Embodied Music Cognition Conference (EMuCog): An Interdisciplinary Perspective

Over the past few decades, developments in the field of cognitive science have slowly but surely reshaped our understanding of the relationship between the brain, body, and world.  Furthermore, these movements have developed concurrently with experimental and theoretical work on "embodied" human activities, such as various forms of artistic practices and sensorimotor tasks.  The purpose of this conference is therefore to explore the current state of the field relating to music and music cognition, as well as critically examine contemporary questions and problems elicited by such research.  Following Pearce and Rohrmeir's (2012) recent overview of music cognition, we are interested in continuing to expand the dialogue into questions such as "Why should music be of interest to cognitive scientists?", "What role does it play in human cognition?" and "Can [the cognitive scientific study of music] generate real insights into the functioning of the mind?"  Moreover, following from the fact that cognitive science has an inherently interdisciplinary approach – drawing from areas as diverse as cognitive psychology, developmental biology, philosophy, theoretical linguistics, and robotics, among others – we believe such a dialogue must take place between specialists from a multiplicity of academic disciplines.

For general information, please refer to the conference website at
http://www.ppls.ed.ac.uk/philosophy/events/view/embodied-music-cognition-emucog-conference

Any emaining questions about the conference, travel, or other issues should be sent to [email protected].