Courses in the FIG:
UGST 109 FIG Seminar
XXXXX | XXXX | 16467 | 1 Credit
The average person spends six hours per day engaging with entertainment media. From social media and video games to TV shows and music, entertainment media is a highly persuasive force that shapes human behavior – both intentionally and unintentionally. In this FIG, we will explore the science behind why entertainment media has such significant individual and societal effects, exploring phenomenon such as Stranger Things’ impact on Eggo waffle sales, Grey’s Anatomy’s influence on healthcare expectations, and Grand Theft Auto’s effect on players’ wellbeing. We will examine the psychological mechanisms, narrative features, and audience characteristics that drive these effects through lectures, discussions, field trips, and guest speakers. By taking this FIG, you will not only learn about notable moments when entertainment media has shaped our world, but also the science behind why it works. As a bonus: you’ll be able to use your favorite entertainment media under the guise of “homework!"
JCOM 201 Making Sense of Media
Monday/Wednesday | 12:00-13:50 | 12869 | 4 Credits
Nearly every facet of human life today—work, play, study, relationships, and more—involves media. This course examines how this came to be, why it matters that media are so thoroughly infused in our lives individually and collectively, and how we can become more thoughtful and engaged media consumers and creators. Making sense of media means grappling with the social, cultural, economic, interpersonal, and political implications of this current moment: one in which people have increasingly expansive and near-instantaneous access to an abundance of information—social media, entertainment, games, news, and more—in a way that is unprecedented in the history of communication technologies. Media consumption has been transformed, but so has media production: People can create and disseminate their own content, receive and share files, and closely monitor the activities of friends and others. At the same time, networked communication platforms have forged new relationships between institutions and individuals and between social movements, states, and corporations. Over the course of the term, we will explore some key transformations in media over the past century, paying close attention to the interplay of meaning and power and the way media contributes to both shaping our identities and facilitating self-expression. We will also explore the rise and development of media professions, and examine some of the central tensions in the media world today: How can we tell whom or what to trust via media? What does verification look like in a world of fakes and misinformation? And how can we avoid being fooled by the use of numbers, data, and visualizations? In all, this course will equip students with a foundation in media literacy for the 21st century.
PSY 201 Introduction to Psychology I
Tuesday/Thursday | 12:00-13:50 | 14794 | 4 Credits
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Our ability to think, feel, and act emerges from the interrelated activity of neural networks in our brain. Thus, a full understanding on how the mind works requires close consideration of its biological foundations. Psychologists rely on empirical means - systematic observation and experimentation - to learn about how the human brain enables basic cognitive processes such as learning, memory and attention. This course, combined with its companion, Psychology 202Z, provides a broad introduction to the key areas of psychology. The primary goal of this course is to introduce students to basic concepts about core mental functions such as learning, memory and attention, and how the brain enables these functions. Across a variety of domains, this course examines the core principles that govern how our mind functions, as well as how these principles arise from the underlying neural substrate. Some of the topics covered in this course are:
Brain basics: How does experience and thought emerge from interacting neurons? How can we find out what different areas in the brain do? How do these areas work together to produce goal-directed action?
Perception: How is it that our brain/mind can construct from physical properties (e.g., wave length in case of vision) the rich and meaningful content of our conscious awareness?
Learning: Humans, along with many animals, are immensely flexible, due to the ability to learn about changing environmental regularities. What are the basic laws of learning that underlie this flexibility?
Memory: Without our mind's ability to travel back in time to past events, there would be no planful consideration of the future, no sense of self. However, what exactly is a memory and how are memories represented in the brain?
An important goal is to convey a solid understanding of the experimental and neuroscience approach to understanding the mind. To this end, the course incorporates classroom demonstrations of critical experimental methods and frequently features examples from recently published empirical studies.
