Conferences
Aesthetics, ethics and relational being
Annual Conference of the Nordic Society for Aesthetics
Hosted by the University of Iceland and the Iceland University of the Arts, June 13-15, 2024
Venue: University of Iceland, Reykjavík
Invited keynotes:
Arnold Berleant
Emily Brady
Yuriko Saito
Bryndís Snæbjörnsdóttir &
Mark Wilson
The organizers warmly invite abstract submissions for the 2024 Annual Conference of the Nordic Society for Aesthetics, with the theme “Aesthetics, ethics and relational being.” In a world faced with ever more pressing environmental crisis, political upheaval and the rise of AI questions regarding the future applications of our existing knowledge, methods and doings, are brought to the surface. What could be the role(s) of aesthetics in a changing world, where there is a pressing need for re-thinking values, value systems, and the relationship we have to the future of the planet we inhabit?
Within this context questions relating to aesthetics, ethics and other forms of knowledge making, the environment, concepts such as care and wellbeing, and everyday experience are encouraged.
Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
- Care as a concept within aesthetics
- Environment, aesthetics and future
- Aesthetics as relational sense-making
- Aesthetics and crisis
- The relation between aesthetics and ethics
- The relation between aesthetics and cognition
- Aesthetics and situated knowledges
- Aesthetics and emotions
- Aesthetics and AI
- Aesthetics, science and epistemology
Information about the conference will be announced on the website of the society: https://www.nsae.fi
The time allocated for a paper is 20 minutes, plus 10 minutes for discussion. We also encourage panel proposals, as well as proposals for art works, workshops or any other mediums for sharing philosophical explorations.
PhD students are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal. The Society grants up to two scholarships to PhD students who do not have any other funding to cover their travel and accommodation costs to attend and give a paper at the conference. Priority is given to applicants studying in one of the Nordic universities, but all applications will be taken into consideration. Those applying for the scholarship should mention it in their abstract.
Please send proposals no later than January 31, 2024.
A) Proposals for individual papers should consist of two separate documents containing the following:
- The title and the abstract (maximum 300 words) of your presentation. The abstract should give a general outline of the proposed talk/other mediation, making clear what contribution it will make to existing research.
- A separate cover letter including the following information: title of presentation; name, affiliation and contact information.
B) Proposals for joint panels (one individual sends the proposal on behalf of all the participants) should consist of two separate documents containing the following:
- The title and a short description of the topic of the panel; and an abstract from each of the participants (maximum 300 words each).
- A separate cover letter including the following information: the title of the panel; names and affiliations of all the participants; contact information of the individual in charge of the panel.
To submit a proposal, send the documents as email attachments to the following address: NSAE24@lhi.is. Please ensure that the subject line of the email reads: NSAE 2024 Proposal. Deadline for submission is: January 31st, 2024. Decisions will be communicated by February 15th 2024.
Selection will be based on quality, relevance to the conference theme, and program considerations. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by February 15 2024.
Conference fee, standard: 50 EUR. PhD Students and scholars without institutional affiliation: 30 EUR. A small supplementary fee might be added, in which case it will be announced beforehand. The fee includes one year membership of The Nordic Society of Aesthetics and one year subscription to The Nordic Journal of Aesthetics.
The organizing committee: Guðbjörg R. Jóhannesdóttir, Jóhannes Dagsson, Sigríður Þorgeirsdóttir and Sólrún Una Þorláksdóttir
Previously held conferences
2023 “Aesthetics and the Body” 1.-2.6., Paris, France
2022 “Resistance, Art and Aesthetics” 8.-10.6., Södertörn University, Sweden
2021 “The Aesthetics of Attention” 20.-21.5., Aarhus, Denmark
2020 “The Aesthetics of Attention” 28.–30.5., Aarhus, Denmark cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic
2019 “The Place of Beauty in the Contemporary World” 27.–29.5., Espoo, Finland
2018 “Conflicts – Antagonisms, Agonies, Affects” 31.5.–2.6., Paris, France
2017 “Aesthetic Experience: Affect and Perception” 8.–10.6., Bergen, Norway
2016 “Philosophy, Imagination, and the Arts” 26.–28.5., Uppsala, Sweden
2015 “Aesthetics, Contemporaneity, Art” 28.–30.5., Aarhus, Denmark
2014 “Art, the Aesthetic, and Aesthetic Experience” 5.–7.6., Helsinki, Finland
2013 “Gesture” 30.5.–1.6., Oslo, Norway
2012 “Interpretation and Evaluation of Art” 31.5–2.6., Uppsala, Sweden
2011 “Aesthetics and Politics” 26.–28.5., Copenhagen, Denmark
2010 “Environment, Aesthetics, and the Arts” 3.–6.6., Lahti, Finland
2009 “The Future of Aesthetics” 11.–14.6., Trondheim, Norway
2008 “Aesthetics and the Aesthetics” 29.5.–1.6., Uppsala, Sweden
2007 “The Limits of Aesthetics” 31.5–3.6., Aarhus, Denmark