Syllabus: Premonitions and Precognition
Instructors: Carlos S. Alvarado, PhD & Nancy L. Zingrone, PhD
About the course:
In this course students will be given an in-depth look at the way in which parapsychology has investigated the phenomena of time—having intuitions, dreams, and visions of the future, showing the ability to guess targets before they are chosen, and otherwise incorporating the future into experiences, knowing, and understanding in the here and now. Among the topics to be covered will be the history of predictions in mediumship, from Pascal Forthuny’s chair tests in the 1920s to experimental tests of precognition in J. B. Rhine’s card guessing days to precognitive dream telepathy, Ganzfeld and remote viewing studies, to Dean Radin’s, Dick Bierman’s and Julia Mossbridge’s work on presentiment, and of course, Daryl Bem’s most recent work on “feeling the future.” This course will also examine spontaneous precognitions from announcing dreams and apparitions to predictions embedded in intuitions, uncharacteristic behaviors, and visions. Premonitions of disasters and what they say about free will and the malleability of time will conclude the course.
Resources will include specific case studies, website and video references, and readings from the scientific and popular literature. This course is designed for the serious student, but the information will be accessible to anyone with an interest in the phenomena. Besides providing an interesting discussion of premonitions and precognition, this course will also provide a good grounding for those who wish to contribute to the scientific side of parapsychology.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of the course students will be able to:
- Discuss precognition as a phenomenon, an experimental operationalism, and an experience.
- List and compare qualitative and quantitative approaches to the study of precognition.
- Discuss how the concept of time may change when it is seen through the analysis of precognitive dreams, the results of presentiment experiments, and attempts to act on the premonitions of disasters.
- Describe Daryl Bem’s “Feeling the Future” experiments, and discuss both the methodology of the individual experiments and the controversy that his paper sparked.
- Propose a research project to examine precognitive experiences or to test precognition in the laboratory.
Weekly Topics
Week 1 :
Introduction to Precognition and Premonitions
Week 2 :
From Rhine to Maimonides: Early Experiments to Explore Precognition
Week 3 :
Predicting the Future in Mediumship and Psychic Experiences
Week 4 :
Incorporating the Future into Modern Research: Presentiment
Week 5 :
Incorporating the Future into Modern Research: Qualitative & Case Studies
Week 6 :
Feeling the Future: Daryl Bem and Reversing Time in Psychology
Week 7 :
Premonitions of Disaster: What Does It Say About Time
Week 8 :
Anomalies of Time and Theories of Time: Retrocognition & Time’s Arrow
Readings
Required readings will be provided in the REC classroom. Students may read ahead.
Suggested readings (articles, books, and blogs), YouTube videos, experiencer websites, and links to other fascinating materials will also be provided for those who are interested in delving more deeply into some aspect of premonitions and precognition on their own.
Grading
Students will receive a letter grade for this course based on the Academic Policies of the Rhine Education Center. Students may also choose to Audit this course (take the course without being assessed), but all students are encouraged to participate in weekly discussions to gain the full benefit of the class. Students who choose to audit the course must notify the Rhine Education Center of their intentions before the first class, and this decision cannot be changed once the class has begun.
Assessments
Discussion Forums, Assessment #1 through #8
Each week will include a discussion forum. Students will be expected to complete one post of their own responding to the week’s question, as well as respond to at least one discussion post authored by another student. Students will receive points for responding to the discussion question in full, and one point for their response to another student’s discussion post. Extra points will be awarded for a student’s initial post if, after answering the discussion question, the student goes beyond it to raise additional issues or provide additional information on the topic. Extra points will also be awarded for posting in other students’ discussions beyond the required single response to one other student. Points for week’s discussion will be converted to a number scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the least amount of engagement completed in comparison to the rest of the class, and 5 being the most amount of engagement. If you write well, that’s wonderful! If you’re not the best writer in the world, or English is difficult for you, don’t worry. What will count the most will be your thoughts and your opinions. For some discussion topics, students may also have the option to upload an audio or a video discussion post or response. Tutorials on how to do this will be included in the classroom resources.
Tests, Assessment #9 and #10
During Week #3 and Week #6, students will complete a 15-item multiple-choice quiz, with Week #3 covering the lectures and materials of Weeks #1 through #3, and with Week #6 covering the lectures and materials of Weeks #4 through #6. Correct answers will be awarded one point.
Presentation-Project, Assessment #11
At the end of Week #8 students will be expected to upload a 5 to 15 minute presentation or a 5 to 10 page term paper on some topic of the student’s choosing that is related to the course content. Presentations may be a short film with or without narration, a short audio clip, or a PowerPoint presentation. The range of points available for this assessment will be from 1 to 30, with 1 being altogether too brief and uninformative, to 30 being well-argued, well-made, and insightful, showing mastery of the course material.
Grading Breakdown:
Assessments will contribute to the overall grade in the following proportions:
Discussion Post Assesements: 40%
Tests: 30%
Presentation Project: 30%
Students will receive a letter grade for their overall efforts. Successful completion of this course with a passing letter grade will provide credit towards a Certificate program that will be offered in the future by the Rhine Education Center.