MBB 980P: The Role of Music in Health and Education

Music shapes the course of human history at both a micro and macro scale; The "universal
language" has the power to connect people who share no other common ground. Its power to
bind people together is intuitively understood, but only through recent neuroimaging advances
over the past few decades have scientists been able to move past intuition to reveal its impact
on the brain. In this course, we will examine the exciting progress of the fields of music, science,
and social science, through a variety of lenses, and meet some of the experts in the field. Who
are the key investigators and practitioners in today's emerging music/brain landscape? What
are the latest discoveries about how music affects the brain? How does how we hear and listen
impact our perception of music? Who are some of the key influencers in music and social
change? This course invites students to deepen their relationship with music, exploring
different aspects of the art form through the lens of neuroscience, education, medicine, music
therapy, public health and social justice. By the end of this course, the learner will (1)
understand the effect of music on the developing brain; (2) understand the mechanism of
hearing music; (3) consider the pathophysiology of disordered movement and hearing and how
music can be used therapeutically; and (4) understand how other disciplines can add to their
knowledge of the therapeutic uses of music. Given the transdisciplinary nature of the work,
students will be introduced to literature from different disciplines and use these resources to
explore their own individual interests in music.