Dylan Ludwig
dylan.m.ludwig@gmail.com
Office Location:  N821 Ross Building
Office Hour:  Tuesdays 12:30-1:30 or by appointment

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. We will approach this end in two ways. First, as a class we will discuss a range of readings that address
important and controversial issues in contemporary cognitive science. These discussions will be integrated with this
year's Cognitive Science Speaker Series, which features prominent cognitive scientists from around the world. In
the week prior to each talk, we will read and discuss relevant background for the upcoming talk. In the hour before
a talk, the 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. Second, over the course of
the year each student will pursue an original research project, focusing on a specific question or controversy of his
or her own choosing. This project will culminate in a substantial, original, interdisciplinary research paper that
attempts to make progress on the controversy. The projects are expected to engage with relevant literature and
make empirically informed arguments (though students are not expected to conduct original experimental
research). At the end of each semester, our classroom will transform into a mini-conference, where students
present their work to the rest of the class.

There are no course Textbooks.

1. Participation 10%-Students are expected to be prepared to discuss the assigned readings
each week, and to engage with speakers both in discussion and in the Q and A portion of
the talks. A cumulative participation grade will be given at the end of the academic year
based on the director’s assessment of the student’s overall participation in the course.
2. Weekly short writing assignments 10%-On weeks that we have assigned readings or
speakers, students will be asked to post a short, written response to the issues being
discussed. Responses should be around 500 words and will be posted to eClass prior to
our discussion of the material in class. Students must submit 5 responses per semester,
with the option of submitting a 6th and dropping the lowest grade. The grade scheme for
these assignments is as follows: 100% (Pass), 50% (Minimal Content), 0% (Fail).
3. Research preparation assignments 10%-Students are asked to submit various
assignments relating to the preparation of their final project, including an initial
Research Proposal due October 1st (3%), a Research Preview due November 5th (3%), and
a Revision Plan due February 11th (4%).
4. Initial submission of research paper 20% (Due December 17th)-Students will submit a first
draft of their major project at the end of the Fall semester.
5. Final draft of research paper 40% (Due April 14th)-Students will submit their completed
final project at the end of the Winter semester.
6. Presentations 10%-Students will give a short presentation of their work at the end of
each semester.

TBA

TBA

Important Information
Assignment Submissions: All assignments will be submitted via eClass. As the short written
responses will help form the content of the seminar meetings, no late responses are accepted
for any reason. Students are permitted to drop the lowest mark on short responses for each
term. If you need an extension on a paper or paper planning assignment, please make the
request before the due date. Reasonable extensions will be granted.
AI Policy: The use of any generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) is strictly prohibited for all
assignments in this course and will be considered academic dishonesty if detected. If any such
use is suspected, students will immediately be asked to meet with the course director to discuss
the work in question. Please feel free to reach out at any point in the semester (the sooner the
better) if you have any questions concerning which tools are appropriate to use in support of
your academic writing.
Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be in-person except where
otherwise noted on specific occasions. Students are expected to attend all talks in the Cognitive
Science Speaker Series, which will be in-person. Students should be prepared for the possibility
that some or all meetings in the course become fully remote, with meetings being hosted on
Zoom, as circumstances require. In order to fully participate in Zoom 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.
All assignments, the schedule of readings and seminar meetings, course announcements, and
course policies will be posted to the eClass site for this course. All assignments will either be
submitted via eClass or completed within the eClass interface (e.g. posting on discussion
forums). The instructors will also use eClass as their primary way of communicating with
students.
Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:
• Student Guide to eClass
• 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.
Course recordings: Any 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).
York University
Academic honesty and integrity: In this course, we strive to maintain academic integrity to the
highest extent possible. All submitted coursework must be an expression of the student’s own
understanding and ideas. 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
Student Accommodations: We are committed to fairly accommodating students with
disabilities. Please contact the instructors and Student Accessibility Services
(https://accessibility.students.yorku.ca/) as soon as possible, and we will all work together to
find a fair accommodation. Note that in addition to sending the letter, accommodations for
individual assignments must specifically be requested well ahead of the assignment's deadline.
Other Important Links:
• Ethics Review Process for Research Involving Human Participants
• Religious Observance Accommodation
• Student Conduct Standards
• York’s Policy on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion