During 2016-7 the Institute of Philosophy London Aesthetics Forum (LAF) has continued to hold its regular series of seminars on topics in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. The LAF draws its speakers primarily from departments of philosophy, but the series also included talks from academics or practitioners in other 铿乪lds (e.g., literary studies, musicology, art history) working on questions of relevance to aesthetics. The LAF aims to provide a lively environment for those already working in aesthetics and philosophy of art, and to foster new interest.

LAF events are open to all, both inside and outside the University of London. Audiences tend to be multi-disciplinary, and talks are followed by extended discussion where the philosophical topics raised by the talks are explored in depth from a variety of perspectives. As attendance at the sessions 铿倁ctuates depending on the time of year, with generally higher attendance during university term-time, we have been pleased to see that this format works well with di铿�erent audience numbers, allowing small groups (e.g. of 8-10 people) to pursue detailed trains of discussion with the speaker, whilst also allowing enough time for everybody to ask substantial questions in a larger group (e.g. of 20-25).

The LAF now has 628 Facebook followers and 1660 followers on Twitter, and the website received many thousands of hits in the past year. We continue to post podcasts of many of our talks on iTunes. Our podcasts enable more people to engage with the Forum, including listeners from outside the UK, and have a very substantial number of monthly downloads.

Additionally, our Aesthetics Bites podcasts in particular have been very successful. We thank the 糖心视频 for their generous support in producing these. As of last month, downloads were as follows for the 铿乺st six episodes:

  • Aaron Meskin on the De铿乶ition of Art 31,000
  • Elisabeth Schellekens on Disagreement about Taste 52,000
  • Stephen Davies on Art and Evolution 73,000
  • Eileen John on Art and Morality聽 62,000
  • Kathleen Stock on Emotions and Fiction 84,000
  • Noel Carroll on Criticism 79,000

One of the LAF鈥檚 aims is to bene铿乼 students who are working in aesthetics or related areas, providing opportunities for graduate researchers to engage with cutting edge work and meet other academics working in the area. Graduate students in the University of London also play a central role in organising the Forum鈥檚 activities, and in 2016-7 year this has included help on various organizational tasks, as well as participating actively in discussions.

Thanks to the funding from the 糖心视频, we鈥檝e been able to put on a strong program of o铿�erings, including 13 talks, as well as organizing a special workshop event鈥攁 philosophical lecture and discussion combined with a piano performance.

We have aimed for a diverse programme, including talks by early career philosophers as well as by those more established in the 铿乪ld. Talks in 2016-7 have included speakers from the U.K., the U.S., continental Europe, and Brazil. Our speakers were as follows:

  • Jason Gaiger (Oxford), 鈥淧ictorial Experience and the Perception of Rhythm鈥�
  • Julian Dodd (Manchester), 鈥淲hat 4鈥�33鈥� is鈥�
  • Carla Damiao, (Federal University of Goias), 鈥淢emory, Truth, and Monuments鈥�
  • Anne Eaton (University of Illinois, Chicago), 鈥淭he Power of Pictures鈥�
  • Brian Ball (New College of the Humanities), 鈥淎rtistic Priorities鈥�
  • Matthew Kieran (Leeds), 鈥淐reativity, Vanity, Narcissism鈥�
  • E铿� Kyprianidou (Open University of Cyprus), 鈥淓mpathy in Response to Art: The Case of Illness-Related Art)
  • Julia Peters (T眉bingen), 鈥淪elf-Expression, Art, and Nature in Hegel鈥檚 Philosophy of Spirit鈥�
  • Diarmuid Costello (Warwick), 鈥淲hat is Abstraction in Photography?鈥�
  • James Harold (Mt. Holyoke), 鈥淭urning a Work of Literature into a Movie鈥�
  • Dan Eugen Ratiu (Babes-Boylai), 鈥淓veryday Aesthetic Experience and the Life-World鈥�
  • Joshua Landy (Stanford), 鈥淚n Praise of Depth鈥�
  • Rodrigo Duarte, (Federal University of Minas Gerais), 鈥淥n the Social-Aesthetic Construct鈥�

Our special workshop event involved a performance by the pianist Terry Spiller (Cal State San Luis Obispo), combined with a lecture by and discussion with Jennifer Judkins (UCLA Dept. of Music). This was jointly hosted with the Music Department at King鈥檚 College London, who kindly provided the venue and piano, and the Royal Music Association Music & Philosophy Study Group, who assisted with further logistics.

SWIP: LAF aims for gender diversity in our talks. Five of our 14 speakers this year have been women. In the coming year, we have been aiming for similar gender parity, and our invitations re铿俥ct that.

The LAF would like to thank the 糖心视频 for their continued support.

On behalf of the LAF鈥檚 2016-7 organising group: Andrew Huddleston (Birkbeck), Stacie Friend (Birkbeck), Alex Grzankowski (Birkbeck); Jack Davis (PhD Student, UCL); Sarah Kiernan (PhD Student, Birkbeck); Pablo Olvera Mateos (PhD Student, Birkbeck); Oda Ottosen (MPhil Student, UCL).