Subject: COGS

Term: Fall 2010

COGS 101: Introduction to Cognitive Science (100/2170)

TR 01:15-02:30 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Parrill, F

This course introduces students to the field of cognitive science. Cognitive scientists are interested in the nature of the human mind--basically, we ask how humans think. This is a huge question, and has been addressed in one way or another by pretty much every academic field. Cognitive science tries to unite work from many different fields, including computer science, neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, music, art, and literary theory. In this course, you'll get a basic introduction to some of the topics that are central to human cognition, such as intelligence, categorization, language, and creativity. We'll ask what can be gained by taking an integrated, cognitive scientific approach to these topics.

COGS 201: Human Cognition in Evolution and Development (100/5574)

MW 12:30-01:45 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Turner, M

COGS 201 covers mind unfolding in time, including the fundamental methods, findings, and theories of human mental phylo- and onto-genesis. It provides the student with background knowledge about the unfolding of cognitive structures and functions over time, in both the deep temporal perspective of evolution (measured across many lifetimes) and the shorter one of development (measured within single lifetimes). The approach of the course is cross-disciplinary, including approaches that come from anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, computing science, comparative psychology, primatology, and comparative linguistics, among others.

COGS 206: Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics (100/2175)

MWF 10:30-11:20 AM Aug 23-Dec 03

Oakley, T

COGS 206 and COGS 406 taught together in the same room at the same time.

COGS 313: Metaphor (1/10919)

TR 04:30-05:45 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Brandt, P

Metaphor is all over the place: it is a universal and ubiquitous property of language and thought. Yet it is a very tricky mechanism, difficult to analyze, define, and even to describe. Example: "Prayer is the echo of the darkness of the soul." A worthy challenge for cognitive science.

COGS 318: Thinking Communication in Ancient and Medieval Literature (100/11614)

TR 01:15-02:30 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Berindeanu, F

The ancients were much concerned with the nature and validity of signs: Important decisions depended on the flight of birds or the coloration of the liver of a sacrificial victim. The relationship of language to truth, i.e., a reality beyond the contingent, was a crucial issue, not least because of the rise of sophistic rhetoric: for an orator, language was a tool in a contest rather than a means to true understanding. The discipline of medicine, developed by such important figures as Galen and Hippocrates, depended on the interpretation of physical signs to diagnose and treat ailments of mind and body. The term for the theory of signs--semiotics--is derived from the Greek term "semeiotike," and for many Greek philosophers and their Roman and medieval successors the sign was a key issue. For Christians especially, new forms of vision and discerning truth presented particular problems: after all, the Christian God revealed his intentions through "portents" that had to be read and interpreted. And even if sacred scripture was in some way understood as encapsulating the whole word, there were countless passages requiring clarification or adaptation to contemporary situations. In other words, the concern was with the relationship between a universe of structured signs (the subject of semiotics) and structures of interpersonal communication (pragmatics). Offered as CLSC 313 and COGS 318.

COGS 322: Human Learning and the Brain (100/11099)

TR 02:45-04:00 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Zull, J

This course focuses on the question, "How does the human brain learn?" Through assigned readings, extensive class discussions, and a major paper, each student will explore personal perspectives on learning. Specific topics include, but are not limited to: the brain's cycle of learning; neocortex structure and function; emotion and limbic brain; synapse dynamics and changes in learning; images in cognition; symbolic brain (language, mathematics, music); memory formation; and creative thought and brain mechanisms. The major paper will be added to each student's SAGES writing portfolio. In addition, near the end of the semester, each student will make an oral presentation on a chosen topic. Offered as BIOL 302 and COGS 322.

COGS 329: Performance and the Embodied Mind (1/10034)

TR 10:00-11:15 AM Aug 23-Dec 03

Popova, Y

In the past twenty years cognitive scientists working in neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, and related fields have made great progress in understanding perception, empathy, the human mind's sense of space and movement, emotions, meaning-making, and many other cognitive areas that are crucial to producing, enacting, and responding to performances on stage. This course will look at ways of incorporating many of the insights of cognitive science into the existing work of theatre and performance scholarship. The course will thus link a more traditional approach to the body in theatre and dance studies, where it has commonly been considered one of the main means of communication, to a most up-to-date research on embodied cognition. Observation of live and pre-recorded dance and theatre performances will regularly be used to supplement the theoretical discussion. Recommended preparation: COGS 101, COGS 202.

