Cynthia Freeland received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently professor and chair of the department of Philosophy at the University of Houston. She has written extensively on aesthetics, art and film, currently working on “Fakes and Forgeries: Values in the Arts”. In 2001, her book “But is it Art?” was published by the Oxford University Press. She has authored dozens of articles, abstracts and reviews on aesthetics, ancient philosophy and feminist theory. She is a frequent guest lecturer at institutions across the country and abroad. Cynthia’s many awards include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which she received in 2003. She has curated exhibitions of photography at the Houston Center for Photography, and also curated the film series “Fatal Subtraction: Three Decades of Women in Horror” at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Cynthia has served on arts related boards and continues to address a wide variety of issues in the arts.