EGL 282 - Neuroscience/Literary Brains

Course Units: 1

This interdisciplinary course focuses on the intersections between Literature and Neuroscience. We will begin by studying the intricate correlations between neural mechanisms and reading, and then explore the brain’s biological, physiological, and psychological responses to help us understand the nervous system as the biological basis of our emotions and behaviors when we read. We will discuss how literary characters’ responses to trauma affect the somatosensory and autonomic nervous systems, and how spoken word poetry leverages the auditory system’s ability to process sound and language. Prerequisite(s): One 100-level English course or a score of 5 on the AP English Language or Literature and Composition test. CQ: WAC, JLIT, JCHF, JSPE ISP: ENS, STS