary Philosophy
Philosophy of Education
Political Philosophy
Philosophy of Science

You can find the full information on the University of Barcelona’s website. (Please note, the information and application form are in Catalan.)

Announcement of Call for competition for 226 places for the selection of lecturers under a temporary employment contract at the University of Barcelona (María Goyri Program):��

Places at the Faculty of Philosophy:��

The application submission period begins on November 28, 2024 and ends on January 8, 2025, both inclusive.

How does it work?
On tutors are trained to deliver a research-based programme – either one based on their academic research or a pre-designed programme. They deliver this course in university-style tutorials to groups of 7.

To help fit alongside their other commitments, tutors indicate their availability on a termly basis. Placements are paid from £605 per placement, with an additional £161 for designing a Scholars Programme course (plus London weighting). Travel expenses are also paid.

For more information, register to attend an .

To apply, fill in the application form .

If you have any queries, please get in touch via apply@thebrilliantclub.org.