English

The course addresses the following topics: (1) theories of organizational learning (OL) (definition of workplace OL, OLW early practical approaches, OL and managerial/organizational cognition, and cognitive vs socially situated learning theory (2) OL studies in different areas of business and management practice (OL and innovation practices, strategy-as-practice, change management, and knowledge management (3) wider contexts of OL (postmodernity knowledge society, recent OL concepts, and OL futures).

Japan is a very interesting case study in globalization. It is a homogeneous country that has had a history of isolation not only in the Sakoku days of the Tokugawa Period but up until now in some ways. However, it has also realized the need for globalization, and has been trying to do so through various efforts. This course introduces students to the world of Japan and its contact with, and even merging into, the modern world. The problem of globalizing Japan mirrors the nature of globalization itself in the following ways: (1) If Japan is successful in globalization, it must do so in a number of interrelated sectors including politics, economics, education, finance, culture, society, and communication; and, (2) Moving this traditionally isolationist and inward-looking, homogeneous country toward globalization will need a coordinated effort from the top because the Japanese fear what many fear about globalization: loss of identity and what one can call “Native culture.”

This advanced course examines the political economy of East Asia. It treats East Asia as a political-economic space beyond the boundaries of individual countries, and pays equal attention to the past and the present. The course covers a wide range of topics, including the silk road, the tributary system, the circulation of money, the political economy of colonialism, migration and diaspora, the adoption of modern state system, the developmental state, regional production networks, East Asian regionalism, and the rise of China.

This course introduces students to Indigenous Australia in a stimulating, in-depth study of traditional and contemporary forms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural expression. Ranging from dreaming and ancient knowledges, ceremony and lore, to the lives and societies of Indigenous peoples today, students learn about Aboriginal kinship, language, story and art, Indigenous agriculture, aquaculture and astronomy, and contemporary Indigenous cultures and cultural currents. Students explore traditional and contemporary Indigenous life, with special emphasis on the integrity, strength, and wisdom that has underpinned such extraordinary continuity.

This course studies the development of public and private architecture in Berlin from the 19th century to the present. Following an introduction to architectural terms, and an examination of the urban development and architectural history of the Modern era, the Neo-Classical period is surveyed with special reference to the works of Schinkel. This is followed by sessions on the architecture of the German Reich after 1871, characterized by both modern and conservative tendencies, and the manifold activities during the time of the Weimar Republic in the 1920s. The architecture of the Nazi period is examined, followed by the developments in East and West Berlin after World War II. The course concludes with a detailed review of the city's contemporary and future architectural profiles, including an analysis of the conflicts conerning the redesign of ''Berlin Mitte,'' Potsdamer Platz, and the new government quarter. Students examine architectural examples within Berlin designed by such famous international architects as Lord Norman Foster, Frank O. Gehry, Renzo Piano, and Richard Rogers. Field trips complement the lectures.

This course examines a number of areas in Singapore's domestic politics. Topics include key determinants of Singapore's politics, key structural-functional aspects of Singapore's domestic politics, the extent to which nation building has taken place in Singapore, and the key challenges facing Singapore and its future domestic politics. The course also studies issues related to nation building, state-society relations, and the likely nature of future developments and challenges. 

This course introduces students to thinking and writing about political, social, and environmental events geographically, using examples ranging (depending on the year) from environmental disasters and infrastructure failures to epidemics and conflicts. The course introduces students to a variety of ways of analyzing, researching, and representing events and then focuses on the analysis of a small number of past, recent, and on-going events, allowing them to think critically and geographically about current events.