Fieldwork in Philosophy: Aesthetics in Action

• In Event: Roundtable Session 55
  In Roundtable Session: Fieldworking in Philosophy as Methodology

Abstract

   Fieldwork in philosophy is a methodology which Paul Rabinow calls a practice of inquiry (Rabinow, 2003). It is concerned with aesthetic dimensions of research; it analyzes the means through which we collect, create and represent data for the purpose of public use. In its traditional domain, aesthetics is understood as theories about the value and judgment of art. Here, the author reconsiders this notion and instead relies on the concept of aesthetics suggested by Jacques Rancière. Aesthetics is not a theory of art; aesthetics are the continuous acts and practices through which we categorize what pertains to art and how we determine its boundaries (Ranciere, 2004). It questions what voices determine art and non-art, what genres are, and the difference between makers and consumers of art.

Author

• Marcelina Piotrowski, The University of British Columbia