3 year Research Fellowship in aesthetics, University of Warwick
Diarmuid Costello
The philosophy department at the University of Warwick is looking to appoint a Research Fellow in
Aesthetics. The post arises from a 3 year AHRC funded interdisciplinary research project in the
aesthetics of photography as an art co-directed by Dr. Diarmuid Costello, Philosophy, Warwick,
and Prof Margaret Iversen, Art History and Theory, Essex.
AOS - Aesthetics. AOC - Open. The successful candidate will have clear potential for an
international research profile. Interest in interdisciplinary work with art history and theory is highly
desirable, as is a willingness to undertake some teaching. Preference will be given to candidates
with expertise in the philosophy of visual arts, particularly the aesthetics of photography.
Further particulars
Further Particulars
The full research team will comprise Dr. Diarmuid Costello (Philosophy, Warwick), Prof. Margaret
Iversen (Art History and Theory, Essex), and two research fellows, one in philosophy at Warwick,
the other in art history at Essex. The candidate will develop and extend our research strengths in
aesthetics and theory of the visual arts. Interest in the philosophical questions raised by
photography as an art would be a distinct advantage. The research will lead to various
publications by Iversen, Costello and the research fellows, including special journal issues and
collections, and the research fellows would be expected to take on associated editorial
responsibilities. The fellow will also consolidate and enhance the profile of aesthetics within the
Centre for Research in Philosophy, Literature and Art, housed in the Department of Philosophy at
Warwick, and contribute to developing Warwick's position as a leading centre for research at the
interface of philosophy and art. AOC is open.
The Research Project
This research project is fully interdisciplinary between philosophy and art history and theory. It
focuses on the significance of the transformation in contemporary photographic art practice from
the 1960s to the present, exploring its implications for aesthetic theory. The project explores the
ways in which recent photographic art puts pressure on various traditional aesthetic categories,
and the ways in which photography has been standardly conceived in both the philosophical and
the art historical literature. In the process it will extend our understanding of what is now one of
the dominant mediums of contemporary art, and propose new models of art writing that draw
equally on art history, theory, aesthetics and criticism. The philosophical side of the project will be
particularly concerned with what distinguishes photography as an artistic medium, the ontology of
the photograph, particularly in the light of digital photography, and the implications of the latter
for the epistemic privilege variously associated with photographic ‘objectivity’, ‘transparency’ and
‘automaticity.’
Application procedure: Forms may be obtained from the Warwick University website or by
following the links from jobs.ac.uk. Applications must be received by 23 March 2007.
The Department of Philosophy
The Department of Philosophy at Warwick has an international reputation for excellence in both
teaching and research. As one of the largest philosophy departments in the UK, it fosters a wide
range of research interests. It has a reputation for research strengths in philosophy and literature,
the philosophy of mind & language/epistemology & metaphysics and post-Kantian philosophy.
Whether individually or in research groups, many staff engage in interdisciplinary research and the
Department has a powerful record of successful research grant income. The Department received
a score of 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise and was awarded the top score of 24 for
the quality of its teaching in the 2001 QAA subject review.
For further information see the departmental website: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/
philosophy .
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Dr. Diarmuid Costello
Department of Philosophy
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL
UK
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/philosophy/staff/costello/
Tel +44 (0)2476 522952
Fax +44 (0)2476 523019
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