Course descriptions

What happens in your brain when you can speak two languages? Is bilingualism a cognitive advantage, or is it more taxing on the brain? Around the world, bilingualism is the norm rather than the exception: many people use two or more languages for work, education and personal communication. While the connection between language and the brain has been well established, the brains of bilinguals are just beginning to be studied in depth. In The Bilingual Brain by Albert Costa, we are introduced to cutting-edge research in neurolinguistics and cognitive science, revealing what happens in a human brain that functions in two languages. Students pursue their own research and writing in topics related to language, linguistics or cognitive science.

In most of the world, multiple therapeutic traditions co-exist, sometimes symbiotically and at others competitively. Many societies have radically different ideas and practices concerning health, the body and disease than in the US. And these ideas and practices are contested both within these societies and between different societies in an emerging global world. In this writing seminar, we will examine several contested topics within the field of medical anthropology. This course is designed to improve students' writing skills via peer review, multiple drafts and revisions of essays, and midterm and final portfolios.