2022y-apcogs4901a-06

AP/COGS4901 6.0 A: Honours Seminar in Cognitive Science

Offered by: COGS


 Session

Fall 2022

 Term

Y

Format

SEMR

Instructor

Calendar Description / Prerequisite / Co-Requisite

This course is the capstone for students in the cognitive science honours BA program. Students will obtain a greater understanding of the work that cognitive scientists do, and how the theoretical background can be implemented in solving real-world problems and uncovering additional facts about the world. Students will be expected to produce a major work in cognitive science as well as demonstrate their knowledge of the applications of cognition science to many different areas of academia and industry. Note: Students must be Cognitive Science majors and have successfully completed a minimum of 84 credits in total Course credit exclusion: AP/COGS 4900 6.00 (prior to Fall 2010).


Course Start Up

Course Websites hosted on York's "eClass" are accessible to students during the first week of the term. It takes two business days from the time of your enrolment to access your course website. Course materials begin to be released on the course website during the first week. To log in to your eClass course visit the York U eClass Portal and login with your Student Passport York Account. If you are creating and participating in Zoom meetings you may also go directly to the York U Zoom Portal.

For further course Start Up details, review the Getting Started webpage.

For IT support, students may contact University Information Technology Client Services via askit@yorku.ca or (416) 736-5800. Please also visit UIT Student Services or the Getting Help - UIT webpages.


    Additional Course Instructor/Contact Details

Dr. Dylan Ludwig
dylan.m.ludwig@gmail.com
Office Location:  N821 Ross Building
Office Phone:  TBA
Office Hours:  Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30 - 1:30 or by appointment

    Expanded Course Description

This capstone seminar for students in their final year of the COGS Honours BA program aims to deepen students’ understanding of important issues in cognitive science and the interdisciplinary methods that are used to address them.  We will approach this end in two ways. First, as a class we will discuss a range of readings that address important and controversial issues in contemporary cognitive science. These discussions will be integrated with this year’s Cognitive Science Speaker Series, which features prominent cognitive scientists from around the world. We will attend these talks as well as meet separately with the speaker for an exclusive group discussion. On the day of a talk, the first hour of our class meeting will be dedicated to a group discussion with the guest speaker. The second and third hours will consist of the talk and Q&A that is open to all members of the York Cognitive Science Community. Students are expected to attend and participate throughout. Second, over the course of the year each student will pursue an original
research project, focusing on a specific controversy of their own choosing. This project will culminate in a substantial, original, interdisciplinary research paper that attempts to make progress on the controversy. The projects are expected to engage with relevant literature and make empirically informed arguments (though students are not expected to conduct original experimental research). At the end of each semester, our classroom will transform into a mini-conference, where students present their work to the rest of the class.

    Weighting of Course

Class Participation
6 Reflections
Wednesdays 9am 20%
12 follow-ups per term
Fridays 5pm 10%
Research Project

Research Proposal
Sept. 30th
3%

Research Preview
Nov. 4th
7%

Presentation 1
Nov. 23rd
or Nov. 30th

5%

Initial Research Paper Submission (3.5k-4k words)
Dec. 16th
15%

Revision Plan
Mar. 3rd
5%

Presentation 2
Mar. 29th
or Apr. 5th

10%

Final Revised Paper
Apr. 14th 25%

    Organization of the Course

Tentative Schedule
Fall 2022

September 7th-Introduction to the Course

September 14th-Readings

Pinto, Y., Neville, D. A., Otten, M., Corballis, P. M., Lamme, V., de Haan, E., Foschi, N., & Fabri, M.
(2017). Split brain: divided perception but undivided consciousness. Brain : a journal of neurology, 140(5),
12311237.

Schechter, Elizabeth. (2018). Subjects of Experience and Subjective Perspectives. Self-Consciousness and
"Split" Brains: The Minds'. Oxford University Press.

Schechter, Elizabeth (2015). Partial Unity of Consciousness: A Preliminary Defense. In David J. Bennett, and
Christopher S. Hill (eds), Sensory Integration and the Unity of Consciousness. MIT Press.

September 21st-Speaker:

Elizabeth Schechter (University of Maryland)

Unity of Consciousness: Split Brain and Subjects of Experience”

September 28th-Readings TBA

October 5th-Speaker:

Patrick Cavanagh (York University)

Visual Perception: Attention and Perceptual Crowding”

October 12th-READING WEEK - NO CLASS MEETING

October 19th-Readings

Brown, C. L., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2021). Characteristics and consequences of co-experienced positive
affect: understanding the origins of social skills, social bonds, and caring, healthy communities.
Current
Opinion in Behavioral Sciences,
39, 58-63.

Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2018). Reflections on positive emotions and upward spirals.
Perspectives on
Psychological Science,
13(2), 194-199.

October 26th-Speaker:

Barbara Frederickson (UNC at Chapel Hill)

"The Goods in Everyday Love: Implications for Individuals and Communities"

November 2nd-Readings

Egan, A. (2008). Seeing and believing: perception, belief formation and the divided mind. Philos Stud 140,
4763.

Jenkin, Z. (2022). Perceptual learning and reasonsresponsiveness.
Noûs.

November 9th-Speaker:

Zoe Jenkin (Washington University)

Encapsulated Failures

November 16th-Individual Meetings

November 23rd-Presentations

November 30th-Presentations

Winter 2023
January 11th-Readings TBA

January 18th-Speaker:

Bill Kowalsky (York University)

Probabilistic Perception

January 25th-Readings:

Maoz, U., Yaffe, G., Koch, C., & Mudrik, L. (2019). Neural precursors of decisions that matteran ERP
study of deliberate and arbitrary choice.
Elife,
8, e39787.

Seth, A. K. (2018). Consciousness: The last 50 years (and the next).
Brain and neuroscience advances,
2,
2398212818816019.

February 1st-Speaker:

Liad Mudrik (Tel Aviv University)

Taking a neuroscientific-philosophical approach in studying free will and consciousness

February 8th-Readings TBA

February 15th-Speaker:

Morgan Barense (University of Toronto)

Neuropsychology: Memory and Perceptual Representation”

February 22nd-READING WEEK - NO CLASS MEETING

March 1st-Readings TBA

March 8th-Speaker:

John Krakauer (Johns Hopkins University)

Action

March 15th- Debrief and Writing Workshop

March 22nd-Individual meetings

March 29th-Presentations

April 5th-Presentation

    Course Learning Objectives

TBA

    Relevant Links / Resources