Music Cognition Matters: Caroline Curwen
Event details
Breaking the Mold: Embracing Neurodiversity in Musical Thinking and Cognition
The focus of models on music cognition and musical thinking assumes a singular neurotypical way of thinking, which I dispute. Research on neurodivergent conditions like dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has concentrated on using music as a form of therapy to "cure" perceived disabilities instead of celebrating the strengths and talents of the neurodiverse musical community. In some cases, such as synaesthesia, innate neurodivergence is a fundamental aspect of an individual's musical experience and identity (Curwen, 2020). Although synaesthesia isn't necessarily harmful, it still falls under the category of neurodivergent thinking as it differs from perceived neurotypical cognition. I argue that synaesthesia in response to music should be viewed on a continuum from "synaesthesia" to "typical music cognition" rather than as a unique, separate entity (Curwen, 2022, 2020, 2018). My research leads me to establish a foundation for investigating neurodiversity in music cognition and for developing models that embrace such diversity.
Caroline Curwen
Caroline Curwen is a University Teacher in Psychology of Music at the University of Sheffield. She has published on synaesthesia associated with music, including the role of embodied and enactive accounts of music cognition in music-colour synaesthesia, arguing that the condition might be better understood as a sensorimotor phenomenon. Caroline received her PhD from the University of Sheffield with a thesis entitled Music-colour synaesthesia: A conceptual correspondence grounded in action. Caroline is also a consulting editor for Musicae Scientiae and the Treasurer of ESCOM.