Elizabeth Scarbrough

An Introduction to Contemporary Aesthetics: Art, Community, and Experience gives students and other readers a comprehensive sense of the dynamic issues and problems in aesthetics and philosophy of art today. Each of the 14 chapters is written by a different expert in the field and together they cover a wide range of methodological approaches and perspectives, including those from analytic and Continental philosophy, non-Eurocentric global traditions, and critical stances taken up by feminist philosophers and philosophers of race. In addition, the volume makes use of recent empirical work on art and beauty as well as examples of artistic expressions from cultures from around the world. In contrast to other coursebooks, which are often structured entirely around artforms, this volume frames much of its contents around core aesthetic concepts--like good or bad taste, interpretation, or authenticity--with each chapter devoted to a different concept. Within each chapter, the reader will find a range of engaging artforms and experiences. The contents of the volume are laid out in four sections: the first focuses on foundational questions in aesthetics, and the second on key aesthetic concepts. The third section focuses on applied questions relating to particular artforms and genres (e.g., horror, comedy, AI art, games). Finally, the last section of the volume takes a wider, but still practical, view; focusing on why aesthetic life matters to us, both as a society and as individuals. Key Features Written in a non-technical style for readers new to aesthetics and with little or no background in philosophy or the study of the arts Draws on examples readers encounter in everyday life and popular culture, from Drake to Philly cheesesteaks Deals with questions that concern many college students today: Does authenticity even matter and, if so, why? What's wrong with enjoying the work of an immoral artist? How are our homes and schools important places of aesthetic meaning? Each chapter is written as a biased survey, with clear coverage of the historical and contemporary literature on the topic but also from a distinct, subjective point of view Non-Eurocentric philosophies or examples are included throughout the book, highlighting the rich and diverse philosophical work from around the globe Discussion Questions offer student readers opportunities to engage more fully with the problems raised in the text Suggestions for Further Reading at the end of each chapter identify the most promising avenues for further research on the topic.

In _Things: In Touch with the Past_ (2019), Carolyn Korsmeyer builds on her earlier work in which she argues that our tactile interactions with objects connect us to the past, enriching our aesthetic experiences and imbuing artifacts with deeper meaning. Building on these insights, our paper addresses the puzzle of why some individuals prefer vinyl records despite the availability of music in sonically superior and cheaper digital formats. We argue that the physical act of handling records with care, being in touch with objects with unique histories, the traces of use and age that manifest in how they sound, and the extra effort involved in playing them contribute aesthetic dimensions to the experience of listening to music on vinyl that digital formats lack, which accounts for vinyl’s unique appeal.

Miami is “ground zero” for climate change sea level rise. Scientists believe we could be facing 6 inches of sea level rise in the next 10 years, and two feet of sea level rise in the next 40. By 2100, the result could be catastrophic: flooding will occur over 50% of the year, most small homes would be under water, and major infrastructure (such as roads) will be lost. By 2050, $15-$23 billion dollars of property damage could occur– making Miami the city with the most (monetarily) to lose. But these dire predictions accompany a real estate boom in the Magic City. Developers continue to build luxury condominiums and petition the city to demolish smaller historic properties to build bigger. In light of these challenges, what can be done to preserve historic properties? In this chapter I will focus on the Art Deco Historic District of Miami Beach, which has over 800 historic buildings. While many of the famed images you see of Miami Beach are hotels on Ocean Drive, most of the historic buildings are apartment buildings – some of which are in disrepair and in danger of being lost to flooding. The city’s flood management plan, “Rise Above,” is aptly named. The solution to rising tides and more frequent and stronger “King Tides” is to raise the streets three feet. This has the unfortunate side effect of making the residential historic structures three feet below street level, increasing their flood risk, and making it difficult for middle-class residents to afford housing flood insurance. In this chapter I will discuss the future of these deco housing units. Two lines of thought will be pursued. First, what would realistic adaptation entail? Could Miami Beach become a Venice-like city, or will the billionaire developers truly enable Miami Beach to rise above? Second, what would it mean for these structures to be appreciated as climate change ruins? In the end, it is important to recognize that many, if not most, of these structures will not be saved. Therefore, we must begin to consider digital preservation and other methods to safeguard what we can before the ocean claims the rest.

How can philosophers incorporate the Digital Humanities into their classrooms? And why should they? In this paper, I explore answers to these questions as I detail what I have dubbed “The Monuments Project'' and describe how this project engages with Digital Humanities and teaches students to connect theoretical philosophical concepts with their lives. Briefly, the Monuments Project asks students to apply concepts discussed in our philosophy class (in my case, a Global Aesthetics class) with a monument in their environment. Instead of a traditional paper, students upload MP3s of their observations, pictures and/or drawings of the monument, and text-based responses. The goal of the Monument Project is twofold: to get students to connect what they have learned to a sense of place - the place where they live, and to introduce them to the Digital Humanities.

