The fall 2009 semester at UC Berkeley is in full swing and I am newly returned from a trip to Europe. Here are a couple of promising courses I’ve been sampling as I’ve been recovering from jet lag.
Psychology of Dreams (iTunes).
Are dreams a window into the spirit world, a key to the unconscious or just meaningless noise generated by the sleeping brain? This course taught by a psychologist Eleanor Rosch promises a survey of the answers given by a range of cultures and by (often disagreeing) modern researchers and therapist. The booklist is here. An old syllabus from 2006 is here. (The current syllabus is on the UC Berkeley site accessible only to students.)
Human Happiness (iTunes).
This interdisciplinary course taught by psychologist and emotion researcher Dacher Keltner will cover the philosophy and psychology of happiness. Keltner also teaches an excellent course on human emotion (see Psychology courses), and he brings his signature humor and conversational style to this new offering. The booklist is here.
