Speaker Series
In addition to learning from the skilled researchers at York University, the Cognitive Science program hosts a Speaker Series where you will have the opportunity to learn from other leading researchers from around the world. These talks will give you the chance to engage in some of the most recent research topics and findings in Cognitive Science. Recent speakers have included primatologist Frans de Waal (Emory University), linguist Ray Jackendoff (Tufts University), cognitive neuroscientist Merlin Donald (Queen's University), and philosopher of cognitive science Carl Craver (Washington University, St Louis), among others.
Speaker Series for Winter 2011-2012
Jan 11 Farid Masrour (PhD, Arizona; Faculty Fellow, Harvard)
"The Geometry of Visual Space and the Nature of Visual Experience"
Jan 13 Jacqueline Sullivan (PhD, Pittsburgh; Assistant Professor, Alabama)
"Reviving the Mind in Cognitive Neurobiology"
Jan 18 Karen Shanton (PhD, Rutgers)
"A Simulationist Theory of Episodic Memory"
Jan 20 Jacob Beck (PhD, Harvard; Assistant Professor, Texas Tech)
"Why We Can't Say What Animals Think"
Mar 21 Hisashi Nakao (Kyoto University)
"A Critique of the Behavioral Modification Hypothesis for the Evolution of Punishment"
Speaker Series for Fall 2011-2012
Sept 21 Ellen Bialystok, Psychology, York University
"Lifelong Bilingualism: Linguistic Costs, Cognitive Benefits, and Long-term Consequences"
Oct 26 Tamar Szabo Gendler, Philosophy and Cognitive Science, Yale University
"Epistemic Costs of Implicit Racism"
Nov 14 David Rosenthal, Philosophy and Cognitive Science, City University of New York
"A Theory of Mental Qualities"
Speaker Series for Winter 2010-2011
Jan 28 Raymond Mar, Psychology, York University
"The Relation between Stories and the Social World: Evidence from Neuroscientific, Developmental, and Personality Research"
Feb 16 Chandan Narayan, Linguistics, University of Toronto
"The Acquisition of Sound Systems, the Nature of the Input, and the Shapes of Phonologies"
Mar 21 Terry Regier, Linguistics and Cognitive Science, University of California, Berkeley
"Universals and Variation in Language and Thought"
Download flyer for Winter 2010-2011 (pdf).
Speaker Series for Fall 2010-2011
Oct 6 Mohan Matthen, Philosophy, University of Toronto
“Sensory Exploration and Empirical Certainty”
Oct 20 John Tsotsos, Computer Science, York University
“How the Brain Deals with the Computational Complexity of Vision”
Nov 10 Marc Bornstein, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, USA
“Toward a Behavioral Neuroscience of Parenting”
Nov 24 Tim Racine, Psychology, Simon Fraser University
"Joint Attention: The Skinny on the Rich and the Lean"
Download flyer for Fall 2010-2011 (pdf).
Talks are usually scheduled for Weds, 3:30-5:30 in Ross S 421, unless otherwise announced.
Flyers for past Speaker Series:
The Cognitive Science program also hosts social events, such as movie nights and other informal gatherings, which give students a chance to meet other Cognitive Science students and to talk with faculty members in a less formal setting.
Additionally, the Cognitive Science program organizes and hosts national and international conferences and workshops, notably the annual meeting for the Society for Philosophy and Psychology in June 2007.
