Tentative Course Offerings

COGS 87 (A00): How Minds and Groups Make Religion and Superstition | Professor Gedeon Deak

Why do humans, individually and in groups, attribute natural events to supernatural agents? How does the human brain accept religious beliefs, even in the face of contradictory evidence? We will examine how cognitive, developmental, and cultural factors work together to cause humans to believe in the supernatural.

COGS 160 (B00): Bilingual Minds and Brains | Professor Anne Beatty-martinez

This course will bring together recent discoveries about bilingualism and its influences on the brain, mind, and behavior.

Class meet TuTh 2:00pm-3:20pm in PETER 104

Prerequisites: upper-division standing. Request enrollment via EASy.

DSGN 119: Design at Large | Kristen Vaccaro

New societal challenges, cultural values, and technological opportunities are changing design—and vice versa. The seminar explores this increased scale, real-world engagement, and disruptive impact. Invited speakers from UC San Diego and beyond share cutting-edge research on interaction, design, and learning.

2 units, P/NP grade.  Meets Wednesdays 4:00pm-5:00pm at DIB 208.

Prerequisites: COMM 124A or COGS 10 or DSGN 1

COGS 87 (A00): How Minds & Cultures Make Religion & Superstition | Professor Gedeon Deak

Why do humans, individually and in groups, attribute natural events to supernatural agents? How does the human brain accept religious beliefs, even in the face of contradictory evidence? We will examine how cognitive, developmental, and cultural factors work together to cause humans to believe in the supernatural.

COGS 160 (A00): Brain Disorders and Cognition | Professor Ayse Saygin

A review of the patterns of impaired and intact cognitive abilities present in brain-damaged patients in terms of damage to one or more components of a model of normal cognitive functioning. Prerequisites: COGS 107A.

Class meet TuTh 2:00pm-3:20pm in CSB 003. Request enrollment via EASy.

COGS 160 (B00): Mirror Neuron System | Professor Ayse Saygin

This class will examine the neuroanatomy, physiology, and functional correlates of the human mirror neuron system and its putative role in social cognition, e.g., action understanding, empathy, and theory of mind. We will examine the developmental, neuroimaging, electrophysiological, as well as clinical evidence, for and against this hypothesis. Prerequisites: upper-division standing.

Class meet TuTh 5:00pm-6:20pm in CSB 003. Request enrollment via EASy.

COGS 160 (C00): Cognitive and Neuroscience for Architecture | Professor David Kirsh

This is a seminar and project-oriented class in which students and several faculty explore what is known at cognitive, neuroscientific and behavioral levels about the interaction of person and building (human building interaction, HBI). It is part of the emerging field of research concerned with applications of Cognitive Science and Neuroscience to Architectural and Urban Design. Topics include: what is HBI; how space and movement are cognized and used; what is architectural atmosphere; what is the metaverse and its forthcoming roles in architecture; how can we quantify effects of buildings on persons and study HBI scientifically; what is architectural legibility; what is place: how do we understand it and remember; how does architecture affect our emotions; how does it affect our work; how does it shape personal well-being and social dynamics. Students and faculty will critically present the contents of research papers, and work in practicums whose goal will be to investigate specific roles that science may play in reshaping architectural and urban design. Faculty include several members from Cognitive Science and the Salk Institute, guest lecturers from University of London, and architects from the US and abroad.

Class meet TuTh 11:00am-12:20pm in CSB 003

Prerequisites: GPA of 3.25 and enrollment is by permission of the instructor only. Request enrollment via EASy.