Submitted by tomski on 24 September, 2018 - 10:31.
WA Distinguished Professors' Lectures Series features internationally renowned scholars visiting the Faculty of English to share their research and professional expertise with WA faculty and students. The Faculty of English welcomes everyone to a lecture From Neuroplasticity to Terrorism: New Dimensions of Bilingualism by prof. Thomas H. Bak from the University of Edinburgh. The lecture will take place on September 25, 2018, at 12:30 in DS Jowita Room A ul. Zwierzyniecka 7.
From Neuroplasticity to Terrorism
by
Prof. Thomas H. Bak
Tuesday, September 25, 12:30,
room A, DS Jowita, ul. Zwierzyniecka 7
Just a few decades ago, science was widely perceived to be done in the "splendid isolation" characterising universities, laboratories and research centres, far away from social and political developments. This has changed radically with the development of mass media, including social media. Bilingualism is a prime example of a topic producing a broad interest in the general public, raising strong emotions and leading to conflicts, scientific as well as ideological. In my talk I will analyse the current controversies around bilingualism by examining the underlying assumptions about language learning and use, which, as I will demonstrate, permeate, often unconsciously, our thinking about mind, brain and society.
Born and raised in Cracow, Poland, Dr Thomas H Bak studied medicine in Germany and Switzerland, obtaining his doctorate with a thesis on acute aphasias (language disorders caused by brain diseases) at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau. He worked clinically in psychiatry, neurology and neurosurgery in Bern, Berlin, Cambridge and Edinburgh, with a particular interest in the relationship between language and other cognitive and motor functions. Since 2010, he is the president of the World Federation of Neurology Research Group on Aphasia, Dementia and Cognitive Disorders (WFN RG ADCD).
In recent years, Dr. Bak’s work has been focusing increasingly on the impact of language learning and multilingualism on cognitive functions across the lifespan and in brain diseases such as dementia and stroke. His studies include a wide range of populations, from students to elderly, from early childhood bilinguals to second languages learners, from Scotland, through Malta and Saudi Arabia and India to China and Singapore. Not surprisingly, in his free time, Dr Bak enjoys particularly… learning languages.
