History
The Language & Cognition Research Seminar began in 2008 with the goal of bringing together researchers – particularly graduate students – from different Harvard departments to discuss recent and ongoing research that sits at the intersection of language and cognition. We wanted to provide a regular opportunity for psychologists and linguists studying related problems to exchange ideas, methods, and results.
Format
The 1.5h sessions typically revolve around a single research talk, with questions (and sometimes lively discussion) during the talk. Most of the talks are given by the graduate students and postdocs from the Boston area; seminar attendees are particularly encouraged to present. We also invite other researchers in the community, particularly new faculty, to give talks. Typically, we invite two or three speakers from outside the Boston area to visit. Occasionally, a meeting is devoted to a panel discussion or group discussion of a paper.
The informal nature of the workshop creates a comfortable space for students to talk about new work or to practice talks before presenting in front of larger audiences. This is beneficial for the speakers and has the added advantage of allowing attendees to hear about very new findings in both psychology and linguistics.