Since 2004 I have been on the faculty of this academy...
Joseph Baldwin Academy for Eminent Young Scholars
From the JBA website:
"The Joseph Baldwin Academy offers highly talented students a head start on their future university careers by allowing them to spend three weeks as college freshmen: they move into a residence hall; adapt to living with a roommate; eat dorm food; make new friends; attend classes; and work with Truman State's faculty. The primary goal of the Academy is, and will always be, that our students leave with an increased appreciation for the pleasures of education, intellectual engagement, and the college experience. Along the way we expect that they will grow both academically and socially as they interact with other high-ability students from across the country."
JBA Course Description
Biomusicology: The Study of Music from a Biological Perspective
Course designed and taught by Shirley McKamie,
Truman State University
How does music affect the brain? Why is memory enhanced by musical cues? Exactly how does music function as a form of communication for humans, as well as other species? The emerging field of Biomusicology addresses such questions from a biological point of view, and music is studied as a natural system that is indispensable to human cultures.
Throughout the course we use readings and research projects, as well as guest lectures by musicians and medical professionals, to investigate the origins of music; the question of animal song; the functions and uses of music; and the universal features of the world's musical systems and musical behavior. An important component of the course is an overview of neuromusicology: the study of brain areas involved in music-processing and the cognitive processes associated with music-making.
In JBA Biomusicology, we study many kinds of music made by societies worldwide and consider how people use music in their ritual, cultural and social lives. Also, as part of our applied study, all students have regular access to the latest instructional technology available in Truman's Basic Keyboard Skills Lab. As a class, our goal is to apply specific theories of biomusicology to gain insight into the following: the therapeutic uses of music in medical treatment; the widespread use of music in audiovisual media such as film and television; the role of music to influence mass behavior; and the use of music to enhance learning.