Call for Papers

First Online Conference in Aesthetics

Arthur Danto’s Transfiguration of the Commonplace—25 Years Later

The organizers of the First Online Conference in Aesthetics seek submissions for an interdisciplinary conference on Arthur Danto’s Transfiguration of the Commonplace, which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. Most recent discussions of Danto's work have focused either on his art criticism or his historical claims about the end of art. This conference aims to focus instead on topics raised by Danto’s earlier work. Papers might take several approaches, including:

1. Critical discussion of Danto's arguments in Transfiguration.
2. Comparisons of Danto's philosophy of art to that of others, whether within or outside the analytic or Western traditions.
3. Explorations of questions raised or left open by Danto’s book.
4. Specific discussions of the Transfiguration’s continued relevance within aesthetics or its application to particular arts (painting, music, literature, dance, etc.).

The conference, to be presented online in January 2007, will feature papers from scholars in philosophy, art history, and other fields impacted by Danto’s work. Keynote papers will be offered by Richard Shusterman (Philosophy, Florida Atlantic) and David Carrier (Art History, Case Western). Professor Danto will close the conference with a response to the papers presented.

To be considered for the conference, please submit an abstract (no longer than 300 words) to soucek at uchicago dot edu (convert "at" to @ and "dot" to .) by October 1, 2006. Authors of accepted abstracts will then be asked to provide a full paper (of approximately 2500 words) by December 15, 2006.

A prize of $250 will be given for the best paper written by a graduate student. Support for this and other conference expenses comes from Vanderbilt University’s Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, the Franke Institute for the Humanities at the University of Chicago, and the Philosophy Departments at Vanderbilt and Tel Aviv University. Please address any questions to one of the conference organizers:

• Brian Soucek (University of Chicago): soucek at uchicago dot edu
• Jonathan Neufeld (Vanderbilt University): jonathan.a.neufeld at vanderbilt dot edu
• Michalle Gal (Tel Aviv University): michalga at post dot tau dot ac dot il