Neuroscience of Religion and Atheism
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www.DISabroad.org Neuroscience of Religion and Atheism Semester: Spring 2017 Copenhagen Credits: 3 Day: Tuesdays Time: 14:50-17:45 Classroom: V10-D14 Major Disciplines: Neuroscience, Psychology, Religious Studies Course Information and Purpose 1. Instructor Information: Maria Serban, PhD PhD in Philosophy (University of East Anglia UK 2014) and MA in Philosophy and Cognitive Science (Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, France 2010). Postdoctoral research at the Center for Philosophy of Science Pittsburgh (2014), at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE London (2015), and at the University of Copenhagen (2016-2018). Research focuses on explanation in cognitive neuroscience and cognitive psychology, computational modelling in systems biology and neuroscience and the ethical implications of translational medicine. Psychology Program Director: Carla Caetano, Ph.D. DIS Contact: Psychology Program Assistant: Kate Giddens Email: [email protected] Phone: +45 33 76 57 64 2. Course Description Prerequisites: A course in psychology at the university level. The course offers a biological and neuro-cognitive psychological approach to explore and debate what neuroscience, psychology, and related fields reveal about the brain’s role in spiritual experiences, religiosity and atheism. Main topics include in-depth discussions of the nature of the field of neurotheology; health benefits and risks related to being or not being religious; functional neuroanatomy, neurocognition and neurochemistry of 1 Neuroscience of Religion and Atheism l DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia Related Majors: Religion, Neuroscience, Psychology www.DISabroad.org religious and spiritual experience; neurochemistry correlated with spiritual experiences, mystical states and religiosity across the lifespan with respect to neuro-cognitive factors. 3. Objectives Students in this class will: By the end of this course you will gain insight into the complexity of researching religion, spirituality, and atheism from a neuroscientific perspective. You will be informed about some of the most relevant debates and research directions currently being pursued pertaining to the exploration of the “religious” brain. We explore evolutionary arguments for and against religion, we discuss studies that explore religion and spirituality in the brain and the “where”, “how” and “what” of neurotheology. You will also gain some understanding into atheism – for example, why are some people atheist and what factors influence whether someone might become spiritual or not? You will also have the opportunity to think of an exciting research question, to explore this topic in depth and to come up with your own experimental paradigm. Course Components 1. Required Texts Canvas: ● Peer-reviewed articles and other readings for each class can be found on Canvas. See syllabus and individual class dates for references. 2. Approach to Teaching The most important component of this course is student participation and discussion. It is thought, that the students should guide the learning directions that this course takes and the facilitator will moderate and provoke thought and discussion. There will be numerous in-class exercises designed to engage students in their own learning experience. Lecture format will be used in order to highlight very important concepts related to the readings and to give extra guidance for discussion and assignment purposes. We will have many engaging articles to read and whenever possible, selected videos will be used as well. 3. Field Studies ● Date/Time: Wednesday, March 29th 13.00-17.00 Location: The National Gallery of Denmark Topic: Sacred art in a secular context ● Date/Time: Wednesday, May 3rd 8.30-12.30 Location: Brahma Kumaris, Vodroffsvej 9b, 1900 Frederiksberg C Topic: A spiritual meditation exploration. Discussion of the relation between mind, intellect and the subconscious and the opportunity to experience focused meditation 4. Guest Lectures 1. Uffe Schødt, Associate Professor in School of Culture and Society - Department of the Study of Religion Date: March 7th Topic: Ways of looking at the religious brain 2. Kamilla Lange, Clinical Psychologist and Mindfulness Instructor 2 Neuroscience of Religion and Atheism l DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia Related Majors: Religion, Neuroscience, Psychology www.DISabroad.org Date: May 11th Topic: Meditation, spirituality and neuroscience 5. Expectations of the Students This course emphasizes collaborative learning. This involves in-class group activities and frequent discussion among peers punctuated by mini-lectures from the instructors for context and direction. The goal of learning collaboratively is to develop skills for how to extend the knowledge acquired during class. You should come to class with (electronic or hardcopy) access to the assigned reading and you should expect to use and refer to the reading during class time. Students will keep a journal throughout the course where they respond to questions related to the readings. All students are expected to contribute their thoughts every day. Participation in class discussions is integral to a rich learning experience and an enjoyable class. You will be graded on the quality of your participation and the depth of your comments and insight as well as the thoughtfulness of your questions. If differences of opinion arise then students are expected to debate openly, but respectfully. Equal contributions of all group members to any group work is expected. 6. Class Representatives Each semester DIS looks for class representatives to become an official spokesperson for their class group, addressing any concerns that may arise (in academic or related matters), suggesting improvements and coming up with new ideas. Class representatives are a great way for DIS faculty to ensure better and timelier feedback on their courses, assessments and teaching styles, and as such perform an invaluable role in connecting student needs with faculty instruction during term time. Class Representatives will be elected in class at the beginning of the semester. Assignments and Evaluation Assignment How evaluated Due Date Percentage of grade Participation and Attendance Individual Ongoing 10% Journal Entries Individual Ongoing 15% Classroom Activities Group Ongoing 10% Methods Class: Poster Group February 21st 15% Presentation Field Study Assignment Individual April 12th 10% (Museum or Panel Debate) Debate Class Individual or May 2nd 20% group Final Exam Individual TBA 20% Total 100% 3 Neuroscience of Religion and Atheism l DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia Related Majors: Religion, Neuroscience, Psychology www.DISabroad.org Participation & Attendance: 10% The heart of this class is driven by student participation. The primary character of the class will be exploration of ideas, idea generation, inquiry and discussion. Students must bring to class an inquisitive mind, a willingness to share their thoughts, ideas and questions. Grades will be deducted when readings have not been completed and when participatory efforts are lacking. Please see participation rubric on canvas for specifics. Unexcused and frequent absenteeism will result in a loss of grade. Using laptops and cellphones in class for anything but class work will also result in loss of grade. Journal Entries: 15% In order to ensure that readings have been done, to stimulate discussion and to clarify open questions, students are expected to respond to directed questions related to the readings for 8 classes during the semester. Journal entries are submitted on canvas and are to be around 500 words. The answer format should be short arguments. Students should make clear how your position relates to the readings and what reasons support the point(s) they are defending. Students are advised to choose one of the questions that can be found in the syllabus below and on canvas. The “first day” journal entry is 1% of your final grade, and all other journal entries are worth 2%. Effort, insight, reflection and referring to outside sources as well as the reading itself will be taken into consideration for the grade. Sample of classroom learning activities: 10% ● Puzzle: each group explains or illustrates a different idea and then the results are discussed and compared in the wider group ● Group Grid: each group extracts ideas from different parts of the lecture and then class shares findings to complete grid ● Think-Pair-Share: individuals work in small groups of specific tasks and then they communicate results, difficulties or questions to the class to improve their answers ● Interview: pairs interview each other for response to specific questions or to summarize responses ● Conceptual maps: students work in small groups to design creative conceptual maps that illustrate their understanding of the ideas presented in class or introduced in the assigned readings, incorporating also their own questions about the links between the notions introduced, the conclusions of the arguments, etc. The maps will be discussed with the rest of the class. Methods Class: 15% Due: February 21st (9 am) For this class we will simulate a poster session at a conference. The conference is on methods used in the study of neuroscience of religion and atheism. Small groups will present to their peers on their assigned empirical method and its uses. We encourage the presenters to rely also on the material (papers and course material) presented during the class. Preparation will include group work outside of class to develop the poster as well as guidance