Cultural neuroscience is a multidisciplinary field that melds neuroscience with cultural anthropology and cultural psychology. It asks: Is culture embodied in the brain? And what are the neurobiological correlates of cultural variation? This course examines how human evolutionary biology has influenced our tendency to socially aggregate and behave in ways that can be predicted based on affiliation with groups that have proscribed values, beliefs, and practices. It surveys the neurobiological markers of inter-group processes and cultural diversity in genes and behavior (e.g., personality, parenting strategies, lifestyle, religion, social rituals, language and material artifacts). Finally, it explores culturally relative definitions of the mind and considers the importance of biopsychosocial approaches for the study of neurodiversity and global mental health disparities.
- Profesor: Jeremy Garritano
- Profesor: Sally Seraphin