Human social interaction relies upon the ability to correctly attribute beliefs, goals, and percepts to other people. This set of meta-representational abilities--a "theory of mind"--allows us to understand the behavior of others. Individuals with autism are often thought to lack a theory of mind as they show impairments on tasks testing this ability, as well as impairments on tasks involving language and face processing.

Bigger-sized software programs, which are developed through a longer span of time, require looking into aspects of the software development cycle that are not necessary for smaller projects. This course will expose students to the design, implementation, testing, and maintenance of this type of projects, putting particular but not exclusive emphasis on agile development methods. Students will be involved in the actual GROUP implementation of a major piece of software, in conditions similar to those found in industry.

This course is an inquiry-based introduction to programming and computational concepts for students intending to concentrate in cognitive science, natural science, or computer science. Students will learn to write programs for data manipulation and scientific modeling in a general purpose programming language, and they will also have the opportunity to work in special-purpose science programming environments. Several of the core concepts of computer science that underlie computational approaches across the sciences will be introduced. No previous experience with programming is required.

With an affordable digital camera and simple editing software, anyone can be an image maker. But what does it take to be an image master? How does one take control over the images and films one makes rather than ceding it to the engineers of the software and hardware? This course is designed for students who seek mastery over the digital images they create, capture, edit, and/or distribute. The class will expose the foundational core that hides behind the interfaces of digital imaging and filmmaking technologies but which is crucial to using them with precision and finesse.

Artificial Intelligence is a branch of computer science concerned with the development of computer systems that "think." In this course we will explore the core ideas of artificial intelligence through readings, presentations, discussions, and hands-on programming activities. A range of practical artificial intelligence techniques will be covered, and students will complete programming projects to demonstrate engagement with the themes of the course. Prerequisite: One programming course (in any language).

Critical pedagogy of place: a tool for environmental action and social change. In this advanced course on environmental education, we will read seminal works on notions of place (Thoreau; Leopold), critical pedagogy (Freire), place-based (Sobel), critical theory (hooks). We will also read modern thinkers such as Gruenwald/Greenwood, Berry, Gough and others. We will spend time in "places" to investigate our own notions and perceptions thereof to connect the theory and practice.

This course surveys the main theoretical ideas in ethology, the scientific study of animal behavior. We explore the physiological, developmental, functional and evolutionary bases of behavior as well as related issues in the study of cognition. The main reading and discussion material for the course is drawn from journal articles in the professional scientific literature; students are also expected to read John Alcock's standard textbook, Animal Behavior.

Soft power refers to forms of international relations that are not militaristic or otherwise coercive - or "hard." The usual means of soft power are cultural ones. Nation-states increasingly brand themselves (the Danes are the happiest people on earth), foster exportable experience economies (EuroDisney), and produce globally circulating news (Voice of America). National regions, corporations, religions and NGOs all engage in similar behavior. The goal is a kind of impression management, creating favorable public opinion abroad toward a way of life, a product or a geographic place.

In recent years, as a result of interactions between cognitive psychology and education, we now have many ideas about classroom learning, and approaches to teaching, testing and assessment. We also have strong evidence that implementing these ideas could really improve learning for all children and youth, including those who are under- resourced. In this seminar we will work to understand the findings by reading and discussing a selection of theoretical works from cognitive science and psychology.

This class is an introduction to statistical methods that are useful for analyzing data. Topics will include descriptive statistics (summary statistics and graphical methods), and resampling and parameter inference methods for calculating confidence intervals and conducting hypothesis tests. Students will learn to use the R programming language to explore statistical concepts and to analyze real data. Assignments will consist of weekly problem sets that cover newly introduced topics, and cumulative learning checks that reinforce the topics that have been covered.