Exploring the X: employing the scientific method as a framework to unveil cognitive insights through artistic practices
This seminar takes the scientific method, one of the most innovative inventions humans have created for exploring ideas and constructing knowledge, and applies it to artistic practices of research and production. What are the processes by which we investigate our conscious experiences in art and science? What can these disciplines learn from one another and how can we open up the ways in which we generate research questions and conduct experiments to explore the unknown - the X? Our aim is to investigate the cognitive realm - our conscious and subconscious thoughts and emotions – using an interdisciplinary methodology inspired by empirical insights from cognitive science and artistic modes of production. Together we will create new modes of experimentation and challenge the notion of the “laboratory.” During the seminar you will have the chance to develop and test experimental paradigms and stimuli. Come with questions, prepare yourself to tackle problems, and enjoy the process. Dr. Marjan Sharifi will be your guide through exploring the X. She is a highly experienced interdisciplinary scholar and trained cognitive scientist with a PhD in cognitive psychology which she completed in the social neuroscience department of the Max Planck Institute for Human and Cognitive Brain Sciences.
We will be examining four main themes which we will spread across the core weeks of May and June. The first date, Friday 22 May will be the intro to the course where all the important course information and materials will be shared. The final day, Thursday June 25th, you will be sharing your final projects.