Aesthetics and the Management of Heritage (CfP)

The past lies all around us in the form of monuments, buildings, and other forms of tangible heritage. Occasionally, we are forced to make choices about the future of such heritage. We might need to decide whether or not to arrest the decay of the object; or what to do with it in the face of complaints that it celebrates injustice; or whether or not to let it stand in the way of a commercial development; or, if it has been damaged, what to do about that damage. There is a rich history to such discussions, including contributions from Petrarch, Alberti, Viollet-le-Duc, Morris, Ruskin, and Riegl.

This conference is dedicated to exploring the role of the aesthetic in such discussions: to what extent should the aesthetic value of such objects play in part in our decision-making?

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Call for Papers

Deadline: 1st January 2025

Submissions of papers of up to 5200 words (about 40 minutes reading time) are invited on the topic of aesthetics and the management of heritage. The topic of how to ‘treat’ heritage (decisions about conservation, restoration, or reconstruction) is currently the subject of heated debate. At least some of the principles underlying these decisions are aesthetic; the history of the discussion, going back to the Renaissance, features work from thinkers and practitioners such as Petrarch, Alberti, Viollet-le-Duc, Morris, Ruskin, and Riegl. The principles that underly how to treat heritage attempt to balance the preservation of values, many of which are central to aesthetics. In addition, the recent shift from ‘object-centred’ approaches to ‘people-centred’ approaches mirrors contemporary work in aesthetics on the nature of aesthetic properties.

We invite papers on from on a broad range of topics in philosophy, art history, heritage studies, and cognate disciplines. We particularly invite speakers from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education and on topics outside the heritage mainstream.

The organisers hope to organise a publication (an edited collection, a journal special issue, or a journal symposium) so please indicate whether you would be willing to have your submission considered for this.

Organisers

Derek Matravers, The Open University.

Keynote Speakers

Helen Frowe, Professor of Practical Philosophy and Knut and Alice Wallenberg Scholar at Stockholm University.

Lisa Giombini, Research Fellow and Assistant Professor of Aesthetics, Roma Tre University.

Salvador Muñoz Viñas, Professor at the University of Valencia and Director of the paper conservation group of the Valencia Conservation Institute.

Zoltán Somhegyi, Associate Professor of Art History at Károli Gáspár University.

About the Venue

The venue is Churchill College, Cambridge. Limited accommodation is available onsite, at a price range from £85 to £90 per night for a single room. Information about how to book rooms will be emailed to you after registration.