Scholar Dr. Sheina Lew-Levy receives esteemed European Research Council (ERC) Grant for innovative cultural studies work
Dr. Sheina Lew-Levy's Groundbreaking Research on Children and Cultural Evolution
Dr. Sheina Lew-Levy, a researcher from the Psychology department, has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant for her project titled "Children as Agents of Cultural Evolution" (ChACE). This research, valued at €1.5 million, will be conducted over the next five years.
The ChACE project aims to redefine our understanding of cultural evolution by focusing on children and adolescents as active contributors to cultural creation and evolution. It challenges the traditional paradigm in cultural evolution studies, highlighting the importance of childhood and children’s social learning experiences as key drivers of cultural change.
ChACE does not view children as passive recipients of cultural knowledge but rather as active participants who influence cultural transmission, innovation, and adaptation across generations. The research draws from both anthropological and psychological theory to understand cultural diversity and the evolution of social learning in childhood, particularly among hunter-gatherer societies.
The project will be conducted in diverse settings undergoing rapid cultural change. ChACE utilizes a variety of methodologies, including simulations, experiments, observations, surveys, and interviews, to uncover new ways in which cultural practices are transmitted and adapted over time, especially in response to social and ecological challenges.
The ERC Starting Grant is a significant milestone for early career researchers like Dr. Lew-Levy. This year, 494 young scientists and scholars across Europe received ERC Starting Grants, totalling nearly €780 million in funding. The grant will provide crucial funding to launch Dr. Lew-Levy's independent project and form her research team.
This research could provide valuable insights into the role of peer cultures in maintaining and evolving societal norms. The findings from ChACE could potentially revolutionise our understanding of how cultures evolve and the critical role children play in driving these changes.
Stay tuned for updates as Dr. Lew-Levy and her team delve deeper into the fascinating world of cultural evolution through the lens of children's experiences.
Dr. Sheina Lew-Levy's research on children and cultural evolution highlights the significance of online education and learning, as her project utilizes various methodologies, including simulations and experiments, to study cultural evolution. Moreover, the findings from her ChACE project could potentially have a profound impact on education-and-self-development, as they might revolutionize our understanding of how children contribute to cultural creation and evolution.
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