Minor Culture and Cognition

Have you ever wondered what it is that allows humans to create (a) culture? Or in what respect human cognition and culture may be different from those of other mammals and primates? This minor unveils the cognitive aspects of human culture, and follows the evolution of human cognition from its earliest forms to the modern mind.

The study of culture from the perspective of cognition is an evolving field in the present academic world. There are many ways of studying this; the Groningen minor is unique in combining the neurological aspect with courses that are focused on diverse cultural fields.

The courses are taught by a team of teachers who are professionals in either the study of culture or cognition.

The program consists of the following courses:

The Evolution of Human Culture (10 EC, semester 1a) LBA017B10
An obligatory introductory course, based on the solid and comprehensive work of the neuroscientist Merlin Donald.

Biology of Cognition (5 EC, semester 1a) LBA029B05
An obligatory introductory course about the biological basis of human cognition, and the evolution of the nervous system and the human brain.

Knowledge, Signs, and Meaning (5 EC, semester 1b) LBA037B05
Drawing from scholarship in linguistics, philosophy, and semiotics, this course is a deep dive into the relationships between the things we know, the languages we employ, and the non-linguistic signs and artefacts we use when we make meaning. Using different case studies it develops a richly interdisciplinary picture of human communication and its relationship(s) with symbolic, material, and theoretical culture. This course concludes with a student-led creative project related to the course readings and content.

Narratives We Live By (5 EC, semester 1b) LBA020B05
This is an introductory course that provides basic knowledge on narrative construction taking cognitive processes into account (such as perception, memory, and emotion). The course emphasizes the constructed nature of narratives and culture(s), their multifaceted appearances in different periods and places. By focusing on ancient and present cultures this course reflects in which ways basic narratives of human reality are still relevant today.

Art and Cognition (5 EC, semester 1b) LBA026B05
This course offers an introduction into the cognitive perspective on art. It focuses on the cognitive processes underlying artistic experience and on its possible functions drawing from both everyday cases (by means of musicking, singing, dancing, pretend playing, drawing, pantomiming, or verbal storytelling) and clinical cases (making use of different art therapies such as music therapy; dance therapy; visual/tactile therapy; drama therapy; and writing therapy).

You can either follow a 15 ECTS package (block 1a), or the complete minor of 30 ECTS (blocks 1a/1b). The courses in the second block build on the first block. Students following the complete minor have precedence when enrolling.

Students have to register for either the 15 ECTS package (block 1a), or the complete minor of 30 ECTS (blocks 1a/1b) via Progress.

For more information please contact the Minor coordinator: Dr. Wah

Minor Culture and Cognition

Last modified:

03 May 2024 11.29 a.m.