Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology
McGill University
EDPE 650-001

Consciousness, Virtual Reality, and Cyberspace in Education

September 3, 2003

Professor G. Cartwright

Proposed Course Outline
(order of topics may vary slightly due to availability of materials, films, guests etc.)
Lecture/Date
Topic
Comments
 1. September 3 Introduction to the Course

The Nature of Consciousness: Overview. What is consciousness? Why Virtual Reality and Cyberspace will force the reexamination of consciousness.

The role of the computer in the study of consciousness: 1) as a resource (Internet and World Wide Web), 2) as a new and altered level of human consciousness through computer communication and conferencing, and 3) as the host for the development of machine consciousness. 

Video: TV Newsclip: From missile makers to videogames

 2. September 10 Theories of Consciousness (classical and modern) 

Classical Theorists: Freud's Psychoanalytical theory of the unconscious & Jung's collective unconscious


Video: The Brain Series: Part 1 ­ The Enlightened Machine 

 

 3. September 17 Cosmic Consciousness: Richard Maurice Bucke; 
Stanley Dean (ultraconsciousness) 

Julian Jaynes, The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

Video: Split Brain 

Video: The Brain Series: Part 6 ­ The Two Brains 
Video clip: Beautiful Dreamers (film clip on Bucke and Walt Whitman, National Film Board of Canada)

 4. September 24 States of Consciousness (Charles Tart, etc. Normal, altered, higher, and drug-induced states of consciousness, dreaming, directed dreaming, 
research findings)
Presentation: States of Consciousness - TBA

Video: The Brain Series: Part 8 ­ States of Mind 
 

5. October 1 Consciousness and Learning: Does one have to be conscious to learn? 

The Hypothesis of Formative Causation: Rupert Sheldrake. 
 

Presentation:  Dreaming, lucid dreamind and directed dreaming - Sandrine Ceurstemont

Video:  A Glorius Accident

 6. October 8 Suggestology (Lozanov, University of Sofia, Bulgaria) Presentation: TBA
Video: The Brain Series: Part 7 ­ Madness (Schizophrenia). 
 7. October 15 Giftedness & Consciousness (with particular reference to Einstein and Ramanujan as case studies) 

Philosophical aspects of consciousness. Teillard de Chardin. Frank Tipler.

Presentation:  TBA
Video: NOVA: Einstein 
Video: The Man Who Loved Numbers: the case of Ramanujan (if we can get it!) or 
Video: James Burke: The Day the Universe Changed (part 10) 

Video:  The God Module

 8. October 22 Hypnosis. Class demonstration of group hypnosis. (Nothing to be worried about!) 

Imagery and Transformational Fantasy (Shaffer)

Film: Captive Minds ­ Hypnosis and Beyond 
Presentation: Imagery and Transformational Fantasy -  TBA
9. October 29 Physiological Correlates of consciousness.  EEG and quantified signal imaging. Telepathy (Targ & Putoff). 

Quantum Consciousness (Fred Wolfe) 

Modeling Consciousness (including Cybernetics) & Research Models, collective consciousness, global consciousness

Presentation:  Physiological Correlates of Conscioiusness - TBA

Video: Joseph Campbell ­ The Power of Myth. Part 6 ­ Masks of Eternity 

Video: Joseph Campbell ­ The Power of Myth Part 4 ­ Sacrifice and Bliss 
 

10. November 5  Presence.  Guest lecturer:  Mr. Adam Finkelstein DVD: The Illusion of Being
11. November 12  Virtual Reality, sensory technology, current research Video: Being there, here. 
TV Newsclip: Virtual Reality 
Video:  Balloonacy (Myron Krueger)
12. November 19 Cyberspace and the future Video clip:  Back to the Future Ttechnical Engineering
13. November 26 . .
14. December 3 . .