Office of Academic Affairs

First Symposium V - 2017

First Symposium IV showcased the work of students as a result of the First-Year and Advanced-Entry Seminar experience in fall 2017. 

Tuning the Hemispheres: Music and the Brain
Why do we make and listen to music and what is happening in our brain when we experience it? Are we evolutionarily adapted for music? Can music make us smarter? What role does music play in the creation of our identities, and how have our interactions with it changed over time? This seminar will examine the psychological and physiological effects that music has on the human brain, and consider it in broad contexts and specific case studies.  We will consider how, in the age of Spotify, YouTube, and the iPhone, our musical experiences continue to evolve.