English

In special cases and with the approval of the instructor concerned, a student may carry out directed studies of specific problems in forestry. 

This course introduces the new, interdisciplinary field of Corporate Sustainability Law, which identifies and analyzes the multi-layered regulatory framework that intends to promote corporate sustainability. Corporate sustainability concerns the contribution of business to sustainability, which is necessary if we are going to be able achieve overarching sustainability goals in this decade of action towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The course positions the discussion of business in the unsustainable reality of our time, and analyzes how business can create value in a sustainable way. Creating sustainable value is, amongst other things, contributing to the protection of human rights, ensuring decent work, and fair taxation. Sustainable value creation is also about contributing to mitigating climate change, reversing biodiversity loss, and phasing out novel entities such as microplastics. It discusses sectors such as the energy sector, the food industry, and the fashion industry, as concrete examples of the unsustainability of business as usual. The course draws on extensive comparative company law and corporate governance research as a basis for analyzing and discussing these developments in the EU and the national developments, including the Norwegian Transparency Act (‘Åpenhetsloven’). The course provides a thorough understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the dominant and of newer, more progressive approaches to the company. The core themes of the course are corporate purpose, governance of the business (including of global value chains), and the evolving duties of the board.

This course aids students to develop ensemble performance skills in the area of early music. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to successfully execute a performance at the relevant level of competence and in an appropriate style, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of specific performance styles, demonstrate an ability to perform sympathetically within the context of a group, demonstrate a critical understanding of the act of performance, and discuss the issues surrounding the performance practice of select genres.

This literature and philosophy interface explores the origins of drama as theorized by two major thinkers, Friedrich Nietzsche and René Girard, and then moves on to test their hypotheses by reading major plays in the dramatic canon. The first part of the course explores Nietzsche’s interpretation of the Dionysian origins of Greek drama and René Girard’s belief that early drama attempted to resolve a metaphysical crisis with reference to a surrogate victim. The arguments for and against the role of the god, Dionysos, in the dramatic tradition are taken up in theory and practice. Dramatists read include Euripides, Shakespeare, Dryden, and Camus. This course, which combines seminar and lecture, is intended for majors in English and Comparative Literature but should also interest students in philosophy, psychology, and the social sciences.

This course introduces the basic results and techniques of linear programming (LP) and its related topics in operations research. There is an equal emphasis on all three aspects of understanding, algorithms and applications. The course serves, together with a course on network models, as essential concept and background for more advanced studies in operations research. The topics include the simplex method, the dual simplex method, parametric programming, decomposition methods and interior point methods.

This course examines how some of the objects found in museums and collections came to be regarded as art. More specifically some objects and styles of painting are associated with the literati, a highly educated group of scholars who established certain forms of culture as their own from the Tang and Song to Yuan dynasties. By looking at the contexts of when ceramics, bronzes, calligraphy and some forms of painting were first assigned as art the course shows the literati mind guiding the process in the construction of these objects as literati art.

This course examines the international politics of environmental problems through a comparative lens. It explores how global environmental challenges – such as ozone depletion and climate change – are addressed through international regimes, multilateral agreements, and the participation of various state and non-state actors. Emphasis is placed on regime design, participation, and effectiveness, as well as the institutional complexity that often limits coordinated responses. The course also analyzes the link between climate change and conflict, the trade-environment nexus, the issue of environmental justice and prospects for future global environmental governance. Throughout, students engage with key theoretical frameworks and empirical cases to critically assess why international cooperation succeeds or fails. We also consider how environmental governance is shaped by power asymmetries, competing interests and evolving global norms.

This course covers some of the major research techniques and tools which sociologists use to observe and interpret the social world. The first half focuses on issues of the logic of research and research design, the general procedures for research design, and research ethics. The second half deals more specifically with a variety of techniques of gathering data which may include survey research, field and observational methods, experiments, content analysis, and historical methods. Some of the software programs covered that are critical for conducting social scientific research in the 21st century may include those for statistical analysis, qualitative data analysis, database management, the creation of maps and timelines, and the presentation of research reports. The course develops more knowledgeable and critical practitioners, consumers, and evaluators of social science data and research.

This course provides comprehensive knowledge of public policies found in the European Union, a political system that has increasingly taken on responsibility in key policy areas. After briefly reviewing the EU’s institutional structure, it analyzes key economic policies of the EU, including the single market, economic and monetary union and competition policy. It then examines the fascinating aspects of merger and acquisition control and state aid. It also covers other significant policies, including agriculture, social, freedom, security and justice, as well as the external policies of the EU.

This course introduces students to the foundational role land plays in urban development in Australia, including studying land management and city development over time. It examines the evolution of the built environment professions in Australia in relation to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal land knowledge, law, and practice.