An international conference at Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
20 – 22 May 2016
Many fields of culture, especially art and literature, religion and science, rely on the visual imagination. Its importance for our mental life has long made it a subject of interest to philosophers, and more recently it has been studied by psychologists, cognitive scientists, and now neuroscientists. This conference, which is the culmination of the AHRC-funded research project, ‘The Eye’s Mind: a Study of the Neural Basis of the Visual Imagination and of its Role in Culture’, will for the first time bring together specialists in all these areas with a view to laying the foundations for a new understanding of this vital human capacity.
To achieve this challenging goal the organisers seek proposals from specialists of graduate level and above in any relevant area to join the existing panel of keynote speakers in presenting their own research. Possible contributions would include: studies of the role of visual imaginative experience in any field of culture, analyses of the theoretical issues raised by imagery in the domains of philosophy and psychology, relevant work in cognitive science or neuroscience. Keynote speakers include Michael Tye (philosophy), Joel Pearson (neuroscience), Paul Broks (psychology), John Onians (art history), Adam Zeman (neurology).
Potential presenters should submit 250 word abstracts to m.mackisack@exeter.ac.uk by 29th February 2016 indicating whether platform or poster presentation is preferred. The registration fee will be kept to a minimum to cover costs, at around £150. Bursaries may be available for junior delegates. For more information the Eye’s Mind project, see http://medicine.exeter.ac.uk/research/neuroscience/theeyesmind/
