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 TALKRozemin Keshvani (PhD) Kant Thursday 25/06/2026 5pm - 6:15pm S1.50 ORGANISERS |
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CRPLA Seminar: Antonia Hofst盲tter (91福利) 鈥� 'Falling Stars, Dying Planets, and the Limits of Natural Beauty: Reflections on Adorno鈥檚 Aesthetics in the Age of the Anthropocene'
Abstract:
Adorno鈥檚 aesthetics are currently undergoing a renaissance. The reason, it seems, lies not in their potential contribution to the analyses of contemporary artworks, but in Adorno鈥檚 unorthodox rethinking of the notion of natural beauty. In their resemblance to natural beauty, 鈥榮uccessful鈥� artworks, Adorno claims, promise the end of the domination of nature. In thus providing an intellectual resource for conceptualizing non-instrumental modes of comportment toward the natural world, the appeal of 鈥榥atural beauty鈥� to contemporary scholarship is hardly surprising. Taking my cue from Adorno鈥檚 historically situated approach, however, I would like to problematize this current intellectual trend. In my paper, I will first lend substance to Adorno鈥檚 notion of natural beauty by unpacking his reading of a passage in Beethoven鈥檚 piano sonata in D minor, Op.31 No. 2, in which a falling star seems to appear on the firmament. I will then move to Adorno鈥檚 reflections on the closing bars of Mahler鈥檚 Lied von der Erde, which, I contend, register an inversion of the Beethovenian perspective. My tracing of these two distinct aesthetic and metaphysical constellations aims not only at elucidating the complex concept of natural beauty but, crucially, at drawing out the historically contingent and shifting aesthetic experiences which they presuppose. Ultimately, I will raise the question whether the aesthetic experiences that informed Adorno鈥檚 approach to art and aesthetics – and which are indebted to the experience of beauty in nature – still resonate with us today.
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