Leading scholars to explore borderland between art and science

Charles Darwin University will explore the nexus between art and science with several leading international thinkers at a symposium in Darwin next month.

Open to the public, the two-day symposium will demonstrate how creative works in the arts and the sciences have flourished as a consequence of exchanges between the two disciplines.

It will also examine why some scholars uphold the “two cultures” view, which argues that scientific methods do not enlighten society’s understanding of art.

Lecturer in Literary Studies and science-literature author Dr Christian Bök said this would be the first symposium of its type to be held in the Northern Territory.

“The School of Creative Arts and Humanities has assembled an international dream team of visual artists, literary writers, experimental writers, cognitive scientists and contemporary philosophers to discuss the role of creativity in their disciplines,” Dr Bök said.

“The program has been built around four sessions, each to be co-presented by a visiting speaker and a scholar from CDU.

“I’ll co-present ‘Creativity in Art and Science’ with acclaimed British Professor of Music Andrew Hugill in a session that explores the history of pataphysics, an ‘imaginary’ discipline, where artists go to conduct their experiments, and where scientists go to indulge their daydreams.”

Dr Bök said each of the other guest speakers, professors Anjan Chatterjee, Olga Kisseleva and Bill Thompson, were renowned leaders in their fields.

“These thinkers will present ground-breaking scholarship with the potential to transfigure our understanding of the interaction between the arts and the sciences,” Dr Bök said.

Symposium: Creativity in the Borderland between Art and Science will be held at Charles Darwin University (Blue 1.1.01 Theatre, Casuarina campus) on 3-4 August.

To RSVP, please send an email to cahadmin@cdu.edu.au