Research Incubator: Emotion, Cognition and Arts

Description:

The Seedbed on Emotion, Cognition and Art seeks to address the relationship between affective and mental phenomena and the arts. Disciplines such as cognitive sciences, musical cognition, cognitive poetics, evolutionary psychology, among others, have attempted to understand not only how the arts emerged and shape the human mind, but how art can be a means for well-being and the development of life skills. This is why this Seedbed seeks to investigate in a theoretical, basic and applied way the connection between the various forms of art and the human psyche.

Understanding the complexity of this context and of the country's history, we consider that research on political militancy and peacebuilding from the perspective of social actors, through their lives and memories, allows us to understand why people get involved in political movements or non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and how these reasons and motivations influence the dynamics of conflict, violence and peace. It also allows us to understand, on the one hand, the power dynamics, collective identities and demands of individuals and social movements; and on the other hand, democracy, education and culture for peace, and social inclusion.

Researching political militancy and peace building is not only relevant to understand the social and political phenomena themselves, but, we believe, it is also necessary to promote justice, inclusion and stability in societies.

Objectives:

1. Understanding emotional phenomena and their relationship with the arts from the interdisciplinary framework of cognitive sciences. This approach will include both educational aspects, such as knowledge of the main theories of emotion, quasi-emotions and the origin of art, also developing the research skills necessary for the training of students.
2. Delimit the field of study arising from the interaction between literature and psychology, addressing subfields such as the psychology of literature, psychology in literature and literature for the practice of psychology.
3. Propose new means for the development of socio-emotional skills through art, based on evidence and data collected and analyzed within the seedbed.

Line of Research:

1. Music and emotion.
2. Psychology and literature.
3. Quasi-emotions and fiction
4. Arts and well-being