Conference: Environment in Crisis – Crisis in Aesthetics
Asian, North American and European Approaches Schloss Banz, Germany, May 28-31, 2024 Concept and Program (March 20, 2024) This conference is organized by Uwe Voigt (Augsburg University) on behalf of the Working Group on Environmental Aesthetics (https://wgea.foranewearth.org/) in cooperation with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Chair of Philosophy of Science and Analytic Philosophy (Augsburg University), the Chair of Philosophy II (Otto Friedrich University Bamberg), and the Institute “Mensch & Ästhetik”. In this meeting, we will search for reflections of environmental crisis in conceptions of crisis to be found in different cultural traditions and approaches to aesthetics across Asia, Northern America, and Europe. The morning sessions are dedicated to “classical” lectures by young colleagues. In the afternoon, we will discuss papers by senior colleagues while practicing immersion into the rich natural and cultural environment of the Upper Main Valley (“walk and talk”). In the evening there will be wrap-up sessions. These papers can be obtained from Uwe Voigt (uwe.voigt@uni-a.de). Graduate students are invited to moderate the walk and talk sections or to protocol the wrap-up sessions. During the “walk and talk” units and the wrap-up sessions, responses will be provided by senior fellows: Tuesday, May 28: Opening Day Afternoon Arrival and informal talks 6 p.m. Supper 7:30 p.m. Opening Lectures: Prof. Dr. Lore Hühn (Freiburg): Self-Exclusion and Self-Deception. Themes from Schelling in the Anthropocene Peter Richter, M.A. (Basel): Moods, Emotions and Aesthetic Experiences: Alternative Epistemic Approaches to Nature Ethics Wednesday, May 29: Asian Approaches 9:00 a.m. Dr. Yi Ding (Kyoto): The Relationship between Humans and the World (Cosmos) in Modern Chinese Aesthetics: A Comparative Study of Zhu Guangqian and Fang Dongmei 10:00 a.m. Dr. Sakura Yahata (Tokyo): A Place for Aesthetic Experience Changing Perspectives: Findings from a Case Study of Moerenuma Park 11:00 a.m. Coffee Break 11:15 a.m. Tomoki Sakata, M.A. (Bamberg): Sufficiency and Simplicity as Leading Categories in Ethics and Aesthetics: Legacy of Laoze’s Philosophy 12:15 p.m. Lunch 2 p.m. Walk and Talk 6 p.m. Supper 7 p.m. Wrap-up session Thursday, May 30: North American and British Approaches 9:00 a.m. Isabelle Lindsay (Montreal): Crisis and Kenosis: Principles of Relation in the Context of Environmental Aesthetics 10:00 a.m. Dr. Leila Michelle Vaziri (Konstanz): The Theatre of Anxiety: Aesthetics and Emotions in Contemporary British Eco-Drama 11:00 a.m. Coffee Break 11:15 a.m. Prof. Dr. Russell Duvernoy (London, Ontario): Icon, Index, Symbol? Theorizing Eco-Aesthetic Encounters across Epistemes 12:15 a.m. Lunch 2:00 p.m. Walk and Talk 6:00 p.m. Supper 7:00 p.m. Wrap-up session Friday, May 31: European Approaches 9:00 a.m. Laura Fumagalli, M.A. (Augsburg): Negative Aesthetics and the Natural Environment 10:00 a.m. Christian Schnurr, M.A. (Augsburg): Toxic Atmospheres. The Motive of Silence in Pollution Literature 11:00 a.m. Coffee Break 11:15 a.m. Felix Treutner, M.A. (Munich): Eschato-Aesthetics: Aesthetics of Nature as the Last Touchpoint with the Intangible in Western Societies – or as its Final Dissolution 12:15 a.m. Lunch 2 p.m. Walk and Talk 6:00 p.m. Supper 7:00 p.m. Wrap-up session (if possible on a Bamberg Keller)
