The Scottish Aesthetics Forum will hold an in-person work in progress day on Thursday 28th May\, at the University of Edinburgh. Schedule and details are below. Attendance is free and open to all\, but we ask that you register so we can keep track of numbers. To do so\, please write to nw81@st-andrews.ac.uk and say:
--that you're coming\;
--whether you're interested in dinner afterwards (at your own expense\, unfortunately)\, and if so any dietary requirements\;
--whether you require any accommodations to facilitate attendance and participation.
Any questions should also be directed to nw81@st-andrews.ac.uk. Please circulate this notice to anyone you think might be interested.
-----------------------------------------------
DETAILS:
The WIP day will take place on Thursday 28th May at the University of Edinburgh\, in the MacLaren Stuart Room in the Old College (https://osm.org/go/evfLi~E~E-?m=&\;way=730780903)\, 11:00&ndash\;17:00.
Coffee and lunch will be provided. We will book a table for dinner afterwards for those interested\, but I'm afraid that will be at participants' own expense. We'll make sure dinner wraps up early enough for those travelling to get home in good time.
Here's the schedule:
11:00&ndash\;12:00: Tash Sood (Edinburgh): Is there such a thing as a visual &lsquo\;slur&rsquo\;?
12:00&ndash\;12:30: break.
12:30&ndash\;13:30: Bronagh Kieran (St Andrews): Football Supporters and the Network Theory of Aesthetic Value
13:30&ndash\;14:30: lunch.
14:30&ndash\;15:30: Michael Quinn (Glasgow): Aesthetic Instrumentalism and Autonomy.
15:30&ndash\;16:00: break.
16:00&ndash\;17:00: Tom Baker (St Andrews): Can I Art Too? Aesthetic Injustice and the Limits of Our (Aesthetic) Obligations.
This three-day international conference aims to explore the relationship between fiction and lies from a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives\, including philosophy\, literary history and theory\, narratology\, film and media studies\, psychology and cognitive science. \;
\nThe keynote speakers are Eileen John (Philosophy\, Warwick) and Pierre Bayard (Literature\, Université\; Paris 8 - Saint-Denis). The full programme is available on the conference web page: https://fictionstudies.org/?p=index&\;art_ID=420.
\nRegistration is £\;50 for staff\, £\;15 for students\, except for those at Scottish universities. This includes lunch on all three days.
\nFunding from the Scots Philosophical Association means that staff (including emeritus) and students from Scottish universities attending the conference can have their fees waived. Please email fictionlies2026@gmail.com from your institutional address to request a password before registering. We encourage you to join the ASIFF/SIRFF for other benefits.
\nAll other delegates must be members of ASIFF/SIRFF. If you are not yet a member\, please go to https://fictionstudies.org/?index&\;art_ID=333 and follow the instructions. Membership status will be checked against registration.
\nThere will also be an optional conference dinner. Please go to the conference web page for more information: https://fictionstudies.org/?p=index&\;art_ID=420.
ORGANIZER;CN=Stacie Friend: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260512T121230Z DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260622T090000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260625T170000 SUMMARY:Second Biennial Conference of the Society for the Study of Measurement UID:20260513T072657Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-6b96c54f56-bljdq TZID:Europe/London LOCATION:Edinburgh\, United Kingdom DESCRIPTION:We are excited to announce that the Second Biennial Conference of the \;Society for the Study of Measurement will be held at the University of Edinburgh \;June 22-25 2026. The main conference will take place June 23-25\, with a pre-conference day of workshops held on June 22. \;
\nWe are delighted to announce that Professor Jana Uher (Greenwich) will be our keynote speaker and that Professor Luca Mari (Università\; Carlo Cattaneo - LIUC) will be giving the society&rsquo\;s inaugural presidential address.
\nOrganiser and Host for the Conference: Jo Wolff (University of Edinburgh)
\nQueries: measurement2026@gmail.com
\nOn behalf of the Council of the Society for the Study of Measurement: Luca Mari (President)\, Eran Tal (Secretary)\, and Council Members Leah McClimans\, Nadine de Courtenay\, Miguel Ohnesorge\, David Torres Irribarra\, and Mark Wilson. \;
\nTopics
\nPlease see below for a non-exhaustive list of suggested topics\; we particularly welcome contributions that make contact with this year&rsquo\;s conference theme: Ground Truth and Validity. While the notion of measurement validity is comparatively familiar\, ground truth may need more of an introduction. The concept of ground truth has origins in remote sensing\, where it is used to contrast the outcomes of a near or ground level measurement with outcomes of a remotely sensed measurement. From these origins\, the concept has now moved to a wider use\, particularly in machine learning contexts\, where it denotes data assumed to be true\, which can then be used to calibrate and validate machine learning data. The time seems ripe for a more careful investigation from a measurement perspective of the concept of ground truth&mdash\;both in its original understanding and in its more metaphorical use.
