Conference: Synaesthesia with children

The Musisches Zentrum of the University of Ulm invites in cooperation with the German Association of Synaesthesia (DSG), researchers from all over the world for the first International Conference on the subject of:

Synaesthesia with children. Creativity and Learning.

On 11th and 12th May 2012, in the auditorium of the new research building (N27), University of Ulm, Meyerhofstraße/James-Frank-Ring, Science City, 89081 Ulm. The conference will start on Friday 11th May 2012, 9:30pm.

Does Aunt Anna's voice sound orange? Is the taste of the pudding dotted? Does the cookie smell raw? Is the bedtime music green? Is 3 + 4 = yellow?

To not only see colors but also smell, hear, taste or feel them, represents a special form of perception that is called "synesthesia." So if a child says that someone is green or pink, it may hear his voice as pink. If an "A" is for example blue or the number "3" for example always yellow, when a sound feels always "like a pillar of ice in your hand", that's synesthesia.

The phenomenon of linked perception (synesthesia) has been previously studied in several countries with great interest of brain researchers to learn more about the consciousness structure of the human spirit.
A lot of renowned artists and musicians used it as a source of inspiration (Wassily Kandinsky, Alexander Scriabin, Olivier Messiaen, Jimi Hendrix, David Hockney).
For the first time our conference brings together the observations, studies and research on synesthesia in children and their relevance for the advancement of learning and how to boost creativity. Need for further research will be discussed in the scientific circle.

The conference is intended for artists, musicians, educators, teachers of all subject areas, educators, psychologists, physicians, neuroscientists, Theater people, writers, students, and anyone interested in synaesthesia.

Contact and info: Christine Söffing

The proceedings will be published in Spring 2014