Transforming the Science of Mindfulness Through Pioneering Collaborative Research
Mindfulness is a term that refers to an increasingly popular and accessible set of mental training practices and skills that can be used to improve health, wellness, and psychological functioning in a low-cost, non-pharmacological manner. Mindfulness practices have formed a central component of Hindu and Buddhist traditions for over 2,500 years, and consequently, are a long-standing topic of scholarship within the humanities.
Strikingly, within the 21st century, secularized versions of these practices have gained widespread adoption within Western culture as well, and as a result, are becoming a focus of intense transdisciplinary research interest.
The Mindfulness Science and Practice cluster will bring together a diverse set of researchers, scholars, and mindfulness practitioners that represent a wide range of Arts & Sciences departments as well as other units at the university to transform the science of mindfulness. Our team will produce innovative and pioneering collaborative research while applying a critical scholarly lens toward what has been termed the “modern mindfulness movement.”
The cluster will advance Arts & Sciences and university-wide strategic initiatives through a range of activities, including:
- developing a new interdisciplinary undergraduate minor;
- expanding mindfulness programming to support campus and community needs;
- hosting high-visibility public-facing events, including interdisciplinary seminars, lecture series, scientific conferences; and
- launching the first-of-its-kind mindfulness instructor certification program to fully incorporate DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) perspectives.
