ASA Announces Two Dissertation Fellowship Winners

The American Society for Aesthetics is pleased to announce that S.J. Cowan (University of California, Berkeley) and Gozde Yildirim (Boston University) have won the ASA Dissertation Fellowships for 2024-2025. They were selected from a very competitive field of applicants by senior members of the ASA.

Cowan's dissertation, "The Play of Appearances: Aesthetic Semblance and the Reflective Conception of Art," is directed by Alva Noë and and Andreja Novakovic. He received an MA in Philosophy from the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, WI, an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA, and BFA in Photography from Columbia College, Chicago, IL

Yildirim's dissertation, "Morality, Character, and Aesthetic Judgment: A Humean Account," is directed by Aaron Garrett. She received a BA in Philosophy from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey.

The ASA fellowships provide $30,000, in addition to fees and dissertation-level tuition not exceeding $5000. This is the tenth year for the ASA Dissertation Fellowship. Previous winners:

• 2023-24: Raciel Cuevas, Temple University
• 2023-24: Eskil Elling, Northwestern University
• 2022-23: Nathan L. Smith, Duke University
• 2021-22: Jenny Judge, New York University
• 2020-21: David Collins, McGill University
• 2019-20: Kathryn Wojtkiewicz, Graduate Center-City University of New York
• 2018-19: Caitlin Dolan, University of California, Berkeley
• 2017-18: Madeleine Ransom, University of British Columbia
• 2016-17: Marilynn Johnson, Graduate Center-City University of New York
• 2015-16: David Johnson, Northwestern University

The deadline for application for the 2024-2025 Fellowships will be January 1, 2024.  Guidelines