presentations

*comments listed below presentations

presentations

2025

  • “The Importance of in person screenings: Community Movie Theaters as Third Spaces” at SPSCVA (Society for the Philosophic Study of Contemporary Visual Arts), Film and Philosophy Workshop, June 13th (Online)(June 2025)

2024

  • “The Ethics of Dark Tourism” at The Ethic of Travel Conference – Keynote Address. (Tilburg University) (April 2024) 
  • “Labiaplasty: Suspect norm or Girl Power,” at the Rocky Mountain Divisional Meeting of the American Society for Aesthetics (Santa Fe, NM) (July 2024) 
  • “Co-Creators or mere tools? AI and Art” written with Sabrina Martinez, presented at the Central Divisional meeting of the American Philosophical Association (New Orleans, LA) (February 2024) and again as Invited speaker for PEA- The Philosophy of Experiential Artifacts Seminar, University of Genova, Department of Classics, Philosophy and History (DAFiSt) (Online)

2023

  • “Teaching Bolzano in the Introduction to Aesthetics Classroom” at the National Annual American Society for Aesthetics meeting (Arlington, VA) (November 2023) 
  • “Alone Together: The Aesthetic Importance of Community Movie Theaters as Third Places,” at the American Society for Aesthetics Rocky Mountain Division Meeting (Santa Fe, NM) (SLIDES KEYNOTE)

2022

  • 2022 Panel: The Aesthetic Appreciation of Perfume: Nature, Context, and Memory. With Madeline Martin-Seaver, Chiara Brozzo, and Tracy Tsefalas. Talk title: “Perfume: Moods and Memories” at the American Society for Aesthetics 80th Annual Meeting (Portland, OR) (SLIDES KEYNOTE) (SLIDES POWERPOINT)
  • 2022 “Miami Monuments Project” poster session (with Dr. Ter-Ghazaryan and Milo Dupuis) at the Spatial Humanities Conference (University of Ghent and Virtual) 
  • 2022 Critic for Author-Meets-Critic session for Matthew Strohl’s book Why It’s OK To Love Bad Movies at the American Philosophical Association Annual Meeting  (Baltimore) (SLIDES PPT)
  • “My Perfumed Life” at the American Society for Aesthetics Rocky Mountain Meeting (Santa Fe, NM) (PDF SLIDES)(SLIDES PPT)

2021

  • “Teaching Philosophy of Film with no Prerequisites” Film and Philosophy Workshop (Virtual)(SLIDES PDF)
  • “Labiaplasty: Suspect Norm or Girl Power?” American Society for Aesthetics Feminist Caucus Committee Summerfest (Virtual) (SLIDES)

2020

  • “What’s the Use? Reconstructing Cultural Property After War” at the Heritage in War: An AHRC-Funded Project on Protecting Cultural Heritage, (New Orleans, LA) (Cancelled due to COVID)
  • Critic for Author-meets-critic session for Carolyn Korsmeyer’s book Things: In Touch with the Past, American Philosophical Association – Central Division Meeting (Chicago, IL) (SLIDES) (PDF SLIDES)

2019

  • “Urban Ruins and the Picturesque Landscape” American Society for Aesthetics 77th Annual Meeting (Phoenix, AZ)(SLIDES)
  • “Ruins, Monuments, and Memorials” Southern Aesthetics Workshop I (Auburn, Alabama)
  • “What’s the Use? Reconstructing Cultural Property After War” at the American Society for Aesthetics Rocky Mountain Meeting (Santa Fe, NM) (SLIDES)

2018

  • “Live or Let Die? The Life of Ruins” Invited Keynote address at the Ball State Student Research Day (Muncie, IN) 

2017

  •  “Reconstructions, restorations and ruins” at Digging Deeper: Archaeological & Philosophical Perspectives (FIU)
  • “The Ruins of War” at the American Society for Aesthetics 75th Annual Meeting (New Orleans, LA)

Pre-2017

  • “Industrial Ruins as Cultural Tourism,” at the Philosophy of the City Conference (PSU, Portland, OR)
  • “Visiting the Ruins of Detroit: Cultural Tourism or Poverty Tour?” at the 4th International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development (Guimarães, Portugal)
  • “Unplanned Beauty: The Pleasures of Ruins” at the APA, Pacific Division (San Diego, CA)
  • “Ruin Porn? The Ruins of Detroit” at the Canadian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Canadian Society for Aesthetics(University of Victoria, B.C.)
  • “Appiah’s ‘Cosmopolitan Aesthetic Experience’ and Its Limits” at the Cosmopolitan Rights and Responsibility Conference (University of Washington)

comments

2025 Comments on John Dyck “The Ambition of Realism and the Veracity of Beauty” at the Souther Aesthetics Workshop (Athens, GA)

2024 Comments on A.W. Eaton “Aestheticizing Rape” at the National Annual American Society for Aesthetics Conference (Chicago, IL) (Comments on Aestheticizing Rape Keynote) (Comments on Aestheticizing Rape PPT)

2023 Comments on Timothy Shanahan “Did Blade Runner Accurately Predict the Future?” at the SPSCVA Film and Philosophy Workshop (Online) (Bladerunner Comments)

2023 Comments on “An Environmental Aesthetic of Place and Traditional Ecological Knowledge” by Tony Chackal at the Southern Aesthetics Workshop SAW V (Greenville, SC) (October 2023)

2022 Comments on Cheryl Frazier’s “Fat Vanity Projects for a Model for Reimagining Beauty” at SAW IV (Southern Aesthetics Workshop) (Charleston, SC)

2022 Comments on Nicholas Wittaker’s “Filming Nature” at the SPSCVA Film and Philosophy Workshop (Online) (PDF of comments)

2021 Comments on Lisa Giobini (Roma Tre University) “Respect in Conservation Ethics: A Philosophical Inquiry” at the American Society for Aesthetics 79th Annual Meeting (Montreal, Quebec) <comments read by chair – virtual>

2021 Comments on Sara Rich and Sarah Bartholomew “Iconoclasm, Sympathetic Magic, and Speculative Realism” at the  American Society for Aesthetics Southern Divisional Meeting (Auburn, AL)

2020     Comments on “Against treating people like sunsets” by Madeleine Ransom and David Friedell Southern Aesthetics Workshop II(Virtual due to COIVD)(SLIDES)

2019     Comments on “Urban Aesthetics and Augmented Reality” by Mary Beth Willard (Weber State University) at the American Society for Aesthetics 76th Annual Meeting (Toronto, Ontario)

2015     Panel Commentator on “Negative Aesthetics,” “Disgusting Images” by Cynthia Freeland (University of Houston), “Stay Positive: Some Pleasures and Benefits of Negative Emotions” by Dan Kelly (Purdue University), “Transforming Negative Aesthetic Responses,” by Sherri Irvin (University of Oklahoma, at the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting (Vancouver, BC)

2013     Comments on “On Things That Aren’t There Anymore” by Jennifer Judkins (UCLA) at the  American Society for Aesthetics Pacific Division Meeting (Asilomar, CA)

2012     Comments on “The Minimal Condition of Authenticity” by Dobin Choi (SUNY) at the American Society for Aesthetics Annual Meeting (St. Louis, MO)

2012     Comments on “Second Personal Reasons and Moral Obligation” by Wenwen Fan (University of Missouri) at the 6th Biannual Graduate Student Conference on Responsibility (University of Washington)

2010     Comments on “Should the Bamiyan Buddhas Rest in Peace?” by James Janowski (Hampden-Sydney College) at the American Society of Aesthetics Annual Meeting (Victoria, B.C.)

2009     Comments on “Why So Serious? An Inquiry on Racist Jokes” by Luvell Anderson (Rutgers University), at the 5th Biannual Graduate Student Conference in Moral Psychology (UW)