Social Cognition and the Brain

Catalog description

Human beings develop intricate means of presenting themselves to others; of representing others as friends, enemies, or strangers; of making quick assessments of any situation based on the attribution of intentions; of sizing up the Other via symbols and other shibboleths; and of the disposition and ability to empathize and sympathize with the emotional states of others for specific purposes. In recent years, the role of culture and cultural diversity has come to play a significant role in thinking about social cognition and the evolution of sociality. It is likewise an unfortunate fact that many human beings lack many of the means, abilities, and dispositions to connect with one another easily and without extensive and explicit tutelage. Such clinical populations (e.g., autistics, schizophrenics, etc.) are of considerable interest because of their promise as a contrastive model of typicality. This course will focus on these aspects of sociality both at the level of the interpersonal and personal (cognitive and phenomenological) and the sub-personal (neuronscientific). By term's end, students in this class will develop a deep understanding of several dimensions of social cognition research and its implications for the next generation of cognitive neuroscience. Each student will articulate a research problem and develop a method for investigating it through independent and collaborative means of practicing their research, critical thinking, writing and communication skills. Offered as COGS 305 and COGS 405 . Counts as a Disciplinary Communication course.