Using language is one of the amazing feats of the human brain. This FIG explores the importance of language and other aspects of cognition in our everyday lives, and in what it means to be human. In particular, we investigate the relationship between language and thought: How much does language affect how we think, and how we experience the world? What would humans be like without language? Does the particular language we happen to have learned as children define who we become as adults?
We are planning various activities depending on the state of in-person vs. remote format. We will certainly have dedicated readings and podcasts with discussions; but we will also have a number of social/game evenings (Linguistics and Psychology trivia night, Among Us, escape room, etc.). Additionally, we will have lab tours, presentations by academic advisors, etc.
Students explore the intersection of topics by taking the following course package:
UGST 109 First-Year Experience Seminar - 1-credit
LING 101 Introduction to Language - CoreEd or major satisfying course, 4-credits
The course will expose you to how linguists think about and talk about language, enabling you to bring in a new perspective to your interactions with language in the world. As just a few examples: we will discuss concepts in this course that will make you a more knowledgeable citizen of the world, and a more careful consumer of language you encounter around you. In the course you will examine the dynamics of language from individual conversations to society at large, and we will notice ways in which power and prejudice are tied up in language use. You will explore how languages can be similar to and different from one another, and you will learn about language processes going on in your own mind that you may have previously taken for granted.
PSY 201 Mind and Brain - CoreEd or major satisfying course, 4-credits
Mind & Brain is part of a two-course sequence (with Mind & Society, PSY202) that provides an overview of introductory psychology. This course covers experimental approaches to the study of the human mind and brain, including such topics as the history and methods of psychological research, the organization of the nervous system, sensation, perception, attention, learning, memory, cognition and consciousness.
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