A two-day conference sponsored by the British Society of Aesthetics.
Venue: Churchill College, Cambridge
Date: 10th and 11th July 2025
Keynote speakers: Lisa Giombini, Roma Tre; Helen Frowe, Stockholm University; Zoltán Somhegyi, Károli Gáspár University; Salvador Muñoz Viñas, University of Valencia
Deadline for papers: 1st January 2025
Submissions of papers of up to 5200 words (about 40 minutes reading time) are invited on the topic of aesthetics and the management of heritage. The topic of how to ‘treat’ heritage (decisions about conservation, restoration, or reconstruction) is currently the subject of heated debate. At least some of the principles underlying these decisions are aesthetic; the history of the discussion, going back to the Renaissance, features work from thinkers and practitioners such as Petrarch, Alberti, Viollet-le-Duc, Morris, Ruskin, and Riegl. The principles that underlie how to treat heritage attempt to balance the preservation of values, many of which are central to aesthetics. In addition, the recent shift from ‘object-centred’ approaches to ‘people-centred’ approaches mirrors contemporary work in aesthetics on the nature of aesthetic properties.
The organisers invite papers on a broad range of topics in philosophy, art history, heritage studies, and cognate disciplines. They particularly invite speakers from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education and on topics outside the heritage mainstream. The organisers hope to organise a publication (an edited collection, a journal special issue, or a journal symposium) so please indicate whether you would be willing to have your submission considered for this.
All submissions should be sent by email attachment to Derek Matravers (derek.matravers@open.ac.uk) and Zoltán Somhegyi (zoltansomhegyi@yahoo.co.uk). Enquiries should be directed at the same two people.