College Seminar (101-7-2)

Topic

Animal Thinking

Instructors

Tracy M Hodgson
847/491-4823
Tech Institute, Room MG77

Meeting Info

Technological Institute M166: Mon, Wed, Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

Do animals think? Are they self-aware? How can we humans ever hope to find out? Topics for exploration and discussion include: The evolution of cognition; the history and current state of research on animal thinking; how studies of animal thinking may help us better understand human cognition.

Teaching Method

Individual student presentations; group presentations; small group and class discussions; short introductory lectures where necessary to provide background information

Evaluation Method

Participation in and leadership of group discussions accounts for at least one-quarter of the grade. Written assignments and oral presentations account for the remainder, in proportion to their length. One short research paper (3-4 pages); one long research paper (8-10 pages); one opinion piece (2-3 pages)

Class Materials (Required)

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? Frans deWaal, 2016, W.W. Norton and Company, ISBN: 978-0-393-35366-2

Animal Cognition: Evolution, Behavior and Cognition; 2nd Edition, 2013, Clive D.L. Wynne and Monique A.R. Udell, Macmillan Publishers ISBN: 978-0-230-29423-3

The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures, 2018, Antonio Damasio. Pantheon Books, ISBN: 978-0-307-90875-9 (this is for the hardcover version; paperback or electronic versions are ok also)

Class Attributes

WCAS College Seminar