[Sci-tech-public] Sept. 17 Introduction "Sensing the Unseen" @ MIT

[Amberly Steward]

Please join us for the inaugural session of "Sensing the Unseen," a
year-long seminar series of current scholarship on the sensory and media
modes employed to access realms of existence and experience outside the
immediately visible.  A Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures,
"Sensing the Unseen" is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and hosted
by MIT Anthropology.  For details, including a list of upcoming seminars,
see:   <http://web.mit.edu/unseen/> http://web.mit.edu/unseen/ 

 

All seminar meetings are free and open to the public - no registration is
required. We hope you'll be able to attend!

 

 <http://web.mit.edu/unseen/species/introduction.html> Sensing the Unseen:
Introduction 

Friday, September 17, 3:00-5:00 pm  

@ MIT Building 56 ( <http://whereis.mit.edu/?go=56> Whitaker Building), Room
114

 

Speakers: Constance Classen and David Howes

Discussants: Noel Jackson (MIT) and Caroline Jones (MIT) 

 

Constance Classen, "The History of the Senses" 

Medieval odours of incense, sounds of church bells ringing these are not
just picturesque details of an earlier era, they are sensory keys. This talk
makes use of such keys to unlock doors to other perceptual worlds, worlds
that often remain unseen and ignored in conventional historical accounts. 

 

David Howes, "How Many Senses Are There?" 

The categorization of the senses is a vexing problem. The closer science
looks at them the more they split and multiply. When we explore the senses
across cultures we find a tremendous variety of perceptual models. The
inquiry seems to break down completely when notions of extrasensory
perception are factored in. Or perhaps that is precisely the place to start.


 

Please also join us for a wine and cheese Opening Reception (bldg 16, rm
220) immediately following the seminar. 

 

Follow this link to receive email reminders for upcoming seminars:
https://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/unseen_list



 

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