Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Division of the American Society for Aesthetics

The Thirty-Ninth Annual Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Division of the American Society for Aesthetics will take place at the Drury Plaza Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 7–9, 2023.

Manuel Davenport Keynote Address:  Nick Riggle

Nick Riggle is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Diego. He holds a PhD in philosophy from New York University and a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley. His first book was On Being Awesome: A Unified Theory of How Not to Suck (Penguin, 2017). His second, co-authored with Dominic MacIver Lopes and Bence Nanay, was Aesthetic Life and Why It Matters (Oxford, 2022). His third book, This Beauty: A Philosophy of Being Alive, will be published later this year by Hachette. 

Michael Manson Artist Keynote Address: Sophie Labelle

Sophie Labelle is a French-Canadian cartoonist, writer, and activist whose work focuses largely on transgender identity, transgender history, and transfeminism. She is the writer and illustrator of the Assigned Male webcomic (2014–present) as well as numerous zines, children's books, coloring books, and novels—including A Girl Like Any Other (2013), The Genderific Coloring Book (2015), and Wish Upon a Satellite (2022). The second novel in Labelle's Ciel series, Ciel in All Directions (2020), was selected as one of the Banks Street Children's Book Committee's Best Books of the Year.

Submission Guidelines (March 15, 2023 Deadline)

We welcome presentations in all fields and disciplines pertaining to the history, application, and appreciation of aesthetic understanding. We are always particularly interested in research involving interdisciplinary and intercultural approaches emphasizing the natural and cultural character of the American Southwest.

The conference will be organized into 1.5-hour sessions with each of three speakers allotted 20 minutes to present and 10 minutes for Q & A. The Division’s practice is to invite proposals in the form of abstracts for papers that speakers wish to present. The abstract must be no more than 250 words and offer a formal summary of the work to be presented. Panel proposals must consist of three papers and include each participant’s abstract.

Proposals must be submitted in Word or PDF format by March 15 to Antony Aumann ([email protected]). Although you need not be an ASA member to submit, everyone who presents at the conference must register and also be an ASA member in good standing.

Acknowledging the History and Heritage of Santa Fe, New Mexico

Our conference is annually held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a region still recognized as Oga Po’geh, meaning “White Shell Water Place,” by the people of Tatsúgeh Oweengeh (Tesuque Pueblo). This region was inhabited for thousands of years by the communities of the Northern and Southern Tewa, and it is richly described in the oral traditions of the Nambe Pueblo, the Diné, Cochiti, Tao, and Hopi Pueblos.

The area referred to as Santa Fe was occupied four centuries ago by the Spanish, and this occupation involved displacement of people indigenous to the region. This occupation brought immigrants from Spain, Mexico, Greece, and Portugal to this area, and resulted in the enslavement of (according to ecclesiastical records) Aa, Apache, Diné, Kiowa, Pawnee, Paiute, and Ute peoples. Many more enslaved people were simply recorded as “Mexican Indians.”

As a conference, we acknowledge this indigenous and colonial history, and we pledge allyship to the peoples and traditions colonial practices have harmed and violently displaced. The Rocky Mountain Division of the American Society for Aesthetics will strive to perpetuate the stories of the indigenous people who call Santa Fe their ancestral home, and we see acknowledgement of these realities as a first step toward equity for these peoples.

Oga Po’geh Essay Prize

Because of our commitment to the traditions and history of Santa, Fe, we have a specific interest in the aesthetics of indigenous and Latinx communities geographically adjacent to our division. To this end, we are excited to announce the Oga Po’geh Essay Prize. We are interested in essays of 3000 words devoted to Latinx and/or Native American indigenous art practice and cultural thought. This prize is not merely devoted to traditions and peoples of the American Southwest, as our division extends into the Rocky Mountain region of Canada. Thus, we encourage submissions devoted to Canadian First Nation aesthetics as well. Essays may draw from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives, but they should advance and advocate for greater representation from these communities and to promote allyship and shared understanding, both within the academy and beyond.

Winners of this prize will receive a $500 award and their conference fee will be waived. The winner will be asked to read their essay in a special session of the program. Those who wish to apply for the prize must submit an abstract by March 15 and a complete essay by May 15 to Antony Aumann ([email protected]).

Graduate Student in Philosophy Essay Prizes

The Center for Philosophical Studies (CPS) at Lamar University will again be offering its Best Graduate Student in Philosophy Essay Prizes, ranging from $125 to $175, depending on fiscal conditions for 2023. These prizes will be available only to graduate students officially pursuing an M.A. or Ph.D. in Philosophy. Dr. Arthur Stewart, CPS Director, and Professor James Mock, of the University of Central Oklahoma, will serve as referees.

Competition Procedure

Submit your abstract to Antony Aumann ([email protected]) by March 15. Upon acceptance to the program, contact Dr. Arthur Stewart ([email protected]) and Professor James Mock ([email protected]) with your abstract, information about your degree aspirations and academic affiliations, and documentation of your official status in M.A. or Ph.D. programs in Philosophy. Finally, submit your completed essay to Drs. Stewart and Mock by May 1. The referees’ decisions will be announced by May 15.

Irene H. Chayes Travel Fund

The American Society for Aesthetics has provided the Division with an annual lump sum of $1000 to support travel to the meeting for persons with papers accepted for the program who have no other access to professional travel funds at their teaching institution(s) during the academic year.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible persons include faculty members, independent scholars, and students. You must be a member of ASA in good standing in the calendar year of the paper submission and presentation and you must register for the meeting. Finally, if you have some access to travel funds from your institution but prefer to use it for a different meeting, you are not eligible for a Chayes Travel Grant this year.

Application Procedure

Submit your abstract to Antony Aumann ([email protected]) by March 15. Upon acceptance to the program, contact Dr. Arthur Stewart ([email protected]) and Professor James Mock ([email protected]) with a statement expressing your desire to be considered for a Chayes travel grant and an explanation of why you are eligible. The Division’s review committee, composed of Drs. Stewart and Mock, will make the final decisions on who receives a travel grant and for what amount by May 1.

Funding from the British Society of Aesthetics

The British Society of Aesthetics has a program that provides travel grants for full-time students and recent PhDs to present their work at an aesthetics meeting not sponsored by BSA. That includes all four ASA divisional meetings. If you are eligible for those funds, it will be possible to combine grants from both BSA and ASA Chayes funds for your travel.

Fund-Raising Initiative

The RMASA is now raising additional funds to support travel for people who lack institutional support. Donations of any size, large or small, are most welcome! If you are interested in donating, you may do so online at the ASA website.

Registration Fees

Regular Registration: $135 (early bird rate, up to one week prior to the conference; $5 surcharge for onsite registration)

Emeritus Faculty and Graduate Students: $75

To register for the conference, please go to: https://aesthetics-online.org/

Hotel Rates

The deadline for reserving hotel rooms is June 2. The room rates at the Drury Plaza Hotel for registered ASARMD conference attendees are as follows:

Single/Double Room: $179.

Triple Room: $189.

Quad Room: $199.

The conference room rate will be extended for guests arriving/departing three days pre/post conference dates, based on availability.