The occasion to introduce a new volume of Contemporary Aesthetics is always an opportunity to assess the previous one and to take stock of where we stand. In the nine-year history of CA, this has always led to a positive reckoning and this year is no exception. Visits to our site have increased from 79,000 to 104,980. Important, too, is the growing internationalization of this journal. We have supported international scholarship from the start, and I am delighted to see that Vol. 8 (2010) has work by scholars from Finland, Sweden, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, the U.K., as well as from the U.S. Work in past volumes that comes to mind has been by scholars from Germany, Japan, France, The Netherlands, China, Norway, Canada, Israel, and Australia, and papers already scheduled for publication in Vol. 9 (2011) come from Austria, Hungary, and India. And this list may not be exhaustive!

During the past year we have reviewed and refined our mission statement so that it more clearly indicates our focus on substantive work of interest to a diverse readership, avoiding intramural debates that interest only a small number of specialists. Artists are represented on our site along with philosophers, and empirical researchers as well as theoretical ones. Another accomplishment this past year has been the completion of arrangements with MPublishing, formerly called the Scholarly Publishing Office of the University of Michigan Library, to include Contemporary Aesthetics in its electronic archives. CA is already archived in the Internet Archive. So this most ephemeral of media is now permanent! And we have also been added to Wilson’s OmniFile Full Text Mega database, OmniFile Full Text Select database, and their Art database.

Contemporary Aesthetics is grateful to the distinguished scholars who advise us on individual submissions. Their reviews are always constructive and informative, and authors almost invariably express their appreciation for the comments and suggestions they receive. Reviewers for Vol. 8 included John Carvalho, Ivan Gaskell, David Goldblatt, Mary Bittner Goldstein, Kathleen Higgins, Jo Ellen Jacobs, Carolyn Korsmeyer, Estella Lauter, Tom Leddy, David Macauley, Kevin Melchione, Mara Miller, Jos de Mul, Ossi Naukkarinen, Glenn Parsons, Monique Roelofs, Yuriko Saito, Larry Shiner, Julie van Camp, as well as the Editor. My warm thanks to these scholars for their generous assistance. We continue to enjoy the sponsorship and partial financial support of the Rhode Island School of Design and the generous contributions of individuals who support our mission. Contemporary Aesthetics continues to receive substantive advice and guidance from its International Editorial Advisory Board. For all these we are grateful.

Finally, I want to express my personal appreciation to the Editorial Board for its advice and counsel--to Larry Shiner, Ivan Gaskell and, most particularly, Associate Editor Yuriko Saito.

Arnold Berleant, Editor