Drawing inspiration from contemplative sciences and neuroaesthetics, the Performances of the Mind seminar is a practical exploration of a variety of performative tasks that influence our thoughts, feelings and potential actions as individuals and as a collective.

 

During the seminar, participants will design and experience 'mind spaces', perceiving inner experiences as performances. Rather than expecting performance to be something to be watched, the seminar acknowledges that performance can also happen in one's own mind, created by an individual and experienced temporarily.

 

We will explore how sensory engagement, particularly touch, can activate memory, imagination and embodied awareness. The seminar will equip participants with the tools to design mind spaces in which they can actively create meaning. In these spaces, the mind functions as both a living archive and a site of transformation. Scientific research on memory and the effects of imagining future scenarios will be key to deepening our understanding of the mind's capacity to prepare for future challenges.

 

One session will be guest-lectured by Charlotta Ruth, a researcher, artist, choreographer and facilitator, with whom we will explore the facets of liveness in immaterial and digital spaces that perform on and within us.

https://charlottaruth.com/ 

 

Jasmin Schaitl https://jasminschaitl.com/ 

 

Literature

Required reading:

Z. Fowler & B.B. O'Connor (2024, 19 Sept.). 'Collaboratively imagining the future can bring people closer together in the present'. The Conversation. Available at:

https://theconversation.com/collaboratively-imagining-the-future-can-bring-people-closer-together-in-the-present-233859 

 

Further optional literature:

Grunwald, Martin. Homo Hapticus. Warum wir ohne Tastsinn nicht leben können. Droemer, München, 2017

Draaisma, Douwe. Forgetting. Yale University Press. New Haven and London, 2015

Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Thinking Hand. Wiley, Sussex, 2009

Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin. Wiley, Sussex, 2012

Gaesser, Brendan. “Constructing Memory, Imagination, and Em­pathy: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective.”, in: Frontiers in Psychology Vol. 3, Jan. 2013, Article 576. https://www.frontier­sin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00576 

Tulving, Endel. “Episodic Memory: From Mind to Brain,“ Annual Review Psychology. 2002. 53: p. 1–25. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135114 

 

- Continuous presence and active participation

- Willingness and openness in experiencing and discussing inner performative experiences

- Participating and exploring alternative ways of providing feedback and performative documentation

- Development, creation and facilitation of a "Performance of the Mind" during the seminar

- written reflection on the process of experiencing and facilitating mind performances/spaces

Max. Number of Students: 15

Language: English (German possible)