\nMeasurement and Simulation
\nMeasurement and Data Science
\nModels in Measurement
\nModels of Measurement
\nHistory\, Philosophy and Sociology of Measurement
\nMeasurement Applications and their conceptual foundations in any area of science
\nSupported by the British Society of Aesthetics and the Scots Philosophical Association
\nKEYNOTE SPEAKERS
\n--Professor Eileen John (Philosophy\, University of Warwick)
--Professor Pierre Bayard (Literature\, Université\; Paris 8 - Saint-Denis)
From Plato&rsquo\;s indictment of the tragic poets as misrepresenting the truth\, to Sir Philip Sidney&rsquo\;s famous claim in the Defence of Poesy that &lsquo\;the Poet\, he nothing affirms\, and therefore never lieth&rsquo\;\, to current debates about fictionality and factuality\, the relationship between \;fiction \;and \;lies \;has been a focus of scholarly attention. Both \;fiction-makers and liars make things up and misrepresent the truth. But it is traditionally assumed that with \;fiction\, the invention is non-deceptive. As Margaret Macdonald (1954\, 170) put the point\, &lsquo\;The conviction induced by a story is the result of a mutual conspiracy\, freely entered into\, between author and audience. A storyteller does not \;lie\, nor is a normal auditor deceived&rsquo\;. Macdonald proposed that instead\, \;fiction-makers engage in a non-deceptive pretence of assertion\; but other approaches also distinguish between fictionality and deception\, from philosophers who associate \;fiction \;with an invitation to make-believe rather than to believe to narratologists who treat fictionality as a rhetorical mode of communication that overtly signals fabrication. If \;lies \;are assertions aimed at deception\, perhaps \;fictions \;are incapable of \;lying.
Yet a sharp distinction between fictionality and deception confronts numerous challenges. Scholars across disciplines have considered the many ways in which \;fictions \;can affect our beliefs\, for good or ill. Even if \;fictions \;cannot \;lie \;in some technical sense\, they can certainly mislead\, insinuate\, obfuscate and so on. Works of \;fiction \;may be instances of propaganda which misrepresent the facts\; think of Oliver Stone&rsquo\;s film JFK (1991) or Michael Crichton&rsquo\;s \;novel \;State of Fear (2004). And the distinctions between the \;fictional \;and factual are under increasing pressure in the current culture of disinformation and &lsquo\;fake news&rsquo\; &ndash\; a category not so easy to distinguish from &lsquo\;fictional \;news&rsquo\;.
This three-day international conference aims to explore the relationship between \;fiction \;and \;lies \;from a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives\, including philosophy\, literary history and theory\, narratology\, film and media studies\, psychology and cognitive science. Proposals may address fiction in general\, or any historical period or cultural tradition. We also encourage studies of fictional works in a variety of media (including video games\, comics\, film\, and television series).
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
\n&bull\;The possibility of lying in/through fiction
\n&bull\;Other modes of deception and dissimulation in fiction (in particular works\, in different media\, etc.)
\n&bull\;Fiction and fictionality as (tools for) propaganda
\n&bull\;The relationship between fiction and fake news
\n&bull\;Differing historical or cultural conceptions of the relationship between fiction and lies
\n&bull\;Representations of deception within fiction (e.g.\, unreliable narrators\, lying protagonists\, forgers)
\n&bull\;Fictions that (seem to) deceive about their own status (e.g.\, mockumentary)\, and more generally\, questions of &lsquo\;framing&rsquo\;
\n\nPlease note: There may be a conference registration fee (discounted for students) depending on the outcome of grant funding applications.
\n\nSubmission guidance
\n&bull\;All submissions should be sent by attachment in Word or pdf to fictionlies2026@gmail.com by 15 December 2025. \;
\n&bull\;Papers: Abstracts should be no longer than 350 words\, in English or French. Bear in mind that sessions scheduled for paper presentations will be 30 minutes (20 minutes presentation\, 10 minutes questions and answers). \;
\n&bull\;Symposia: Proposals\, in English or French\, should be no longer than 500 words and should include a description of the topic/theme\, the names/affiliations of participants and brief abstracts of the papers. Sessions for symposia will be 1.5 hours or 2 hours depending on the schedule and thus should typically have no more than three speakers. \;
\n&bull\;We encourage submissions from\, and symposia including\, members of groups underrepresented in their disciplines\, including women in philosophy. Symposia in philosophy should ensure that the proposal follows the Good Practice Policy of the British Philosophical Association and the Society for Women in Philosophy (see bpa.ac.uk/resources/women-in-philosophy/good-practice). Please also take note of the BPA&rsquo\;s Environment/Travel Guideline Scheme (bpa.ac.uk/policies).
\n&bull\;Funding may be available towards the cost of arranging childcare for speakers who may require it. Please ask for details.
\n&bull\;Participants in the conference will be expected to become members of the Association if they are not already (www.fictionstudies.org).
\nEarly career prize
\nThe ASIFF/SIRFF will offer a prize for the best paper by an early-career scholar (doctoral student or scholar who has received their PhD within the last 3 years)\, to be presented at the conference. The winner will receive a monetary award of &euro\;1\,000 (euros). If you would like to be considered for this award\, please submit your completed conference paper (no more than 3\,500 words/20\,000 characters) by 28 February 2026 to fictionlies2026@gmail.com. The article must be unpublished.
\n \; ORGANIZER;CN=Stacie Friend: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR