SAW IV

Southern Aesthetics Workshop Comes to Charleston

The Aesthetics WorkGroup, along with the Department of Philosophy, hosted the Fourth Annual Southern Aesthetics Workshop, affectionately known as “SAW IV!!!” (this is to be said in a mock-menacing horror movie announcer voice) the weekend of October 14-15 in 2022.

SAW IV brought an extraordinary group of 35 scholars together to talk about a variety of topics in aesthetics. Twelve scholars—from graduate students to full professors—presented their works in progress on wide range of topics, including reimagining beauty through fat vanity projects, atmosphere in painting, lingering aesthetic effects, interpretation, marriage in film, cringe, aesthetic motivations, the aesthetics of food, the Rothko Chapel, aesthetic reactive attitudes, and Buddhist approaches to experiencing horror films. Marcus Amaker, the first Poet Laureate of Charleston, was the keynote speaker.

Each presentation had two commentators, so discussion was lively. Participants came from Auburn; CofC; Florida International University; Furman; Georgetown; the Universities of Georgia, Louisville, South Carolina, South Florida and Texas; and Warren Wilson College. Students in Jonathan Neufeld’s Aesthetics class read three papers in advance and came to the conference to meet the authors. As a perfect end to a weekend of aesthetics, visitors enjoyed the opening of Charleston oyster season at Bowens Island!