I present a brief overview of different theories of the beauty of nature. I will start by discussing two historical accounts that I believe have most impacted our current conception of the beauty in nature: the picturesque and the sublime. I then turn to a discussion of contemporary accounts of the beauty of nature, dividing these accounts into conceptual accounts, non-conceptual accounts, and hybrid accounts of nature appreciation. What I hope to show is that there is no one-principle-fits-all solution for all aesthetic experiences of nature. An immersive experience of river rafting will be different from birdwatching. Knowledge in some cases will add depth to our aesthetic experiences, while in other cases will impede our ability to appreciate. We should thus embrace a pluralistic model of aesthetic engagement, one that allows us to employ different models to different objects—or different models at different times in our life.

In this chapter I address the concern that UNESCO World Heritage designation leads to unregulated tourism. I argue that heritage tourism not only has a negative impact on the site but may adversely impact local populations and descendant communities. I detail two related worries, UNESCO-cide and the Disneyfication of cultural heritage. The term ‘UNESCO-cide’ was coined by Marco d’Eramo to describe the role overtourism has played in the death of cities listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Disneyfication is the process of sanitizing potentially controversial or seemingly negative narratives from the tourist site to make the experience more palatable. I focus my analysis on two UNESCO World Heritage sites: Angkor Archaeological Complex in Cambodia and George Town in Malaysia. After a discussion about the negative impacts World Heritage designation has had on these sites, I suggest some mitigating strategies for tourism.

Ruins are evocative structures, and we value them in different ways for the various things they mean to us. Ruins can be aesthetically appreciated, but they are also valued for their historical importance, what they symbolize to different cultures and communities, and as lucrative objects, i.e., for tourism. However, today an increasing number of ancient ruins have been damaged or completely destroyed by acts of war. In 2001 the Taliban struck a major blow to cultural heritage by blasting the Bamiyan Buddhas out of existence. They were not easy to destroy. This direct targeting of cultural property might change our attitudes toward conservation practices. Francesco Bandarin, the UNESCO assistant director-general for culture, states, “Deliberate destruction has created a new context. At the time, Bamiyan was an exceptional case.” Bandarin’s comments notwithstanding, the destruction of cultural property in times of war is not new. Not only is there relatively settled international law prohibiting the looting of cultural property during times of war, we can find examples of intentional destruction of cultural property from thousands of years ago. In this paper I would like to focus on one particular case, that of the Mỹ Sơn Archaeological Sanctuary, in the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam. Mỹ Sơn is the foremost Champa archaeological site and the largest archaeological site in Việt Nam. The largest temple (kalan) at Mỹ Sơn, A1, was destroyed in a US bombing raid in 1969. In this paper I highlight different approaches to architectural cultural heritage preservation in terms of reconstruction, restoration, and ruination -- with an eye to applying these approaches to the remains of the A1 temple in Mỹ Sơn. I briefly discuss the history of Mỹ Sơn before providing some reasons to believe that we should allow A1 to ruinate.

We can see ruins as objects that have a foot in three different times: the past, the present, and the future. This is the nature of the ruin: they help us imagine the past, affords us interesting aesthetic opportunities in the present, and asks us to project ourselves (and it) into the future. We think about those who once lived, our own current experience, and what will be. There are two kinds of aesthetic experiences of ruins that are often conflated: that of recording the ruin be it in poetry, prose, or picture and that of engaging with a ruin qua ruin (the experience of the ruin in situ). In this paper I discuss ruin appreciation and the major and minor appreciations discussed by Rose Macaulay. Minor forms of appreciation include graffiti while contemplating the sublime and engaging in multisensory ruinlust are considered major forms of appreciation.

Are Detroit ruin tours a form of morally permissible cultural tourism, or do these tours amount to a form of exploitation? To answer this question I compare Detroit ruin tours with ‘slum tours’ – guided tours of slums in the world's major cities. I argue that exploitation of the sort we find in slum tourism also exists, to a lesser extent, in Detroit ruin tours. To show this I detail two different accounts of exploitation and argue that Ruth Sample's account best captures what is most morally problematic with slum tours and ruin tours. I then identify the similarities and differences between slum tours and ruin tours, and provide suggestions for how ruin tours could be retooled to avoid some of the worries of exploitation. Finally, I suggest that with the proper framing Detroiters could embrace photographic tours as a new form of cultural tourism.

Ghost, lost, and ruinated things are important but under-theorized objects of aesthetic appreciation. Both Jeanette Bicknell and Jennifer Judkins rely on “imaginative reconstruction” to explain the aesthetic interest in experiencing these places. This paper presents three critical reflections on Bicknell’s and Judkins’ accounts. First, I argue that it is unnecessary to know or value what is missing to appreciate what remains. Second, Bicknell and Judkins overemphasize the importance of imaginative reconstruction to our aesthetic engagement with these structures. Third, they do not fully consider why people visit sites of long-past events, such as battlefields. I argue that people visit these sites for myriad reasons, which belies the notion that there can be one predominate mode of aesthetic engagement.