Professor K. Andrews
andrewsk@yorku.ca

This capstone seminar for students in their final year of the COGS Honours BA program aims to deepen students’ understanding of important issues in cognitive science and the interdisciplinary methods that are used to address them. The theme of this year's seminar will be Culture and Cognition. As a class, we will read and discuss a range of papers on topics including the study of cultural variability in cognition, cultural behavior in non-human animals, the evolution and cognitive underpinnings of cultural learning, the relationships between the languages we speak and the ways that we think, and specific forms of cultural thinking like moral cognition and intergroup bias. These discussions will be integrated with a talk series featuring prominent cognitive scientists from around the world working on topics related to our course theme. Before each talk, these visiting speakers will meet with our seminar to discuss their research and answer your questions, giving the class a unique opportunity to interact with leading experts in the cognitive sciences. Each student will also pursue an original research project related to the theme of the course, and produce either (1) a substantial, original, interdisciplinary research paper due in the spring, or (2) two shorter research papers, due at the end of each semester. At the end of each semester, our online classroom will transform into a virtual conference, where students will present their findings to the rest of the class. Given this year's unique learning environment, we aim to be flexible and accommodating given student needs, while also taking the opportunity to create an exciting and intellectually compelling capstone experience to the Cognitive Science degree program.

Technical requirements for taking the course:

Students will need technology to permit video conferencing via Zoom and access to Moodle.  In order to fully participate in these meetings, students should ensure that they have access to a stable, higher-speed internet connection, as well as a computer with a webcam and microphone, and/or a smart device with these features.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.

Times and locations: Please note that this is a course that depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. This course will run “synchronously”.  This means we will be meeting live on Zoom each Wednesday from 11:30-2:30.

Virtual office hours:

Kristin Andrews:

Group hang-out with opportunity for breakouts: Wednesdays 11-11:30 in our class Zoom link

Private meetings Wednesdays 3pm to 4pm EST. Please sign up on-line at https://calendly.com/kristinandrews for a slot. You will be provided with a Zoom link when you register for an appointment.

Articles on Moodle

* Two-Paper Option only

** Thesis Option only.

This course will meet LIVE, synchronously, on Wednesdays from 11:30-2:30, with two breaks during that time, and work in breakout groups. The course will be meeting via Zoom, with links to the Zoom room in the Moodle site. Students will be presenting their micropapers and responding to one another’s analyses of the readings; there will be very little lecture component. As this is a seminar, we will not be recording and posting the discussion.

The course discussion will continue asynchronously over the week through the Moodle  forum discussions, which is a required participation mark. All communication will be via Moodle forum, chat, and direct message functions. All readings will be posted on Moodle, and all assignments will be turned in via Moodle.

To produce professional level independent research paper(s).

To think deeply and critically about a controversial issue in cognitive science.

To integrate the learning previously acquired during the degree program.

Course policies

Assignment submission, late work, extensions

Assignments will be submitted via Moodle. As the micropapers form the content of the seminars, no late micropapers are accepted for any reason. Students are permitted to drop  the lowest mark on micropapers for each term. If you need an extension on a paper or paper proposal, please make the request before the due date. Reasonable extensions will be granted.

Video policy

We understand that some of you might have privacy concerns about using your video during class, and that others might have limited internet bandwidth that might make live-streaming difficult. We are therefore not requiring students to have their videos on during the seminar. That being said, having video cameras on can make a big difference in terms of creating a sense of community within our seminar, so that we feel more like a normal, in-person classroom. For this reason, we do encourage you to use your video as much as possible if privacy or tech issues are not preventing you from doing otherwise. If you do need to keep your video off, please be sure to put a profile photo on your Zoom account, so that your classmates feel like they are talking to a person, rather than a black box with a name in it.

Chat policy

As many of you know, Zoom has a chat function that enables students to message one another during a meeting, and to pose questions to the entire class. We would prefer it if you refrained from having these side conversations during the seminar, as this will distract from the discussion that we are all trying to have as a group. It’s fine to use the chat to message the entire group, and to send private messages during the breaks, but you should try as much as possible to maintain the same kind of etiquette that you would in an in-person class.

Contacting instructors

You should contact the instructor via Moodle’s direct message function. Please note that we will be responding to messages within 24 hours during working days (i.e. not on weekends or holidays).

Course recordings

The recordings for this course should be used for educational purposes only and as a means for enhancing accessibility. Students do not have permission to duplicate, copy and/or distribute the recordings outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA). All recordings will be destroyed after the end of classes.

Resubmissions

Students will have an opportunity to revise their papers after submission; however, papers below a C will not be eligible for resubmission. Students must contact the instructor to request a resubmission.

Academic honesty and integrity

In this course, we strive to maintain academic integrity to the highest extent possible. Please familiarize yourself with the meaning of academic integrity by completing SPARK’s Academic Integrity module at the beginning of the course. Breaches of academic integrity range from cheating to plagiarism (i.e., the improper crediting of another’s work, the representation of another’s ideas as your own, etc.). All instances of academic dishonesty in this course will be reported to the appropriate university authorities, and can be punishable according to the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty.

LA&PS Course Policies:

For more information on student rights and responsibilities, and about academic accommodations for students with disabilities, please visit the following links:

Student Rights & Responsibilities

Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities

Technology requirements:

This is a course that depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. The majority of this course will take place on two platforms: Zoom and Moodle. The weekly meetings for this course will take place live (or “synchronously”) on Zoom. In order to fully participate in these meetings, students should ensure that they have access to a stable, higher-speed internet connection, as well as a computer with a webcam and microphone, and/or a smart device with these features. Please note:

• Zoom is hosted on servers in the U.S. This includes recordings done through Zoom.
• If you have privacy concerns about your data, provide only your first name or a nickname when you join a session.
• The system is configured in a way that all participants are automatically notified when a session is being recorded. In other words, a session cannot be recorded without you knowing about it.

All assignments, the schedule of readings and seminar meetings, course announcements, and course policies will be posted to the Moodle site for this course. All assignments will either be submitted via Moodle, or completed within the Moodle interface (e.g. posting on discussion forums). The instructors will also use Moodle as their primary way of communicating with students individuals. Please review the technology requirements and FAQs for Moodle