Hampshire College

Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary field devoted to the study of the mind, the brain, and computing technology. Hampshire's diverse program serves students with interests in many areas, including psychology, philosophy, linguistics, biology, animal behavior, computer science, anthropology, education, child development, learning, digital multimedia, and the social effects of new information technology. Many different types of Division II concentrations and Division III projects can be organized in whole or in part around the study of the remarkable capacities of the mind and brain or around the potential of computers and digital technologies.

Over the past thirty years cognitive science has become a central area of knowledge and liberal arts learning, offering a critical perspective on human nature, on the nature of knowledge itself, and on our possible futures in the digital age. The three interlocking areas of the School's curriculum reflect these perspectives:

• Mind and Brain. Research on the mind and brain is one of the most exciting frontiers of science. Our understanding of ourselves and our potential is being profoundly altered by studies in many areas: brain imaging; the perceptual and mental abilities of infants and young children; theories of neural networks; the roots of learning disabilities, dyslexia, and autism; the evolution of animal consciousness and behavior; the nature of learning and memory; the effects of psychiatric medications; and the possibility of intelligent machines are just a few examples. We examine all of these areas in our courses and work with students in the laboratory and field to produce new research results in many of them.

• Knowledge and Language. The nature of meaning and knowledge and the question of how they can be represented in the mind and conveyed by language are among the oldest and most central issues in philosophy, linguistics, and psychology. In our program faculty members and students examine and extend the new ideas that are emerging from interdisciplinary research in this area. We study, for example, the relation between language and thought, the acquisition of language by young children in widely varying environments, the implications of philosophical theories of knowledge for neuroscience and computer science, and the question of how mere words can possibly capture the richness and variety of our thoughts.

• Computing Technology. Computers and other digital technologies are extensions of the human mind, and, increasingly, they have more or less capable minds of their own. One focus of our curriculum is to give students a foundation for further work by providing them with skills in programming and digital media. Another focus is understanding computers, networks, and digital media as tools for learning and creativity and as powerful catalysts of intended and unintended social transformation. A final interest is the study of the potential and limits of artificial intelligence and its relationship to biological intelligence.

Courses and projects in cognitive science are supported by the school's laboratory facilities in Adele Simmons Hall, which include an open computing laboratory, child development and cognitive psychology laboratories, and laboratories for projects in digital media, artificial intelligence, and learning technology. Work on animal cognition and behavior is supported by the animal research facility, located on the college farm.

Dean of Cognitive Science:  Neil Stillings, professor of psychology

Administrative Assistant:  Jean Fournier