Postgraduate "Work In Progress" Seminar
Postgraduate Work-In-Progress SeminarA weekly seminar for Philosophy postgraduates to present their in-progress work, followed by a well-spirited trip to the pub. OverviewThe WIP provides a risk-free and supportive space for postgraduates to present their work and receive feedback from other graduates and faculty.
Attendance optional but highly recommended. All postgraduates are welcome to present or attend -- whether MA, MPhil, PhD, Visitors, etc. Useful InfoThe WIP is a unique opportunity for graduates to develop their presenting and writing skills, take risks, test out ideas, and receive constructive feedback from peers.
Presentations need not be watertight or polished pieces at all. You are encouraged to present work at all stages of the writing process. Should you present?Are you a postgraduate? Then yes, you should present. |
NEXT TALKBen Long (PhD) Scepticism Thursday 04/06/2026 5pm - 6:15pm S1.50 ORGANISERS |
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Art and Mind & Race and Philosophy Guest Speaker, Adriana Clavel-Vazquez (University of Oxford)
Controlling (mental) Images and the Aesthetic Appreciation of Racialized Bodies
Abstract
The aesthetic evaluation of human bodies is part and parcel of our everyday lives. Not only do we judge Francesca Hayward鈥檚 elegance as Odile in Swan Lake, but we take notice of a stranger鈥檚 beauty while walking down the street, or even a colleague鈥檚 scruffiness as they walk into a meeting. These evaluations concern human bodies treated as aesthetic objects, objects that invite certain responses or attitudes as a result of being perceived as having specific aesthetic properties. Unfortunately, aesthetic evaluations of racialized bodies favour white individuals. How can we explain this common aesthetic disregard for non-white bodies? This is not simply a problem of aesthetic norms designed to favour white bodies. Aesthetic evaluations depend on aesthetic properties: how we aesthetically evaluate an object depends on the aesthetic properties we regard it as having. And we perceive aesthetic properties. In this paper I argue that racial stereotypes impact how we perceive aesthetic properties because of top-down influences on perception. In particular, I argue that racist mental imagery we have acquired through our interaction with aesthetic practices structures the way we perceive non-aesthetic properties of bodies so that aesthetic properties are brought into perceptual presence.