Psychological & Brain Sciences 201H - What Makes Us Human

Fall
2021
01
4.00
Joonkoo Park

TU TH 8:30AM 9:45AM

UMass Amherst
19949
Tobin Hall room 307
joonkoo@umass.edu
What are we? What defines us? How did human culture arise? We communicate with spoken and written language, we make tools to build even more complicated tools, we learn calculus to solve differential equations, we use inductive reasoning to seek generalizable knowledge, we understand other people?s mind and emotion, we understand humor, we lie, cheat, and deceive others. Are these what makes us human? This course examines psychological and neuroscientific bases of human mind and behavior that are uniquely related to human culture and experience (that is, humanity). In an active seminar format, students will learn to think critically about how scientific research can help us understand the humanity and what makes us human.

Open to Sophomore and Junior Commonwealth Honors College students only. Academic status as a sophomore or junior is determined by the number of credits completed, NOT by the number of years an individual has been a student. Sophomores have completed 27-56 credits. Juniors have completed 57-86 credits.
Class will be open to other CHC students later in the registration period.

Permission is required for interchange registration during all registration periods.