Linguistic and Cognitive Science Meet Diversity – Challenging Theories through Comparison of Languages, Cultures, and Species
Cognitive science as a research field has developed theories of cognition primarily on the study of a WEIRD population (Henrich, Heine & Norenzayan 2010; Blasi et al. 2022). However, a growing number of researchers are recognizing the importance of challenging existing theoretical frameworks by integrating different perspectives. In this workshop, we bring together researchers from an array of disciplines directly facing and addressing the challenges brought on by a lack of representation: linguistics, psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and anthropology. We concentrate on three branches of cognitive science that involve comparison across languages, cultures, and species in service of better understanding and modelling different types of variation. Invited speakers represent scholars who are at the forefront of tackling issues of linguistic and cognitive diversity in their own interdisciplinary research, innovating and developing new and more all-encompassing methods. The aim of the workshop is not only to present the current state of the field, but to offer a space in which researchers can engage in conversation about the future of cognitive science from a multitude of perspectives and their role within it.
Invited speakers
- Alejandrina Cristia
- Alexandra Carstensen
- Alfred Anwander
- Amritpal Singh
- Angela Chira
- AslI Özyürek
- Christian Nawroth
- Christopher Hammerly
- Damián Blasi
- Dan Dediu
- Edwin van Leeuwen
- Hannah Haynie
- Juliane Bräuer
- Mason Youngblood
- Nori Jacoby
- Olena Shcherbakova
- Olivier Morin
- Ramesh Kumar Mishra
- Roberto Zariquiey
- Sabine Stoll
Program
DAY 1
| 8.45-9.00 | REGISTRATION | ||
| 9.30-10.00 | Annika Tjuka, Yoolim Kim, Yağmur Deniz Kısa | Introduction | |
| 10.00-10.30 | Session 1 | Lightning talks by Hannah Haynie, Sabine Stoll, Roberto Zariquiey | Challenges in linguistic diversity |
| 10.30-11.00 | COFFEE | ||
| 11.00-12.30 | Session 2 | Damián Blasi | Language and cognitive diversity and global wellbeing: the Behemoth Language Bias |
| Hannah Haynie | tbd. | ||
| Olena Shcherbakova | The evolution of gender-differentiated kinship terms | ||
| 12.30-13.30 | LUNCH | ||
| 13.30-15.00 | Session 3 | Sabine Stoll | tbd. |
| Alejandrina Cristia | Can long-form recordings help us understand human early vocal development "in the wild"? | ||
| Aslı Özyürek | A multimodal approach to linguistic diversity and cognition | ||
| 15.00-15.30 | COFFEE | ||
| 15.30-16.30 | Session 4 | Christopher Hammerly | Universal biases in Algonquian-specific contexts |
| Roberto Zariquiey | tbd. | ||
| 16.30-19.00 | RECEPTION | ||
DAY 2
| 9.30-10.00 | Session 5 | Lightning talks by Nori Jacoby, Alexandra Carstensen, Olivier Morin | Challenges in cross-cultural studies |
| 10.00-11.00 | Amritpal Singh | tbd. | |
| Alexandra Carstensen | Cognitive diversity in context: US-China differences in children's reasoning, visual attention, and social cognition | ||
| 11.00-11.30 | COFFEE | ||
| 11.30-12.30 | Session 6 | Olivier Morin | Letter shapes phonology: Feature economy and informativeness in 43 writing systems |
| Dan Dediu | Inter-individual and cross-linguistic diversity meet the color lexicon | ||
| 12.30-14.00 | LUNCH | ||
| 14.00-15.00 | Session 7 | Publishing Roundtable with Damián Blasi, Alfred Anwander, Alejandrina Cristia, Dan Dediu | |
| 15.00-15.30 | COFFEE | ||
| 15.30-16.30 | Session 8 | Ramesh Kumar Mishra | Cognitive diversity and the practice of bilingualism: Some methodological concerns and a theoretical proposal |
| Alfred Anwander | Native language and modality shapes structural connectivity in the brain | ||
DAY 3
| 9.00-9.30 | Session 9 | Lightning talks by | Challenges in diversity across different species |
| 9.30-10.30 | Mason Youngblood | Language-like efficiency and structure in house finch song | |
| Nori Jacoby | tbd. | ||
| 10.30-11.00 | COFFEE | ||
| 11.00-12.00 | Session 10 | Edwin van Leeuwen | Chimpanzees use social information to acquire a skill they fail to innovate |
| Christian Nawroth | A goat is a goat is a goat? Taking farm animal diversity into account to strengthen policy recommendations for animal welfare regulations | ||
| 12.00-13.00 | LUNCH | ||
| 13.00-14.00 | Session 11 | Juliane Bräuer and Angela Chira | Beyond WEIRD dogs - Cultural differences in dog-human interactions |
| 14.00-14.30 | COFFEE | ||
| 14.30-15.30 | Session 12 | Future of Cognitive Science Roundtable | |
| 15.30-16.00 | Annika Tjuka, Yoolim Kim, Yağmur Deniz Kısa | Wrap up | |
Registration
Registration for the workshop is now open and will close on May 20, 2024.
We have a limited number of seats, so registration confirmation will be dependent on availability. Confirmation of successful registration will be sent out at the end of May.
If you would like to attend our workshop, please register here.
Practicalities
Directions on how to get to the workshop venue can be found here.
Organizers
Contact
Questions? Please send any queries regarding this workshop to us here.