COGS 366: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (1/32468)

TR 02:45-04:00 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Jack, A

Laptop required.

COGS 390: Introduction to General Semiotics (100/25459)

MW 03:00-04:15 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Berindeanu, F

Semiotics, the study of meaning and signs conveying meaning, is a central part of cognitive semiotics, or 'high level' cognitive semantics. This discipline is typically taught in departments of linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy, or cultural studies. The domain of semiotics is in fact widely intersecting with other disciplines (general linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, anthropology, music, literature, architecture, and the arts). Sign theory, text theory, studies of narrative structure, enunciation, natural logic, rhetoric and poetics, speech act forms, are important components in this field.

COGS 397: SAGES Capstone in Cognitive Science (100/5633)

Turner, M

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 397: SAGES Capstone in Cognitive Science (200/6858)

Parrill, F

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 397: SAGES Capstone in Cognitive Science (300/6863)

Popova, Y

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 397: SAGES Capstone in Cognitive Science (400/6868)

Brandt, P

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 397: SAGES Capstone in Cognitive Science (500/6873)

Jack, A

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 397: SAGES Capstone in Cognitive Science (600/9225)

Oakley, T

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 399: Independent Studies in Cognitive Science (100/5638)

Turner, M

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 399: Independent Studies in Cognitive Science (200/6878)

Parrill, F

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 399: Independent Studies in Cognitive Science (300/6883)

Popova, Y

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 399: Independent Studies in Cognitive Science (400/6888)

Brandt, P

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 399: Independent Studies in Cognitive Science (500/6893)

Jack, A

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 399: Independent Studies in Cognitive Science (600/7623)

Oakley, T

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 406: Theory of Cognitive Linguistics I (200/7778)

MWF 10:30-11:20 AM Aug 23-Dec 03

Oakley, T

COGS 206 and COGS 406 taught together in the same room at the same time.

COGS 408: Workshop on Cognitive Linguistics I (100/7773)

M 05:30-08:00 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Turner, M

This is the first in a two-course sequence (408 & 409) designed to provide experience in research methods in cognitive linguistics at the MA level. A workshop in which students read examples of cognitive linguistics research, develop their own topics (theoretical or empirical), and work on them to produce a final paper.

COGS 413: Metaphor (1/10924)

TR 04:30-05:45 PM Aug 23-Dec 03

Brandt, P

Metaphor is all over the place: it is a universal and ubiquitous property of language and thought. Yet it is a very tricky mechanism, difficult to analyze, define, and even to describe. Example: "Prayer is the echo of the darkness of the soul." A worthy challenge for cognitive science.

COGS 499: Independent Studies (100/7788)

Turner, M

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 499: Independent Studies (200/7793)

Brandt, P

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 499: Independent Studies (300/7798)

Jack, A

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 499: Independent Studies (400/7803)

Oakley, T

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 499: Independent Studies (500/7808)

Parrill, F

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 499: Independent Studies (600/7813)

Popova, Y

Meeting time and location to be scheduled as needed.

COGS 651: Thesis M.A. (1/11189)

Oakley, T

Cognitive Linguistics MA students are free to choose any on-campus primary faculty member in COGS as the instructor of record.

COGS 651: Thesis M.A. (2/11194)

Brandt, P

Cognitive Linguistics MA students are free to choose any on-campus primary faculty member in COGS as the instructor of record.

COGS 651: Thesis M.A. (3/11199)

Turner, M

Cognitive Linguistics MA students are free to choose any on-campus primary faculty member in COGS as the instructor of record.

COGS 651: Thesis M.A. (4/11204)

Parrill, F

Cognitive Linguistics MA students are free to choose any on-campus primary faculty member in COGS as the instructor of record.

COGS 651: Thesis M.A. (5/11209)

Popova, Y

Cognitive Linguistics MA students are free to choose any on-campus primary faculty member in COGS as the instructor of record.

COGS 651: Thesis M.A. (6/25457)

Jack, A

Cognitive Linguistics MA students are free to choose any on-campus primary faculty member in COGS as the instructor of record.