Introduction to Biopsychology: Brain, Mind, Self
Title of Course: Introduction to Biopsychology: Brain, Mind, Self
Facilitators: Seth Viebrock and Jonathan Popko
Email: seth2@viebrock.us and popk0012@umn.edu Phone: 612.387.4302
Class Time: 8:00pm-9:30pm
Class Dates: Every other Monday (starting June 15th)
Place: 3144 Fremont Ave S, Minneapolis, MN (Uptown) Please use the side door, the class will be held downstairs.
Course description: This is a course in what makes us human, an exploration of the self from a biological and psychological perspective. In academia, a disconnect often emerges between the poetic “higher-level” aspects of humanity (notions of “self”,“emotion”, and concepts like “love”) and the underlying “lower-level” aspects of humanity that comprise our biology. The course will feature a lower-level scientific discussion of the nervous system as well as a higher level narrative of what makes us human in relation to our neurobiology. The objective is to approach the subject of human behavior comprehensively and integratively. For lower-level content we’ll use resources from the internet mixed with short topical lectures and group discussion. For higher-level content we’ll use the book “A General Theory of Love” by Lewis, Amini, and Lannon, as our textbook. Each student will need a copy to read outside of class -- we will have several copies to loan out, but students are highly encouraged to check out or purchase their own copies. Check out the outline of our first class: http://biopsychclass.com/node/13
Class size: Minimum ____3_____ Maximum ____15_____
What experience do you bring to this class?
Jon Popko - I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelors of Science in Neuroscience and Genetics, Cell Biology and Development. Throughout my undergraduate career and beyond I have accumulated a total of 4 years of experience in biomedical research, including but not limited to bioinformatics, scientific image processing, immunology, and cellular/developmental neuroscience. The research objectives of my present occupation are interdisciplinary between pharmacology and developmental neuroscience. Several highlights of my research experience include scientific computer programming and cell culture methods in developmental neuroscience. Over the past two months I have volunteered to teach classes at the St. Anthony Park library in computer literacy and Microsoft office programs, which has inspired me to become more involved in the education community.
Seth Viebrock - Research in the economics of education, education policy, and developmental psychology at Macalester propelled me to pursue studies and lab work in biological psychology at the University of Minnesota. My two years of lab work were for Jon Frederick, Ph.D. doing a study in EEG correlates of consciousness and discrimination of human brainwave states, which also led me to being awarded a student presentation at the International Society of Neuronal Regulation conference in Atlanta. I’ve done extensive reading in the intersections of the philosophy, biology, and psychology of human nature with interests in humanistic synthesis of neuroscience research. So far I’ve taught two semesters with EXCO, offering beginning and intermediate programming courses, as I am a software engineer during the day, and have taught French at a student level for Macalester and Concordia College Language Villages for several years.
