Confirmed keynote speakers
- Aurora Hoel (NTNU)
- Oliver Krüger (U. Fribourg)
- Lars Bang Larsen (Art Hub Copenhagen)
- Andrea Pinotti (U. Milan)
- Zuzanna Aleksandra Rucińska (U. Antwerp)
- Enrico Terrone (U. Genoa)
The philosophical debate concerning virtuality has so far privileged metaphysical issues, asking whether or not virtual spaces and objects should be considered as real or illusory. With this conference, we suggest bracketing such metaphysical questions for a while and focusing instead on the relationship between virtuality and experience. In this framework, we would like to favour a phenomenological approach that understands virtuality as a mode of experience that is often mediated by technology.
The range of questions that this conference aims to address includes, but is not limited to, the following: What does it mean to experience ‘virtuality’? What is the phenomenological structure of the virtual? How does experiencing a virtual world reshape our ordinary lives? What is the relationship between the virtual and the imaginary? What role does immersivity play in virtual environments? What distinguishes VR devices from other media? What is the space for empathy in virtual interactions? How is personal identity preserved but also transformed within virtual worlds?
We welcome submissions for papers concerning any of these issues, as well as related areas.
Submissions
Please submit an anonymized proposal for a 35-minute talk in English (conference language) of 800-1000 words (excluding references) to virtualfribourg@gmail.com by September 30th. Applicants should also include contact information and their affiliation in the body of the email. Young scholars and individuals belonging to underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to submit their work. Funding for travel and lodging will be available for selected papers.
We plan to send notifications of acceptance/rejection by mid-October.
Conference information
The event will take place in Fribourg (Switzerland).
The first day shall be hosted at the Kunsthalle Friart and features a presentation of the exhibition of Charlotte Johannesson, whose artistic production traverses the spheres of virtuality and digitalism.
The second and third day of the conference will be held at the University of Fribourg.
Details about the program of the conference will be updated and published on the conference's page soon :
https://projects.unifr.ch/aesthetics-critique/workshop/
This event is the 7th in the conference series initiated by the research group Aesthetics & Critique (University of Fribourg), directed by Emmanuel Alloa.
The conference is organized by: Nicolas Brulhart (Kunsthalle Friart), Alessandro De Cesaris (Fribourg), and Federico Fantelli (Fribourg & Palermo).
If you have any questions, please contact the organizers at virtualfribourg@gmail.com