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Featured Event

Working Groups

Music as a Biological Imperative

The goal of this working group is to explore the hypothesis that music appreciation is rooted in our genes. If this is true, then various predictions emerge: 1) If music appreciation is encoded in our DNA, vestiges of musical competence should be found in other species; 2) aptitude for music should be found in early humans; 3) infants should show interest and understanding of music that does not involve learning if music is an essential part of our genetic heritage; 4) it should be possible to show how music is processed by the auditory system and explain the physiological reaction of people to music if music did, in fact, influence our survival.
More information about Music as a Biological Imperative

About the Institute

The Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities at The Ohio State University has as its mission:

• To facilitate emergent collaborations between humanities faculty and others across the university;
• To foster innovative forms of interdisciplinary education for undergraduates and graduate students;
• To enable the humanities to act as a significant bridge between the University, the city of Columbus and the broader public culture.

It seeks to be an active forum for exchange between scholars and citizens, both on- and off-campus, and a place where the University can think creatively about what it does.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2007, the Institute is located just east of OSU's main campus, in the George Wells Knight House, originally the home of the first chair of History at Ohio State. ICRPH has been underwritten by the College of Humanities, by an Academic Enrichment award from the Office of Academic Affairs, by generous special allocations from the Ohio General Assembly's Urban Initiative Program in 2004-06, 2006-08, and 2008-10, and by project grants and gifts.

More about us.