BCS 162: Understanding Reading

Cross-listed: LIN/PSY 162
Prerequisites: None
Offered: Fall

About this course:

Reading is one of the most complex and remarkable human skills. During the last forty years our knowledge about reading has dramatically increased, largely due to advances in our understanding of natural language and how it is processed, human cognition, and brain functioning. This course examines how people read, drawing on ideas from the cognitive sciences, including linguistics, cognitive psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. We will explore questions such as (a) What are writing systems and what aspects of language do they represent? (b) What are our eyes doing while we read? (c) What parts of the brain are involved in reading and what are they doing? (d) What factors underlie developmental difficulties in reading? and (e) how does brain damage affect reading? These topics will be discussed at an introductory level; no background in psychology, linguistics, or neuroscience is required. The reading will be drawn from serious popular science texts and primary source material.