Skip to Main Content

Content

Course Tabs

Overview

Course Prescription

Humans share with other living things the features of physical self-generation and adaptation to the environment. Humans also live in a mental (mind) world and maintain relationships with our perceived environments. Minds and bodies mutually affect one another. This mind/body dance, which is explored in this course, is what gives rise to all of human behaviour from simple daily activities to the highest forms of creativity.

Course Overview

What makes you human? What are thoughts and feelings and why do you think and feel the way you do? How does the structure of your body affect your thoughts and feelings, and how do your thoughts and feelings affect your body? What does your brain have to do with your thoughts and feelings, your mind, your soul and your spirit, and what are ‘mind’, ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ anyway? How do we develop a sense of 'self'? Why do humans seem to be so different from other animals? What is language and how does it contribute to who we are and how we make sense of our lives?If you have ever wondered about any of these questions then you will enjoy this course. Human Mind and Body Relationships is taught by award-winning staff from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences who love what they do and are keen to introduce you to the magic and mystery of people.You will learn about the difference between living and non-living things, how living things belong to a category of entities we call 'self-organising systems', and what self-organisation means for the process of living. We will mostly focus on one particular species of living things - humans (i.e. 'us'). You will learn some basic things about human biology, human anatomy, brain structure and function, and how and why people are different from machines. We will explore our mental processes, how our thoughts, feelings, emotions, beliefs and expectations affect the workings of our bodies (using examples such as ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’ effects), why humans cooperate in social and cultural groups (which are both also examples of self-organising systems), and how we generate meaning in our lives.You will explore many areas of human life and you will have plenty of opportunities to ask questions and discuss ideas. Because this course is about what it is to be human, we hope that it will help you understand yourself and other people better while at the same time having a great deal of fun.

Main Programme

Course Contacts

Associate Professor Roger Boothrj.booth@auckland.ac.nz

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15-point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 33 hours of lectures, 2 hours tutorials, 70 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 10-15 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Hybrid

This course is offered in two delivery modes:

Campus Experience

Lectures and tutorials will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including assignments will be completed online.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Online

Lectures and tutorials will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including assignments will be completed online. Some live online tutorials will also be scheduled.
Study material will be released progressively throughout the course coinciding with lectures.
This course runs to the University semester timetable and all the associated completion dates and deadlines will apply.

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Other Information

Please Note:Enrolment in this General Education course should not conflict with your other core courses. The in-course test for this General Education course will be held during normally timetabled class time.In the event that the scheduled course test time clashes with a compulsory element in one of your other courses, no special arrangement/alternative test time will be offered.You should therefore choose your General Education course carefully to ensure there is no clash with your core courses.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Additional Information on Academic integrity

The use of artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT or similar online resources is not permitted for any work that a student submits as an assignment, test or examination.

Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type1234567

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

A recent change we made as a results of student feedback was to provide online resources clearly labelled as pre-reading for each lecture and this was appreciated by the class. As a result of student feedback, we are also prepared to set up occasional tutorials, either in-person or online throughout the semester for those students who would like a more question-and-answer format or to explore aspects of the course in more detail.

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.