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Description
In the past 20 years, the decreasing number of students taking humanities majors, the dwindling funding available for traditional humanities research, and the priority preferences of the new generations of students for studies leading to secure employment indicate that the humanities disciplines are in decline. The present project aims to address this problem by developing a module in neuroaesthetics to be offered to 2nd year English literature and language humanities students at University of Suceava, Romania.
The new module as part of the humanities curricula will achieve 3 immediate and long-term objectives:
1. Increasing, in the long term, the number of students taking humanities majors by attracting students who might have chosen to study the sciences even though they are also attracted by humanities topics;
2. Increasing, in the long as well as the immediate term, the funding available to humanities departments by educating humanities students as tomorrow''s humanities academic staff who will be able to attract research funding available only to science fields, both for neuroaesthetics fundamental and exploratory research on how art is relevant to human action, perception, and cognition, and for applied neuroaesthetics research in fields such as advertising, virtual reality, or medical humanities;
3. Increasing, in the immediate term, the attractiveness of a humanities career which, if based in neuroaesthetics research, can lead to secure employment in the commercial areas associated with fields such as those enumerated above, and are open to transnational circuits hitherto available mostly to science-based disciplines.
We believe that neuroaesthetics research located in humanities departments can mobilise untapped resources for the redressing, strengthening, and growth of humanities departments, positively affecting both students and staff. This vision will be achieved by cooperating with 2 major Norwegian institutions, NTNU and University of Bergen.
Summary of project results
At the end of the project, the Neuroaesthetics Module Integrated Curriculum (first of this kind in Romania) was elaborated for students who attend the Romanian-Norwegian joint taught Module in Neuroesthetics of for any student interested in the domain. Four Romanian teachers and students improved their competencies in the field by taking part in the training provided by the University of Bergen. The result of the project were disseminated to 35 participants from within and outside the partnership.
Summary of bilateral results
Due to the cooperation with the IS and NO partners the Manual on Neuroesthetics, the first Manual on this field, was elaborated within the Stefan cel Mare University in Suceava (project promoter). The Manual is accessible for any student interested in this aria., as well as, for students who like to attend the Romanian-Norwegian taught Neuroesthetics Module, offered by the project partners.The project partners are committed to proceeding with an application for a joint Romanian-Norwegian Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters in Neuroaesthetics.