Brandon Polite
@politephilosopher.bsky.social
Philosopher at Knox College | Host of YouTube series "Polite Conversations: Philosophers Discussing Art" http://tinyurl.com/2efdaxrn | editor of *Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording* (Bloomsbury 2025) https://tinyurl.com/2dswn6d8 | he/him
New episode: Jay Miller and I discuss irony. Hegel vs. the Romantics, meme culture, protest, camp, and the difference between “thin” irony and irony that actually means something. When is irony insightful, and when is it just empty posturing? Check it out!!!
Ep. 85: Hegel on Hipsters: Irony & the Value of Earnestness | A Discussion with Jay Miller
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Check out my new and improved Philosophy of Games syllabus, featuring @add-hawk.bsky.social, @stephaniepatridge.bsky.social, @cjbartel.bsky.social, and more!!!
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@politephilosopher.bsky.social @news4wombats.bsky.social and I got featured in the daily nous's latest heap of links! The cool part is that OUP made our article available to read for free for the next 90 days!
Justin Weinberg@dailynous.com · 6mo agoWhat is a music genre? Are we headed towards civil war? Is it better to have a daughter than a son? Would it be better to fund research projects randomly? How should you find literature for your research? How should we deal with the use of AI in research?
Check out my paper on the ontology of music genres with @emmiemalone.bsky.social and @news4wombats.bsky.social!!!
emmie malone 🏳️⚧️@emmiemalone.bsky.social · 7mo agoLatest paper on the ontology of genre, coauthored with @politephilosopher.bsky.social and @news4wombats.bsky.social, is now up at the British Journal of Aesthetics! In it, we get into the weeds of Christmas and World music, alien jazz, and Gorgoroth! academic.oup.com/bjaesthetics...
What makes art honest—and does it matter? I talk with philosopher Jeremy Page about self-expression, deeper truths, and when bending facts works (or doesn’t). From memoirs to Marvel, Seinfeld to stand-up, we explore honesty’s role across genres. Check it out!!!
Ep. 84: Artistic Honesty & Truth in Art | A Discussion with Jeremy Page
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Happy to report that @lizscar.bsky.social's and my article "Patina of Sound: Valuing Vinyl Records as Relics of Aged Interaction," was just published by ESPES. The Slovak Journal of Aesthetics as part of a symposium on Art, Aesthetics, and the Sense of Touch edited by @carolynkorsmeyer.bsky.social!
Patina of Sound: Valuing Vinyl Records as Relics of Aged Interaction | Polite | ESPES. The Slovak Journal of Aesthetics
Patina of Sound: Valuing Vinyl Records as Relics of Aged Interaction
espes.ff.unipo.sk
Check out the incomparable Jennifer Judkins' generous and enthusiastic review of *Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording: The Art of Taylor’s Versions* at JAAC!!! doi.org/10.1093/jaac...
Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording: The Art of Taylor’s Versions
If you follow Brandon Polite’s work, and you should, you will immediately recognize this anthology’s roots in his Bloomsbury Contemporary Aesthetics Case S
doi.org
Check it out!!!
emmie malone 🏳️⚧️@emmiemalone.bsky.social · last yr.excited to say the incomparable @news4wombats.bsky.social, @politephilosopher.bsky.social, and I's paper, "Music Genres as Historical Individuals", was accepted for publication in the British Journal of Aesthetics! The preprint is available here: philpapers.org/rec/MALMGA
New episode: I talk with Cynthia Freeland about the aesthetics of Korean dramas (K-dramas). We discuss romance, reincarnation, censorship, class, fate, white panel vans, why Band-Aids can be sexy, and much, much more. Check it out!!! youtu.be/5L6L0nJ2N1k
Ep. 83: The Aesthetics of K-Dramas | A Discussion with Cynthia Freeland
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New episode: Adriana Clavel-Vázquez and I discuss how racism shapes aesthetic perception, why seeing is never neutral, and how art helps us learn (and can help us unlearn) harmful perceptual habits. Check it out!!!
Ep. 82: Racialized Aesthetic Perception & Oppression | A Discussion with Adriana Clavel-Vázquez
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Check out my interview with @strohltopia.bsky.social on his most recent book, Hard to Watch: How to Fall in Love with Difficult Movies (link in the comments)!!! We focus on how algorithms harm our tastes and how to resist them, the values of humility and boredom, and much more. youtu.be/GJRFHSoe7pA
Ep. 81: Resisting Algorithms & Appreciating Difficult Movies | A Discussion with Matt Strohl
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The revolutionary article that Aaron Meskin and I wrote, "Why Record Shops Matter Aesthetically," which is forthcoming in JAAC, is now available online. If you can access it, check it out!!!! doi.org/10.1093/jaac...
