UC San Diego Global Seminars: Sydney - Social Cognition and Drugs in Australia

Significant work on mirror neurons has been conducted in Australia, especially in the important area of neuroetiology, the evolution of mirror neurons, and their relationship to language. Australia has an amazing diversity of birds, some of which have been found to have mirror neurons similar to humans. Being in the center of a region where active research is ongoing will allow the class to explore that aspect of this very interesting field. Students will have the opportunity to visit labs at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University who have done this important work. Mirror neurons have also been linked to our aesthetic experience in art appreciation – a topic that we discuss in class. Therefore, it will also be significant to visit museums and art galleries in Sydney to engage students in that discussion. The COGS 174GS class is a study of the history, drug policy, and pharmacology of drugs, both legal and illegal in the US. This version of the course would offer the opportunity to compare the US with another country’s history, drug policy and substance abuse problems. Students will visit to the Justice and Police Museum in Sydney to foster discussion of drug policies and problems related to drug use and abuse.