Duke Institute for Brain Sciences

Mirror Neurons and Mimesis

July 30, 2009

DIBS invites you to attend a “Transcending the Boundaries Workshop” on Mirror Neurons and Mimesis: The Biological and Social Underpinnings of Imitation to be held September 9, 2009 at Perkins Library, Room 217.

This all-day program includes lunch and a reception. Registration is free, but required by September 4th. For more information, and to register, please click here.

This workshop aims to forge links between the brain, the humanities and the social sciences in a discourse about the biological and social underpinnings of imitation that spans the history of mimesis and mimetic theories in literature, language, theater and culture, and the neural and behavioral mechanisms of social learning, mirroring and imitation. It is our hope that by transcending the traditional boundaries between disciplines, we will discover novel questions and approaches that will inform us about the fundamental principles that guide social cognition and the development of culture and society.

Keynote Speakers:

Christoph Wulf, Ph.D., Freie Universität Berlin, Interdisciplinary Center for Historical Anthropology

• “The History of Mimesis and the Mimetic Foundation of Social Life”

Christoph Wulf is the author of numerous books, including: Memesis: Culture, Art, Society.

Marco Iacoboni, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; Director of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Lab at the Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center

• “Neural Mechanisms of Mirroring”

Marco Iacoboni’s book on mirror neurons is entitled Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others.

Duke Faculty Speakers:

Tanya Chartrand, Ph.D., Duke University, Fuqua School of Business

• “Behavioral Mimicry”

Christine Drea, Ph.D., Duke University, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology

• “Social Modulation of Performance in Socially Complex Species”

Anne Garreta, Ph.D., Duke University, Department of Literature

• “Cultural Exercises in Mirroring: Aristotle and Rousseau on Mimesis and Pity”

Margaret Greer, Ph.D., Duke University, Department of Romance Studies

• “Mirror Neurons, the Lacanian Mirror and Codes of Honor in Classical Spanish Theater”

Deborah Jenson, Ph.D., Duke University, Department of Romance Studies

• “Second Nature: the Biosocial Construction of Likeness”

Richard Mooney, Ph.D., Duke University Medical Center, Department of Neurobiology

• “Songbird Mirror Neurons for Vocal Communication”

Michael Platt, Ph.D., (Discussion Moderator), Duke University Medical Center, Department of Neurobiology & Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience

Gordon Worley, M.D., Duke University Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Co-Director, Duke Autism Program

• “Reflections on Mirror Neurons in Autism”