Somaesthetics Research Prize

Deadline: March 1, 2027

To recognize and encourage continued research in somaesthetics, the American Society for Aesthetics announces the Somaesthetics Research Prize.

For the 2027 prize, the submission deadline is March 1, 2027. The ASA selection committee welcomes published work of distinction published between May 1, 2025 – February 28, 2027. Eligible works are (1) books or (2) articles published in journals or collections published in English.

Articles in collections should be newly published within the eligible time period, not reprints from prior publication, and should be of length comparable to a journal article. Publication is understood to mean publication in venues with peer review recognized by the scholarly community and that are permanently available to the interested scholarly community of students and researchers. Eligible publication includes reputable on-line journals. Self-nominations are welcome. Only one nomination per competition should be submitted. Nominees must be ASA members as of the submission deadline.

Nominations will be judged based on adherence to scholarly standards of writing and demonstrated knowledge of the somaesthetics scholarship. The interdisciplinary field of somaesthetics is understood broadly as the critical study and meliorative cultivation of the experience and performance of the living body (or soma) as a site of sensory appreciation (aesthesis) and creative self-stylization. Contributions exploring the field of somaesthetics through one - or more - of the many disciplines that already inform this field are welcome: philosophy, aesthetics, arts and design research, technology studies, somatic, health, sports, and social sciences, history, physiology, psychology and pedagogy.

The prize winner will be selected by a committee appointed by the President of the ASA . The prize is $1000. The winner is encouraged but not required to attend the meeting, and travel expenses to the meeting will be provided.

Submissions should be directed to:
The American Society for Aesthetics
32650 State Route 20 Ste B102
PMB 30
Oak Harbor, WA 98277

Or to secretary-treasurer@aesthetics-online.org.

The nominated article or book chapter/section must be submitted in full. Electronic submissions are strongly preferred, in PDF format replicating the original publication. If PDF submission is not possible, then three copies of articles or book chapter/section must be submitted to the address above by the deadline listed.

The funding for this prize is being provided by revenue from a generous gift from a private foundation.

Additional gifts in support of the Somaesthetics Research Prize to the American Society for Aesthetics are welcome at any time. They may be made on-line on ASA Donation site.

Somaesthetics Research Prize: Winners

2025: Stefano Marino, "Pragmatist Aesthetics, Ethics of Taste, and Feminism," in Somapower: Somaesthetics Reads Politics, edited by Leszek Koczanowicz (Brill, 2024).

2023: Peg Brand Weiser, "Changing Perception of Beautiful Bodies: The Athletic Agency Model," in Somaesthetics and Sport, edited by Andrew Edgar (Brill, 2022).

2021: Solveig Aasen, "Crossmodal Aesthetics: How Dance and Music Can Match," The Philosophical Quarterly 71.2, 223-240 (2020).

Last updated: March 2, 2023