Instructors
Prof. Liina Pylkkänen
liina.pylkkanen@nyu.edu
Office hour 11:45-12:45pm (Zoom)
TA: Alicia Parrish
alicia.v.parrish@nyu.edu
Office hour Mon 11am-12pm (virtual)
Weekly Schedule:
WED to FRI: Asynchronous
Watch the lectures, do the reading
MON 8:30am
Homework about reading is due (almost every week)
MON recitation w AP:
Mon 9:30-10:45am
10 Washington Pl, Rm 104
TUES discussion with LP & AP
(incl Meet the Author):
Tues 11:00am-12:00pm
Zoom
[EXAMS on THU 11am-12:15pm]
Oct 22 (midterm) & Dec 10 (final)
Course description
What are the brain bases of our ability to speak and understand language? Are some parts of the brain dedicated to language? What is it like to lose language? This course provides a state-of-the-art survey of the cognitive neuroscience of language, a rapidly developing multidisciplinary field in the intersection of Linguistics, Psycholinguistics and Neuroscience. Lectures cover all aspects of language processing in the healthy brain from early sensory perception to higher level semantic interpretation as well as a range of neurological and development language disorders, including aphasias, dyslexia and genetic language impairment. Functional neuroimaging techniques will be introduced.
Requirements
Attendance
Regular attendance in the synchronous sessions (Mon recitation and Tues discussion). Students arrive into the synchronous sessions having (i) watched the lecture-videos and (ii) done the reading, in that order. The lectures offer background for understanding the reading, which in most cases is an original research article, the author of which we meet in the Tues morning discussion session.
Class YouTube channel
Before the Mon-Tues synchronous sessions, students watch the videos of that week’s topic on this YouTube channel:
Neural Bases of Language with Liina Pylkkanen – YouTube
Readings
There is no textbook. Instead, all readings are available on this website. You must be on the NYU network to access most journal articles.
Homework
A weekly homework is due on Monday morning at 8:30am almost every week. You will write a short paragraph (max 250 words) about that week’s reading, answering the following question: What was the most interesting thing I learned from this reading? In addition, you will formulate a question about the reading and include it at the end of the homework. If you can make your paragraph establish the background and motivation for the question, that’s great. On Tuesday mornings at 11am, the author of the reading will join us for a Q&A. You will then be invited to ask your questions from the author. Roughly half of the class will have a chance to ask a question each week. The “Meet the Author” series will introduce you to a substantial subsection of researchers in the Neurobiology of Language field!
A midterm and a final exam
Midterm and final exams will be timed, online and open book. Midterm and final will become available at 11am on Thu and will be be submitted by 12:15pm on Oct 22nd and Dec 9th, respectively. The final exam covers primarily, but not exclusively, post-midterm material. There will be no make-up exams. You receive a zero grade for an exam missed without a written, valid excuse acceptable to the instructor (e.g., medical reasons).
Grading
- Homeworks: 40%
- Midterm: 25%
- Final: 25%
- Participation (in class and recitation): 10%
Your well-being during the pandemic
This semester, we’ll be charting unknown territory together. You may experience challenges that will affect your ability to study and do your work. The earlier you let us know about your challenges, the better our chances to help you. Do not wait until the exam to communicate if you are struggling.
Anti-Racism Pledge
I will be brave enough to have uncomfortable conversations and take action against racism at NYU.
