Project Lead: Siobhan Wittig McPhee, Geography
Project description
This research explores “spatial empathy,” a concept that examines how diverse experiences interact within a specific location. Based on interviews with faculty and students on the transition to online teaching and learning during the Covid pandemic, I have created immersive 3D audio artifacts with the aim of exploring if they can foster empathy across the university community. I seek to understand how spatial scenarios impact these relationships and how simultaneous digital and physical inhabitation of a space might alter empathetic connections. The goal is to enhance spatial empathy through sonic immersion. The specific ask of this grant to support the dissemination and evaluation of the 3D audio artifacts across campus.
Research questions
- What role can spatial sound play in SoTL research?
- What does the concept of spatial empathy entail when placed within the context of SoTL research?