The Aesthetic Research Centre (ARC) and the Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Film and the Moving Image (CISFMI) warmly invite you to:
A Symposium on Villains
University of Kent
21st May 2015
9am-5pm
Grimond lecture theatre 2
Little has been said about the appeal of villains, and the important role they play in stories. In what sense can we be said to enjoy the villain’s transgressions – and do we enjoy all sorts of transgressions? In this interdisciplinary symposium we will address what a villain is, which acts or character traits we perceive as villainous, how villains are portrayed and how we feel about villains in various art forms and media, such as in film, television series, video games and theatre.
09.00-09.50: Associate professor Anne Eaton (Dept. of Philosophy, University of Illinois at Chicago): “Aesthetic and Moral Quandaries Pertaining to Likeable and Admirable Villains”
10.00-10.50: Dr Margrethe Bruun Vaage (Film dept., University of Kent): “Narrative Desires and the Importance of Immorality in Stories”
11.00-11. 50: Professor Murray Smith (Film Dept., University of Kent) “The Wild, the Beautiful, and the Damned: Villains, Anti-Heroes and Moral Imperfectionism”
12.00-12.50: Dr Jonathan Friday (History of Art Dept., University of Kent): “On Great Villains”
12.50-14.10: Lunch (not provided)
14.10-15.00: Dr Helen Brooks (Dept. of Drama and Theatre, University of Kent): “Spies and Brutes: The Representation of Germans as Villains on the British Stage Between 1914 and 1918”
15.10-16.00: John Sabo (School of Psychology, University of Kent): “The Fictive Pass: An Exploration of Why Fictional Violence Is More Acceptable Than Fictional Sexuality”
16.10-17.00: Professor Roger Giner-Sorolla (School of Psychology, University of Kent): “Harms and Taboos: Emotions and Character in Differing Reactions to Villainous Behavior”
The symposium is free and open to everyone, and you do not need to register.
Questions may be directed to Margrethe Bruun Vaage (M.B.Vaage@kent.ac.uk)
Generously sponsored by Kent Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, the Aesthetic Research Centre and the Centre for the Interdisciplinary Study of Film and the Moving Image at the University of Kent