Perception and the Arts Instructor: Ellen Covey, Psychology The seminar will explore basic biological mechanisms and cognitive principles in the visual system, auditory system, and somatic senses, and their relation to selected art forms including painting and other visual arts, music, theatre/film, dance, and the applied arts. A particular focus will be the common perceptual threads that connect art perceived through different sensory systems. Communication through art will be considered both from an explicit, storytelling perspective (communication of information) and an emotional perspective (communication of feelings). The class will include formal presentations on the neurobiology of sensory systems and principles of cognitive processing, seminar-type discussions of how these processes and principles apply to different art forms, field trips to local exhibits and performances, guest presentations by professional artists, and student projects and presentations on selected topics. The course will provide an orientation to UW resources for scholarly research, acquisition of basic information about sensory and perceptual processes as they relate to different art forms, active participation in workshops, field trips and hands-on activities, and in-depth exploration of a self-selected topic relating sensory processing and the arts. Meets: MTWTh 9:30-12:00
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