English

This course provides an introductory understanding of the processes that shaped the modern Middle East from the turn of the 20th century to today. It seeks to engage with the history of the region from within as it examines themes like colonialism, nationalism, international relations, social and political movements and intellectual trends. The course provides a foundation for more advanced discussions of politics and society in the region.

This course provides a general introduction to the field of comparative politics. The purpose of this course is to increase the level of systematic perspective and understanding of dynamic modern politics through a review of various theories and issues of comparative politics. It focuses on academic study as well as practical application to the real political world. 

The course introduces and discusses basic building blocks of International Relations theories and major analytical frameworks. It discusses ways to explain and interpret international political events. The unique aspect of this course is to blend theories with international security issues in depth. This is a graduate reading seminar that requires students’ active participation in verbal and written forms. The objectives of this course are (a) to understand mainstream theories of International Relations; (b) to examine the explanatory power of these theories; (c) discuss how to apply them to the study of international politics; and (c) to demonstrate how these theories can be used to analyze issues in international security.

This course offers students the opportunity to engage with art thinking and art practice. It proposes a collective and experimental space based on the individual projects of each student. Students learn, explore, and practice arts processes and develop a personal art project. This course provides an experience in interdisciplinary thinking. It calls on a wide-ranging set of materials from art, anthropology, architecture, philosophy, biology, physics, mathematics, neurology, and geology and introduce students to the work of some thinkers and practitioners working in those areas. 

Apart from offering sensory feedback for object manipulation and movement, the somatosensory system also provides signals that are intrinsically rewarding or punishing. The behavioral drive to seek pleasure and to avoid pain is of crucial importance for survival and partly relies on the same neurochemical circuitry. This course discusses the neurobiological basis of aversive and pleasant somatosensory processing. Brain circuits involved in nociception and analgesia as well as theories and treatments of chronic pain are discussed.

Renaissance art is often seen as the conceptual anchor for a conservative type of art history that focuses on great male artists and their revival of a classical past. This course uses recent research to challenge the idea, showing how old master painting can speak to current issues of sexual, gender, and political identity. Focusing on different roles for women, students investigate how visual culture promotes and challenges ideas of what it means to be female. Students look at women as archetypes of beauty, as wives, prostitutes, artists, patrons, poets, and witches. Students consider medical beliefs in women's inferiority; the notional link between male creativity and reproductive processes; and how the separation of 'art' from 'craft' denigrated traditional areas of women's expertise, notably textiles, to a lesser form of making.