English

Students are introduced to human cognition and behavior, addressing foundational topics in psychological science. These foundational topics include key concepts such as evolution, genetics, neuroscience, human evolutionary biology and anthropology, and specific topics, such as perception, memory, heuristics and biases, decision-making, child development, psychopathology, personality and individual differences, emotion, attraction and sexuality, cross-cultural differences, social relations, stereotypes and prejudice, norms and attitudes, social learning, social influence and persuasion, and group processes. The course offers an integrated perspective on these topics, investigating the evolution and variation in human psychology over time, across cultures, and over the lifespan. Students learn the history of the study of humans and human psychology, offering students the historical context to trends in research. 

This course covers various topics in probability theory and introductory random processes such as probability, random variables, expectations, characteristic functions, random vectors, random processes, correlation functions, and power spectrum. A number of engineering examples are examined for students’ better understanding of principles. 

This course compares communication phenomena of East Asian societies using student-led international discussions, group studies, and special lectures. Topics include understanding of Chinese, Japanese and Korean media, as well as comparing western and eastern media characteristics. 

This course challenges the limitations of border-based thinking about and explores diverse aspects of (East) Asian society, particularly Korea, Japan, China, and beyond, through the layers of histories, networks, and complex sociotechnical entanglements. Drawing from the methods and theories in Communication and Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Asian/Global Studies, and Science and Technology Studies (STS), the course takes a critical, historically informed, and locally grounded approach to examine both the material and immaterial layers constituting the location in question. Through this course, students reflect on their experiences and perceptions of Asia, practice synthesizing theory with practice, and produce contextualized knowledge about Asia.    

This course explores a series of interconnecting developments which placed cities at the center of power and innovation in the medieval world in the period c.1000 to c.1500. A process so transformative the cities can be conceptualized as revolutionary. Students explore how power was constructed within cities. In addition, students examine competing concepts of the city as an embodiment of sin or of holiness. Alongside this, students question how wealth was generated within cities and how some of the consequences of a profit economy and rising population were managed through welfare provision and charitable activity. Central to the course is the importance of landscape, and how monuments, topography, and rural hinterlands shaped urban socio-religious and political communities. Finally, students assess how learning (especially the rise of universities) and history-writing enabled cities to position themselves as centers of knowledge, memory, and identities.

This course focuses on aspects of managing and leading organizations. Students learn how to influence and motivate others to get cooperation for their own goals. Topics include negotiation, leading and managing teams, motivation, and personality. The course also explores the organizational systems that coordinate individual work to meet business objectives and the impact of technology (e.g., artificial intelligence) and new business models (e.g., gig economy) on work.  

This course introduces students to Cognitive Psychology, the scientific study of how the mind works. Students become familiar with the field of Cognitive Psychology and its research approaches, and appreciate its relevance to everyday functioning. A variety of relevant topics are discussed, such as perception, attention, memory, language and decision-making, both in terms of the prevalent theoretical models, as well as empirical evidence.

This course explores the origins, contemporary manifestations, strategies, impacts, and responses to extremism in Europe and the Americas, with a focus on right-wing examples. It examines the political, social, and cultural dimensions of these movements. The course also distinguishes extremism from related phenomena such as populism and nationalism, explores the motivations and ideologies behind extremism, and assesses the consequences for democracy and social cohesion in these regions. The course begins with a brief introduction to the definitions and distinctions surrounding extremism. In Section II, it takes a closer look at how extremism has developed in contemporary European and American contexts. Section III focuses on analyzing extremist ideologies and discourses, including propaganda and online strategies, through various case studies. Finally, in Section IV, it reflects on the social and political impacts of extremism, as well as the responses from governments and civil society. In terms of methodology, the course is taught through lectures, cross-sectional analysis, group discussions, and the use of primary and secondary sources alongside case studies. 

This course explores the central question: How does our environment — natural or built — affect our mind, behavior, and brain? In a time of rapid environmental change, with expanding urbanization, shrinking green spaces, rising climate anxiety, and evolving relationships with technology, understanding the connection between environment and mental processes is more crucial than ever. Students examine what makes environments beneficial to our brain and wellbeing, how surroundings shape cognition, whether one can design cities that support mental health, and what happens in the brain when one feels connected—or disconnected—from nature. The course traces the history and key theories of environmental neuroscience, introduces sensory perception and environmental stress, and investigates the impact of both natural and urban settings on mental health. Through lab visits, neuroimaging case studies, and a hands-on research project, students actively engage with current research. Grounded in three core pillars—interdisciplinarity, research-driven inquiry, and reflective engagement—this course encourages students to draw on diverse methods, collaborate on original studies, and consider their own experiences of space and place as they explore how neuroscience can inform real-world environmental design and policy.

This course explores the intersection of climate change and other contemporary global environmental challenges and the future of the Mediterranean. Students gain an understanding of Mediterranean geographies, environments, and societies, along with past and future climate trends. The course examines the potential impacts of 21st-century climate change on ecosystems, human well-being, and social systems. The course provides an analysis of similar ecosystems across the globe that face climate-related challenges, and of the national and transnational policies that are or are not in place not only in the Mediterranean basin but also in locations such as in California, Australia, Chile, and South Africa.

Key topics include the fundamentals of climate science, relationships between human and natural systems (such as water supplies, agriculture, public health, and biodiversity), and the law, politics, and societal debates as pertain to possible solutions to reduce the magnitude and impacts of climate change. By studying these issues in the context of Sicily, students develop insights into global climate challenges and localized responses. The course also provides a historical perspective on Sicily’s environmental and social changes over time. Students explore how the region's long history of cultural and political shifts has shaped its environmental practices and adaptation strategies. Additionally, the course addresses the growing issue of climate-induced migration to Sicily, examining its impacts and the region’s ability to adapt to these growing population movements.

This project focuses on exploring Berlin through analog hand drawing, and then using drawing and model making methods to design and construct a small building project. The course offers participants an in-depth knowledge of the design professional's important tool of hand drawing, a skill that equips them for their studies and later professional work. It begins with the basics of hand drawing to establish a foundation and then moves on to apply drawing to observe, analyze and design the environment. Students learn drawing forms such as perspective, isometry, section, pictogram, and others. The subject of analysis is the city of Berlin, the city fabric, micro urban situations, and the Design-Build project site. The Design-Build part of the project focuses on the realization of a small building project for a special community in Berlin. The students develop an idea from the design stage to the built project. An examination of the context and discussions with the clients and users form the basis for the final design. In a competitive design workshop, the best and most feasible solution(s) are selected and developed. In collaboration with the users and under the guidance of a craftsman, the design is built and inaugurated. The community is the client for this Design-Build project. They actively participate in guiding the project from the design phase to on-site construction. This project is carried out in an academic environment, engaging in interdisciplinary collaboration between students of various disciplines and the community. Through designing and building together, the students gain insights into the world that the people they are designing for are facing, with the goal of making students more sensitive to the social, cultural and ecological implications of their work. The challenge is to integrate "low-cost" and "high efficiency" requirements with considerations for sustainability, aesthetics, appropriateness, participation, and education. In order to profit from the high potential of these small-scale projects, the focus has to be the quality of the space that is created. This course primarily takes place off campus, with the drawing sessions happening throughout Berlin and the construction activities conducted on-site.