English

The course examines key aspects of popular religious culture during the early modern period in Europe which witnessed the transformation of religious life associated with the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. It deals specifically with religious ideas and devotional practices at a popular level and the changes introduced by both Protestant and Catholic reformers. As part of the spectrum of belief it examines ideas concerning magic and witchcraft and it includes a study of the witch hunting which swept through Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. Attention is given to the role of women in churches and society, and how they were affected by the religious upheavals of the period. 

This course examines the nature and workings of the American political economy and society. To achieve a well-balanced understanding of the country in the context of the globalized world, it  studies the United States by comparing it to other industrialized democracies of North America, Europe, and Oceania. The course seeks to understand the interplay among politics, the economy, and society and its effects on the economy and the well-being of citizens.

The course examines the governance of a multicultural society. Topics include: modern societies as multicultural societies-- processes of migration and urban transformations; human rights and cultural diversity; visible and invisible forms of cultural discrimination; the queer perspective as an analysis of cultural diversity; controversies in functional diversity; migrations, diaspora, and exile as contemporary conditions; cultural hybridization.

The course applies AI techniques to the problems of making devices capable of interacting with the physical world. This includes moving around in the world (mobile robotics), moving things in the world (manipulation robotics), acquiring information by direct sensing of the world (e.g. machine vision) and, importantly, closing the loop by using sensing to control movement. 

This course examines the ways of thinking, talking and writing about music.

This course examines the strategic partnership between high growth start-ups and venture capital. It investigates how venture capitalists perceive the worthiness of an idea, and covers some of the best ideas from the top early-stage investment practices. The first part of the course covers analytic frameworks on the underlying logics in the startup and venture capital ecosystem. The second part is a series of thought experiments, wherein ideas are crafted and evaluated across different business possibilities. The course demystifies the real-world startup and venture capital practices, by thinking analytically on some of its key features. As an outcome, such frameworks are geared to help enable students to make insightful conversations with practitioners from startups or venture capital firms in the future.