Arts & Sciences: Drugs, Demons, & Dancing

An interdisciplinary examination of the mind-body problem offering perspectives from anthropology, dance, neuroscience, performance studies, psychology, and religion. Explores relationships between mind, brain, body, and behavior, asking how the senses, the body, and consciousness interact in order to shape our knowledge of ourselves and the world.

Open to degree and PACE students

How do psychedelics work? What does it mean to have an “out-of-body experience” or to “lose yourself” while dancing? How do religious mystics use their bodies to communicate with spirits? This course will take up these questions (and more!) through an examination of the “mind-body problem” from different disciplinary perspectives, including neuroscience, religion, music, and dance. We will explore the relationships between mind, brain, body, and behavior, asking how the senses, the body, and consciousness interact in order to shape our knowledge of the world. In doing so we address the question of what it means to be human from scientific, humanistic, and artistic perspectives.

Classes will feature a combination of lecture, performance, informal writing, and small-group discussions. Students are expected to attend regularly and to actively participate in discussions and other activities. Students should expect to spend 5-6 hours a week outside of class completing assigned readings and other homework.

Grades will be based on: Attendance & Participation, Quizzes, Reflection journal, Creative Project.