Neurobiological basis of Kinship and Nationalism 

Human beings are inherently social species, so that all aspects of our cognition and behavior are social. From the beginning of human existence, humans have needed relationships and attachment because they do not exist well in isolation. We have the unique ability to understand different social contexts, to emphasize and to reason about our own and other people’s intentions, motives, and beliefs.

The goal of this course is to explore the neural basis of human social interaction. We study how social neuroscience informs our understanding of social behavior, with each discipline offering a unique and complementary perspective. Examples of topics include the evolution of brain, behaviours, social brain development, the self in social interaction, emotion, empathy, political behaviours.

We will also explore “plasticity,” the brain’s capability to be shaped by cultural and environmental influences, social interactions, and contemplative practice. Emphasis is placed on research findings in the neural basis of racism, group behaviours (ingroup-outgroup), ethnicity and nationalism. This course provides a broad overview of the social brain and help the students to understand the brain in its social context.