RC Seminar: Art, Mind and Medicine

Art, Mind and Medicine: RCSSCI 360.002

with Dr. Jeff Evans, RC Professor and Director of Training for the adult postdoctoral fellowship program at the UM Hospital’s Division of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology.

Wednesdays & Fridays, 11am-12:30pm

This course explores psychological and neuropsychological underpinnings of creativity in art and science, including problem-solving and the aesthetic response. Special reference will be made to the use of creative activities and of exposure to the arts in promoting mental and physical health.  So, in addition to considering how brain and mind are involved in creativity, this course is about practical applications in fields such as the arts therapies (art, music, dance, drama, creative writing), and the Arts in Medicine.

Questions addressed throughout the semester include:

• Is the creative process the same or different across people and across mediums of
expression?  
• How does creativity in the arts and in the sciences differ?
• What behaviors are associated with creativity and how does the brain provide for
those behaviors?
• What are the roles of innate talent, acquired skills, self-efficacy and perceived
control at various moments of the creative process?  
• Can creativity be learned?
• How can creative behaviors and aesthetic experience affect mood and the immune
system?
• What does controlled research reveal about the effect of creative activity and
aesthetic experience on mental and physical health?
• How do art and creative activity function in hospitals and other therapy settings?

This course satisfies the University’s Junior/Senior writing requirement.  All students will be evaluated on class participation, on completion and comprehension of reading assignments, and on several writing assignments, including a substantial term project.

Note:  Please do not register for this course if you completed the Fall, 2007, RC minicourse,
Art, Mind and Medicine.

Posted on 07 Dec 08 by Matt Hampel