The mission of the Neurocognitive Research Program for the Advancement of the Humanities (NRPAH) is to employ the most advanced scientific research methods and findings in order to maximize the development of personally and socially crucial neurocognitive capabilities through engagement with the humanities.
This mission, unique among the more than 100 humanities centers and institutes across the nation, addresses the longstanding but increasingly urgent need for systematic empirical investigation of the neurocognitive developments fostered by the humanities. The purpose of this research is to enable the establishment of more effective, evidence-based practices in humanities education and outreach and to produce empirical evidence that will demonstrate the value of the humanities to the public and thereby enhance their support for the humanities.
NRPAH is an outgrowth of the work of the interdisciplinary Social Cognition Research Group (SCRG), established four years ago by a grant from the College of Arts & Sciences to initiate a program of empirical investigation into the enhancements of neurocognitive functioning fostered by the humanities.