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): Cognitive and Neural Systems for Action Perception | Professor Ayse Saygin

The perception of others is both commonplace and important for many organisms. In primates, perception of others' actions supports not only the organism's behavior but also social cognition. This course will feature and in-depth look at the perceptual and brain bases of action perception and social neuroscience, with primary focus on the processing of actions and body movements of others. Topics include organisation of the primate brain for perception and action, methods used in social neuroscience, the mirror neuron system and its functional properties in both non-human primates and humans.

Prerequisites: upper-division standing.

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

COGS 160 (B00): Cinema and Cognitive Science | Professor Ayse Saygin

Although cinema is primarily a visual art, films engage our brains rapidly and effectively (sound, music, speech, facial expressions, body language, landscapes, cityscapes, interiors, text, narrative, temporal flow, etc); and as such this can be a great artistic medium to inform human perception and cognition. Indeed, both filmmakers and theoreticians have argued cinema may even be unique among the arts in providing natural and powerful access to human consciousness. This course will explore a variety of themes relevant to cognitive science in cinema, by exploring works of cinema. The main goal is to use films as a starting point for discussion of concepts and themes in cognitive science, though we will cover some background about cinema as well. Each week will feature a film, which students can view in their own time, along with primary concepts, themes, and questions related to cognitive science (e.g., consciousness, memory, AI...). Background for the main concepts for each film will be provided in lectures. Students will be expected to view and respond to the discussion questions about each film, as well as an engage in discussion with each others' points. 

Prerequisites: Cogs 1, Cogs 10, Cogs 17, or consent of instructor.

Class meet TuTh 11:00am-12:20pm TBA. 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.

Prerequisites: GPA of 3.2 or higher and enrollment is by permission of the instructor only.

Class meet TuTh 11:00am-12:20pm in CSB 003. Request enrollment via EASy.

DSGN 119: Design at Large - Design and Politics in Transition | Lilly Irani and Manuel Shvartzberg Carrió

Who should design serve? How does design work in a crisis, and also recognizing that some people have been living in crisis for hundreds of years? And how might we reimagine design as a radical discipline for dialogue and action? From reinterpreting legal histories and theories that enable the design of place, to redesigning food distribution systems around food and land justice, to transforming what it means to be family, design offers many ways to transform our relationships with ourselves, each other and our environment. Design and Politics in Transition offers inspiration, theory, and guidance on a variety of design practices and epistemologies that together help us transition toward different, more equitable worlds where all can thrive–even during historical moments of political and social strife.

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

Prerequisites: COMM 124A or COGS 10 or DSGN 1