Cognitive Science celebrates 25 years

Vassar first in world to offer undergrad degree

Julianne Herts Guest Writer

In 1982 Vassar College became the first institution in the world to grant an undergraduate degree in the field of cognitive science. In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the cognitive science program, the College will host a series of discussions and lectures on Nov. 16 and 17.

“It has been really gratifying to see that pay-off in the growth of programs at other institutions,” said Professor of Psychology Ken Livingston, one of the founding members of the cognitive science program. “We were the only place doing this in 1982, and now we have lots of company. I like to think that our success here had at least a little bit to do with that.”

Discussions about forming the multi-disciplinary major first began around 1979, Livingston said, thanks in part to newly arrived Professor of Computer Science Marty Ringle. While cognitive science traces its roots to two 1956 conferences on information processing, one at Dartmouth University and the other at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the field was still small and experimental.

“Marty had early connections to the national group that had organized the Cognitive Science Society, and he convinced a group of five of us that we had a lot to learn by broadening our horizons beyond the disciplines we had been trained in,” Livingston said. In addition to Livingston the original five included Psychology Professors Jan Andrews and Carol Christensen, Philosophy Professor David Kelley and Anthropology Professor Michael Herzfeld.

And what they were studying was quite new. Cognitive science is a multi-disciplinary field that combines anthropology, biology, computer science, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy and psychology into a comprehensive examination of the mind. Vassar College faculty members were among the first people in the country to acknowledge the importance of this comprehensive approach.

“I think that something as complex as the mind merits a multi-disciplinary approach,” said cognitive science major Josh Rottman ’08. “By drawing on frameworks and experimental evidence from many disciplines, cognitive science is uniquely able to construct theories and models of the mind that take these different subject areas into consideration.”

Cognitive Growth

Both the field of cognitive science and the department have grown immensely in the last 30 years. There are now more than 70 graduate programs in the field, monthly conferences, and a professional journal. Vassar’s program has mirrored and sometimes led the field’s explosive growth. When it began, Vassar’s program, it consisted of an introductory course and a senior seminar, along with courses in each individual department. Now there are six core courses that combine the disciplines, and students take those along with courses in many of the separate disciplines that make up cognitive science.

The creation and development of the cognitive science program was an exhilarating process for those involved.

“It was a truly exciting process, in part because it was—and still is—constantly challenging,” said Livingston. “There were always new perspectives to be understood, unfamiliar ideas and ways of thinking to grasp, strange methodologies to master—it is impossible to become complacent about what you think you know. For me it is as if I never really left graduate school.”

Majors must also focus their study of the mind by choosing one of five elective paths: Cognition and Culture, Cognition and Language, Cognition and the Arts, Embodied Agents, Evolved Minds, Formal Analysis of Mind, or Mind and Brain. Rottman, for example, has elected to study Cognition and Culture.

The individualized nature of a Vassar degree in cognitive science is one of the most appealing aspects of the discipline for many majors.

“I have achieved a deeply nuanced understanding of a broad range of subjects, but more importantly, I feel like I have obtained the knowledge of how to ask the right questions in an academic setting,” said Rottman.

The specific requirements of a cognitive science major vary, depending on the student’s path of study. For instance, those who elect the path of Evolved Minds are required to take courses primarily in anthropology, biology and psychology, whereas those who pursue the Formal Analysis of Mind track study computer science, mathematics, and philosophy.

Anthropology Professor Anne Pike-Tay teaches majors on the “Evolved Minds” track. Pike-Tay said the students begin studying primates so as to understand the origin of language and cognitive evolution.

Furthering the Field

Since the cognitive science program was launched, Vassar faculty have led workshops and made presentations at various colleges and universities, at the Cognitive Science Society, and at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

“[Members of] our faculty have sponsored workshops on the teaching of cognitive science at the Cognitive Science Society,” said Director of the Cognitive Science Department and Professor of Psychology Gwen Broude. “We held a national conference at Vassar on the question of how to teach cognitive science effectively, and we have worked with NSF on a number of different projects related to how best to teach cognitive science.”

Livingston encourages all students to take part in the cognitive science program’s anniversary celebrations.

“The career development panels and elective faculty lectures are open to anyone in the community who wants to come,” he said. “The more the merrier.”
Livingston added that the panel group will have a diverse set of stories to tell. “There are things to be learned from them whether one is interested in cognitive science in particular or not,” he said.

Among those invited to commemorate the anniversary are former and current faculty members and majors in cognitive science, program alumnae/i, and the deans and president of Vassar College. Members of the President’s advisory council will also be on campus on Nov. 17 to attend the lectures and panels.

Paul Smolensky, Professor of Cognitive Science at John’s Hopkins University, will deliver a keynote address in Rockefeller Hall 300 at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17. Smolensky is a recipient of the David E. Rumelhart Prize for Theoretical Contributions to Cognitive Science in 2005, and a former President of the Cognitive Science Society.

Broude explained that in addition to being a widely respected cognitive scientist, Smolensky is a friend of the Vassar program. Smolensky “has been a great supporter of our work here, visiting on several previous occasions, and spending a week here as a visiting scholar during the period when we were developing new courses in our curriculum.,” said Broude. “He is an old friend of the program and an honorary member of Vassar’s cognitive science community.”

Smolensky’s keynote address is entitled “The Harmonic Mind” and will conclude the celebration of Vassar’s influence over the development of the discipline.