24th to 31st of August 2024 | in cooperation with SISU and LMU

Group picture of the professors at the summer school in Shanghai

Under the headline “Power of Aesthetics”, the VDW held interdisciplinary seminars with their partners LMU and SISU. The seminars contained influences of Science, Technology, Education, Art and Management to explore beauty in all its functions and forms.

Managing director Dr. Maria Reinisch, bord member Prof. Dr. Ernst Pöppel and members of the young VDW participated in this one week course in Shanghai, China.

Statements of the Experts

The decisive factor for the summer school were the numerous lecturers, who provided interesting sessions with their different backgrounds. This took place in an intercultural and academic exchange about art, aesthetics and science.

„If we meet together, we can start to combine western and eastern wisdom and try to find solutions from different sides and perspectives.“

Prof. Lao Zhu, PKU, SISU, Artist, Art History
Prof. Yan Bao bei der Summer School 2024

„This is the first time for me to join an interdisciplinary summer school. […] A real interdisciplinary cooperation should be that each one brings their own knowledge to cocreate something completely new. […] The summer school inspired this idea furthermore.“

Prof. Yan Bao, PKU, Cognitive Sciences, Educational Psychology

„The Summer School was an incredible success. Above all, I have to say that the cooperation between SISU, LMU and VDW was fundamental to its success. The VDW played a very central role here, also through the participation of the young VDW at the seminars.“

Prof. Ernst Pöppel, LMU, Cognitive Sciences, Behavioral Physiology

The Young VDW and Their Topics

Lexical beauty: what is behind?

This exploratory talk is dedicated to the aesthetic component of vocabulary perception. We will touch upon the topics of beauty evaluation of words, its potential criteria, and possible interrelation between beauty and effort necessary for inferring a new word’s meaning. We will raise such questions as whether it is feasible to create a prototypical ‚beautiful‘ or ‚ugly‘ word, and whether it could be language- or culture-specific.

Elvira, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Linguistics

The power of aesthetics in urban planning – Designing social spaces and building communities

Aesthetics in urban planning is the consideration of design principles in visual appearance, functionality and cultural surrounding, trying to meet the taste and satisfaction of the residents. Urban planning needs to create spaces relating to the different needs of different social groups – visually and functionally. Aesthetics in urban spaces can help people to identify with their surrounding and it can strengthen communities and social relations.

Sophia, University of Stuttgart, Urban Design

The occipital lobe as a neural reference in a cross-cultural fMRI study of mental imagery

Here I present a rank order correlation based beta-value analysis method for unrepeatable trials in fMRI study, and some observations into the role of occipital lobe in mental imagery tasks.

Zhang, PKU, University of Cambridge, LMU, Psychology

Environmental Aesthetics in the ‚Urban Sphere‘

In this presentation, I reflect on Oslo’s response to global ecological challenges. We will explore the planning and design of ‚biophilic cities‘ and the alignment of ethical principles with aesthetic preferences. By turning attention to the Norwegian capital, this presentation bridges contemporary issues in environmental thought and urban studies, encouraging reflection on the aesthetic value of ‚green cities‘

Andrew, NYU, University of Oslo, Environmental Sciences
Follow Up Event on the 14th of September

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