Ireland

This is a course about early language acquisition. Students learn to describe pre-linguistic and early linguistic development in children; outline the stages of phonetic and phonological development in typically-developing children; analyze the salient phonetic and phonological characteristics of speech samples from children typically developing speech; explain how children's vocabulary develops in the pre-school years; outline the course of early grammatical development in children; describe the processes involved in early simultaneous and sequential bilingualism; and appreciate the effects of early language delay and disorder on the acquisition of speech, language and communication.

Social Neuroscience is one of the newest fields in psychology and explores the neural systems underlying social behavior. The course outline the theoretical origins of the field, basic neuroanatomy, and core methodologies including brain imaging techniques and behavioral paradigms. In addition, areas covered include how the brain enables the processing of faces, emotions, theory of mind, prejudice and stereotypes, moral judgments and economic decision making. The course also considers some of the ethical implications associated with our growing understanding of the neural determinants of interpersonal behavior and the impact this knowledge can have on our notion of free will and responsibility.

Clothing, tools, technologies, and architecture, the physical or material realm is central to cultural processes and cultural expression. This course examines approaches to the study of material culture and technology through discussion of theoretical approaches and the examination of case studies covering topics that may include vernacular architecture, clothing (the t-shirt), pottery, folk costume, museum display, cars, and student material culture. The course examines the study and documentation of material culture as an entry point to cultural analysis in disciplines such as folklore, ethnology, and anthropology. The course locates material culture studies within folklore and cognate disciplines, considering the physical or material realm as central to cultural processes and cultural expression. It approaches the study of material culture through discussion of theoretical approaches and the examination of case studies covering topics that include vernacular, traditional and contemporary material culture.

This course explores science and environments from European invasions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas in the 16th century to their legacy in a climate-changed world. Students learn how knowledge is produced through complex and often unequal collaborations of diverse actors. It begins with a critical introduction to key episodes and methods in the history of science, including global, Indigenous, and feminist standpoints. They then venture through thematic weeks—e.g., Islands, Mountains, Arid Lands, Underlands, and Atmospheres—to bring global histories of science and environment into a comparative framework. This course also practices history for the future, asking how historical perspectives can inform contemporary conversations about environmental justice and the value of scientific knowledge.

This course consists of a series of lectures, tutorials, and laboratory sessions that deals with a range of developmental topics emphasizing a molecular approach to understanding the principles of animal development. A number of animal model systems is dealt with and the contribution of each to our overall understanding of development discussed. Specific topics include: developmental genetics: the identification of genes that regulate development in Drosophila and vertebrates; positional determination: how the body plan of the embryo is laid down including the role of homeo-box genes; induction: the role of cell and tissue interactions and signaling cascades; developmental neurobiology: positional determination within the vertebrate central nervous system, neuronal diversity and axonal guidance, and neural crest cells and development of the peripheral nervous system. Other topics include limb development, organogenesis, and evolutionary developmental biology.