About the ASA - American Society For Aesthetics

Membership Information

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American Society for Aesthetics

The American Society for Aesthetics was founded in 1942 to promote study, research, discussion, and publication in aesthetics. "Aesthetics," in this connection, is understood to include all studies of the arts and related types of experience from a philosophic, scientific, or other theoretical standpoint, including those of psychology, sociology, anthropology, cultural history, art criticism, and education. "The arts" include the visual arts, literature, music, and theater arts.

The ASA publishes the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, the ASA Graduate E-Journal (ASAGE), the ASA Newsletter, and this web site. All publications are free to members. The Society also meets annually in the fall and its regional divisions in the spring and summer.
The ASA sponsors the Danto and Wollheim Lectures at its annual meeting.

Contact Information

American Society for Aesthetics
c/o Julie Van Camp
1550 Larimer St. #644
Denver CO 80202-1602

Secretary-Treasurer

Membership Information

Membership is open to all interested persons. All regular members receive print and electronic subscriptions to the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. Green members receive an electronic subscription to JAAC, but no print copies.

To join the Society, click "Join ASA" at the top of the page to join with a credit card. To join with a check, please mail the check with the appropriate form (below). You can renew your membership up to 150 days before expiration by using the link that will appear on your profile page.

In June 2020, the ASA Board of Trustees approved a major restructuring of the Membership Dues.

Reduced Green membership rates: Effective October 1, 2020, the rates for Green memberships are reduced $7/year, regardless of employment status.
New Unemployed membership: Effective October 1, 2020, members who do not have full-time professional or academic employment can join at a new Unemployed Green rate of $25/year.
Regular Memberships: Recognizing the rapidly escalating costs for printing and postage, Regular membership rates were increased to cover those costs as of January 1, 2021.

2021 Membership rates

The ASA membership year is January 1 - December 31. We regret that we are unable to pro-rate membership dues. When a new member joins in the last three months of the year, that membership is extended through 12/31 of the following calendar year. We caution that persons who expect to need print copies of JAAC in the future should decline the Green membership option. ASA will not be able to provide print copies to authors published in JAAC.

Benefits of Membership

Regular members get print copies of JAAC (four per year).
All members (both Regular and Green) get immediate access to the latest issues of JAAC via the publisher's web site. (Databases such as JStor have a one-year delay in availability.)
ASA members receive a 20% discount on all Oxford University Press hardcover titles.
Student members are eligible for travel support to the annual meeting if they have a paper accepted.
Only ASA members are eligible for the Dissertation Fellowship, the Outstanding Monograph Prize, the John Fisher Memorial Prize, the Selma Jeanne Cohen Prize in Dance Aesthetics, the Somaethetics Research Award, the Arthur Danto/ASA Prize, Major Grants, and other opportunities.
Only ASA members are eligible for the Irene H. Chayes Travel grants to the annual meeting and divisional meetings for people with no institutional access to travel funds to present their work.
Only ASA members can serve as editors, trustees, or officers of the Society.
Only ASA members may present papers, commentaries, or panel presentations at the annual meeting.
All divisional meetings require that program participants be ASA members.
Only members can access the Members section of the new web site, which includes current and historic records of the ASA.
Only members can vote in elections for trustees and officers.

Charitable Contributions

The ASA is organized under the laws of Ohio as a nonprofit corporation. It has been ruled a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization by the United States Treasury Department, as an organization operated exclusively for educational purposes. Contributions, gifts, and bequests to the Society are deductible on Federal income tax returns, to the maximum extent allowed by law.

Officers and Trustees

President: David Davies, McGill University (2023)
Vice President: Paul C. Taylor (2023)
Past President: Susan L. Feagin, Temple University (2023)
Secretary-Treasurer: Julie C. Van Camp, California State University, Long Beach (2025)

Aili Bresnahan, University of Dayton (2024)
Eva M. Dadlez, Central Oklahoma University (2023)
Ivan Gaskell, Bard Graduate Center (2024)
Keren Gorodeisky, Auburn University (2022)
Ted Gracyk, Minnesota State University ex officio (2023)
C. Thi Nguyen, University of Utah (2024)
Charles Peterson, Jr., Oberlin College (2023)
Monique Roelofs, University of Amsterdam (2022)
Brian R. Soucek, University of California, Davis (2023)
Robert Stecker, Central Michigan University ex officio (2023)