Music professor presents research at Oxford Round Table

LA GRANDE, Oregon – Amid 19th century Dante Rossetti paintings, illuminated by light filtering through high windows surrounding the historic debate chamber of the Oxford Union, Leandro Espinosa prepared to speak.

Submitted photo / Leandro Espinosa, left,
and Dr. Martin Eggensperger, professor
of mathematics from Southeast Arkansas
University, at the Oxford Round Table.

What he was about to say had the potential to draw a dramatic reaction from the elite group of scholars gathered in the room.

Espinosa, assistant professor of music at Eastern Oregon University, had been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime – to share his visionary research at the Oxford Round Table in England, a meeting of the minds dedicated solely to the discussion of higher education policy around the world.

 

Since he first received the invitation in October 2005 to be a presenter, Espinosa managed to find the time between conducting and teaching to fit in the countless hours of work in preparation for this moment.

The Oxford Round Table selects presenters through a process of nomination within the group of past participants, and by recommendation to the directors.

“Literally for a half of a year I didn’t sleep more than five or six hours a night,” he says.

Espinosa’s research is driven by an increasing union between the arts and sciences, as opposed to the divisive standpoint promulgated by British scientist and novelist Robert Snow in the 1960s.

Espinosa proposes a possible bridging of this chasm by observing 20th century tendencies in both the arts and the sciences. He makes a special emphasis in the discipline of music, the area of his expertise.

“The way we are being educated, our ways of thinking and even our learned ways to perceive all raise a lot of questions. Just look at the world,” he says.

“The educational system as we know it might be partially responsible for the problems the world faces today. This is in the sense that our educational models are still based on past centuries’ models and not really keeping pace with innovative approaches and advances in science, arts and philosophy, nor with the genuine social tendencies of our times,” Espinosa says.

While he makes the suggestion that universities might be a part of the problem, he also believes that institutions of higher education could serve as an important part of the solution.

Espinosa knew that he wanted to write about this historic tendency, but needed help, resources and information. Specifically, he required examples of other experts in different disciplines who had arrived to conclusions pointing in the same direction during the 20th century.

The work began by collaborating with members of EOU’s College of Business and College of Arts and Sciences.

Espinosa’s colleagues Gerry Ramey and Dr. Marilyn Levine provided valuable information. Ramey, associate professor of business, is a past Round Table attendee and gave Espinosa a great deal of insight and information concerning the late Lucian Blaga, a leading poet and scientist in Eastern Europe.  

Levine, dean of the Art and Sciences, contributed her expertise in Chinese history and culture, aiding Espinosa in his research of Chinese music theory and providing information and a translation of documents from the Chinese theorist Wang Guangqi.

Espinosa also received much assistance from Lisa Robertson, assistant professor of music, and Nancy Knowles, associate professor of English and writing. They helped him to revise, criticize, and polish the written portion of his presentation to ensure that every aspect was technically correct.

Ever humble, Espinosa expresses sincere gratefulness for the help he received.

“It was not just me,” he says. “When we work together we can do great things!”

At the heart of his research, Espinosa proposes a possible redefinition of the arts and sciences, which is perceived as inevitable. Fueled by Snow’s opposing thesis, “The Two Cultures,” Espinosa believes that society existing in a state of division, (a dual way of thinking, setting aside important aspects of living and functioning), creates conflict as a necessity.

Espinosa also believes that social events reflect the innermost condition of humanity, and that one important gap representing two complementary approaches – the gap between the arts and sciences – must be closed in order for society as a whole to move forward.

“The way we are taught how to think is not natural,” he says. “Our patterns of perception need to be re-defined. We have been misinterpreting things for quite some time and we are definitely missing something.”

Espinosa suggests that this “missing element” among intellectual disciplines is also responsible for the division in how people think and in their perception of the world.

Referencing the Nobel Prize winning physicist, Niels Bohr, who used poets’ methods as a model to find solutions in his atomic work, Espinosa points out that Bohr believed there are other realities the human senses cannot grasp. That intellect itself is modeled on analogical images.

“Music and art could be described now as information, and science is similarly becoming increasingly aware of its philosophical bases,” Espinosa says.

The controversial study conducted by Japanese researcher Masaur Emoto is yet another example Espinosa uses of this intertwining relationship. Emoto claims that human consciousness and thought have an observable effect on the molecular structure of water.

In Espinosa’s view and based on Wang Guangqi’s research, music enters the scientific picture as another biological factor: tone.

This element of tone not only carries information, but Espinosa believes it can also be used as an effective tool for social change.

After a whirlwind of participation in nearly 30 different debates in the Oxford Union, each lasting one hour, Espinosa says he was pleasantly surprised when it was all over.

The long hours of research had all been worth it. His presentation did not draw an adverse reaction but was warmly received by the other Round Table participants.

“It is rare that someone can both compose a symphony and a celebrated scholarly paper. I am very proud of him,” says Levine, who is delighted that Espinosa’s presentation was successful. 

“I walked out from that place feeling direction in our efforts, and recognizing the wisdom of the Round Table in facilitating contacts to make changes,” Espinosa says. “We were a part of something that could have a repercussion on the way education changes in the future.”

 

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