The 1950s was the origin of the Cognitive Revolution, when the mind was first viewed as a computational, symbol-processing machine. Techniques for building and programming computers flourished while information-processing models of mental abilities led to an explosion of research in diverse fields, from linguistics to cognitive behavioral therapy. By the 1990s, computers were omnipresent in daily life and no longer appeared the ideal model of mind; the rise of new technology for studying the brain's mental activity allowed the brain itself to be the model for understanding the mind. This seminar examines the recent intellectual history of new conceptualizations in understanding the mind, beginning with the first computer metaphor in the 1950s, which was followed by a second computer metaphor in the 1980s (artificial neural networks). We consider the emotion revolution of the 1990s, and the field of cognitive neuroscience which is the dominant paradigm in the current day. Along the way we examine changing perspectives on enduring questions during the 2nd half of the 20th century: How do adult information processing abilities emerge during infancy, childhood and the teen years? Is there an innate basis for language acquisition (and if so, what is it)? Are cognition and emotion separate mental abilities? Students will be able to choose their own question of interest for focused exploration while the class broadly studies this explosive half-century of intellectual evolution.