Why Record Shops Matter Aesthetically: A Case Study in Aesthetic Institutions1
Abstract. After nearly being killed off by CDs in the 1980s and 1990s, and despite the rise of streaming services like Spotify, vinyl records have had a ma
doi.org
Check me out as I talk about what Taylor's Versions can teach us about the nature of versions more generally.
Bloomsbury Philosophy@bloomsburyphilo.bsky.social · last yr.Join us on April 29th for the next Bloomsbury Lecture, as @politephilosopher.bsky.social talks about Taylor Swift and her project of re-recording her first six studio albums. Register here: bit.ly/43QOONU
Check out my interview with Eva Dadlez about tattoos. We discuss evolving attitudes toward tattoos regarding issues of gender, class, morality, and their status as a legitimate art form, and much, much more!!! youtu.be/NPfm8dXDhaQ
Ep. 80: Tattoos As Art & Expression | A Discussion with Eva Dadlez
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Check out my interview with James Shelley (Auburn) about the nature of aesthetic value!
Ep. 79: The Nature of Aesthetic Value | A Discussion with James Shelley
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Check out my interview with Andrew Kania (Trinity University) on authenticity in classical music!
Ep. 78: Authenticity in Classical Music | A Discussion with Andrew Kania
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My edited volume, Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording, is currently on sale for 30% at Bloomsbury's website. If you haven't ordered it yet, now would be a great time to do so.
Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording
A lively and thorough exploration of the aesthetic, metaphysical, ethical, political, and legal implications of Taylor Swift's ongoing project of re-recording h…
bloomsbury.com
Check out the thrilling conclusion to my interview with Murray Smith (University of Kent), where we discuss film's musical possibilities and music's cinematic possibilities!
Ep. 77: Film, Sound, & Music: Part 2 | A Discussion with Murray Smith
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Check out Part 1 of my interview with Murray Smith (University of Kent) about the evolving roles that sound and music have played in cinema. It's a fun one!!! And tune in next week for the exciting conclusion to the interview!
Ep. 77: Film, Sound, & Music: Part 1 | A Discussion with Murray Smith
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Check out my interview with the amazing @emmiemalone.bsky.social on #countrymusic #fashion #costumes #queercountry #cowboycarter #chappellroan #jojosiwa #taylorswift #philosophy #punk #elvispresley & more!!!!
Ep. 76: Country, Popular Music, & Fashion | A Discussion with Emmie Malone
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*Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording: The Art of Taylor's Versions*. Out now in hardback and paperback!!! Please check it out, and share this post widely. #taylorswift #taylorsversions #philosophy
Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording
A lively and thorough exploration of the aesthetic, metaphysical, ethical, political, and legal implications of Taylor Swift's ongoing project of re-recording h…
bloomsbury.com
My edited volume is out there in the world! Are you... Ready For It?
Lindsay Brainard@lindsaybrainard.bsky.social · 2y ago10/10 mail day! My friend @politephilosopher.bsky.social's new book on Taylor Swift's re-recordings arrived! This collection of essays is 🔥. Drop everything now and go get yourself a copy! tiny.cc/im17001
Check out my conversation with @brsoucek.bsky.social on his book "Permitting Art: Visual Arts and the First Amendment on the Streets of New York" (Cabinet Books, 2024)! We discuss the relationship between art, commerce, and the law by looking at a number of important cases from NYC and beyond.
Ep. 75: Art Laws | A Discussion with Brian Soucek
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"Taylor Swift and the Philosophy of Re-recording: The Art of Taylor's Versions," edited by me, is now available from Bloomsbury as an ebook at their website and elsewhere! It will be out in hardback and paperback two weeks (aka, a "Fortnight") from today. Please share widely! tinyurl.com/48nx52kz
Check out my interview with @lindsaybrainard.bsky.social on creativity and A.I.!!! We consider: What is creativity? What would it take for A.I. to be creative? Are Taylor Swift's re-recordings creative? How should A.I. be regulated? And much, much more.
Ep. 74: Creativity & the Threat of A.I. | A Discussion with Lindsay Brainard
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Check out my interview with Luvell Anderson (@luke-rage.bsky.social) about his work on race and the ethics of humor! We talk how context affects a joke's success; whether it's ever ok for white comedians to use the N-word in their acts; whether a joke can ever be timeless; and much, much more.
Ep. 73: Race & Comedy | A Discussion with Luvell Anderson
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Check out my interview with Stephanie Patridge on snobbery. We talk about elitism and classicism, prestige, cobblers, boxed wine, record shops, punk, country, heavy metal, The Shawshank Redemption, French fries, Rush, Donald Trump's golden toilet, and much, much more!
Ep 72: Snobbery, Taste, & Elitism | A Discussion with Stephanie Patridge
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