The Aesthetics Reading Group welcomes any students (undergraduate or postgraduate) and faculty members who are interested in reading and discussing classic or important works in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Future terms will include the possibility of discussing works-in-progress by group members.
We meet in person every second Thursday from 3pm - 5pm (see schedule for exceptions to this). We welcome suggestions for readings from regularly attending group members. Whoever chooses a reading will be expected to present a brief (5 minutes max.) and informal introduction of the reading and its issues to set up the group discussion.
The schedule for Easter Term 2025 is:
Week 2 (8 May, 3:00 - 5:00, Faculty of Philosophy Postgraduate Common Room) - Stanley Cavell, "Aesthetic Problems of Modern Philosophy"
Week 3 (19 May, 2:00 - 4:00, Faculty of Philosophy Postgraduate Common Room) - Nick Riggle, "Can't Kill the Vibe: Against Hope in Aesthetic Discourse"
Week 6 (online; exact date TBD) - Susanne Langer, "Expressiveness", "The Art Symbol and the Symbol in Art", and "Abstraction in Science and Abstraction in Art" from her 1957 book Problems of Art
Week 8 (online; exact date TBD) - Georges Didi-Huberman, "The Art of Not Describing: Vermeer - the Detail and the Patch"
The schedule for the 2025 Lent Term is:
Week 2 - Thursday 30 January, 3:00 to 5:00 - Kendall Walton, "Categories of Art"
Week 4 - Thursday 13 February, 3:00 to 5:00 - Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
Week 6 - Thursday 27 February, 3:00 to 5:00 - Roger Scruton, "Photography and Representation"
Week 8 - Wednesday 12 March, 1:00 to 3:00 - Antonia Phillips, "The Limits of Portrayal" (NOTE the change of day and time this week)
Convenors: David Collins (dc914@cam.ac.uk) and Rose Ryan Flinn (rir21@cam.ac.uk)
