Course Description
Welcome! This course provides a survey of the current research pertaining to the organization of language and the brain from the perspective that language is "for doing things" in the real-world. The course breaks from the traditional perspective that we have inherited from 19th century neurology. That is, the course serves to argue against the perspective that the organization of language and the brain involves only Wernicke's and Broca's Area (connected by the arcuate fasciculus) in the left hemisphere. Rather, the course will lead you to the perspective that the organization of language and the brain involves multiple distributed networks throughout the entire brain. As language is for doing things there is a strong emphasis in the course on action and, thus, the role of the motor system in these distributed networks for speech perception and language comprehension. From the perspective that the whole brain is involved in language, this is much more than a niche course because it encompass all of cognitive neuroscience including research pertaining to, among others, the motor (as mentioned), emotional, visual, and memory systems of the brain. BE FOREWARNED: THIS LAB COURSE WILL BE DIFFICULT AND REQUIRE A GOOD DEAL OF WORK (~1200 PAGES OF READING, 3 Exams, 2 Papers, Oral Presentations, Laboratory Work). Keep up and ASK ME if you need help. Schedule Overview The schedule that follows is NOT set in stone and may change ever so slightly. That is, throughout the semester some minor adjustments to lecture topics, readings, and deadlines may be necessary. I reserve the right to make changes to the schedule (and will inform you of such changes) should the need arise. The following color-coded spreadsheet contains an overview of the schedule and the gory details can be found at the "Detailed Schedule" page. |