Information for Sophomores in Mind/Brain/Behavior Tracks
Spring 2008-2009
(If you did not receive this information in an e-mail, please e-mail Shawn Harriman at shawn_harriman@harvard.edu so we can add you to our records. If you have dropped MBB since the fall, please also e-mail Shawn so we can remove you from our e-mail lists. If you would like to remain on our e-mail lists, please still e-mail us your change of status. And if you have dropped an MBB track but are interested in pursuing a secondary field in MBB, please also e-mail Shawn.)
Welcome to the spring 2009 semester! This letter will highlight several aspects of your MBB experience, including course work and activities, that will take place this spring.
Course Work
This semester, most MBB sophomores will complete Molecular and Cellular Biology 80, the Neurobiology of Behavior, which is required for the MBB Certificate. This spring the course will be offered by Professors Joshua Sanes and Jeff Lichtman and will take place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in Northwest Labs B-103.
If you have not already taken Science B-62, The Human Mind: Introduction to MBB, you should try to do so this semester. This spring the course will be offered by Professor Steven Pinker and will take place Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in Science Center B. (Several tracks allow students to complete an upper-level substitution, and you should consult specific requirements; your track can also advise you whether to take MCB 80 or Sci B62 this year if you need to take both. Next year, both courses will be offered in the fall semester.)
You also have other requirements specific to your track and concentration, and if you have questions about these, you may check with your concentration advisor or track staff http://mbb.harvard.edu/undergrad/trackcontact.php.
Finally, this spring MBB is offering a new elective research course, MBB 90r: Supervised Research, to give academic credit to students engaged in research on a mind/brain/behavior topic. The course requires regular work in a laboratory or research program, and an end-of-semester written research report. In most situations, students in MBB tracks should conduct individual supervised research for course credit through a tutorial course (e.g., 91r, 910r) in their home department/concentration, but occasionally MBB 90r will be appropriate. If you think that might be the case, additional information and a link to the required application is available at http://mbb.harvard.edu/mbb90.php, and you may contact Shawn Harriman at shawn_harriman@harvard.edu if you have any questions.
MBB Advising Meeting: Monday February 2nd, 4-6 p.m., Ticknor Lounge (Boylston Hall)
The undergraduate group HSMBB and the MBB office are co-sponsoring a shopping week advising meeting featuring MBB faculty, advisors, and students who will be available to chat with students about MBB programs and courses. If you have questions about fitting MBB courses into your concentration or secondary field, would like to talk to spring MBB course instructors, or would like to hear about the student perspective on MBB offerings, we think you will find this event very helpful as you plan your spring semester and beyond. Refreshments will be provided, and we hope to see you there!
Junior Symposium (next September)
A particularly engaging MBB undergraduate activity is the symposium organized each year for juniors in MBB. These events include presentations and discussions led by major scholars from within FAS, the broader Harvard faculty, and outside Harvard. Each symposium is organized around an interdisciplinary theme, with topics from recent years including Autism, Minds and Machines, Sex/Gender/Mind/Brain. The symposium usually takes place just before the start of classes in September, and attendance is required for the MBB Certificate. We will provide additional information later this spring, including the specific date so you can make appropriate plans for your return to Cambridge at the end of the summer.
Special Events and Activities: MBB and HSMBB
The larger MBB community will gather this spring for several exciting events we hope you will be able to attend. These will include the annual distinguished lecturers, scheduled for April 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, to be delivered by Daniel Dennett.
In addition the MBB student group, the Harvard Society for Mind/Brain/Behavior (HSMBB), is planning a busy and interesting series of spring term activities, including weekly teas, an April event highlighting the Intersection of Art and Mind/Brain/Behavior, a neuroeconomics symposium, and a continually of this past fall’s totally informal seminar series. Dates for some events have already been set (locations TBA):
- Tuesday, February 17th, 4 p.m., Totally Informal Seminar
Professor Joshua Sanes - Tuesday, February 24th, 4 p.m., Totally Informal Seminar
Jonah Lehrer, author of Proust was a Neuroscientist and the new How We Decide - Tuesday, March 17th, 4-6 p.m. with dinner reception to follow, Symposium
Economic Decision-Making: Perspectives from Neuroscience, Economics, and Psychology
To receive additional details on these and other HSMBB events and activities, join the group’s mailing list by visiting http://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/hsmbb-list or e-mailing hsmbb-list-request@lists.hcs.harvard.edu with “help” as the subject line or message.
If you have any questions about any of the information in this e-mail, feel free to contacte Shawn Harirman at shawn_harriman@harvard.edu.
We at MBB wish you a productive and exciting semester!
