English

The course covers probability and statistics, focusing on how the mathematical ideas of statistics carry over into the world of applications in economics and finance. It examines statistical concepts from economic perspective. For example, why are statistical concepts (e.g., mean and variance) useful in economics? What are economic intuition and interpretation for the probability and statistical relations?

Full course description

To describe natural phenomena and processes, mathematical models are widely used. The focus in this course shall be on dynamical models (i.e., where time plays a role) in particular those that have interaction with the environment through inputs and outputs. Mathematical systems theory provides the framework to deal with such models in a systematic and useful way. First we consider some general aspects of mathematical modeling. Then we briefly address dynamical systems without inputs and outputs - but which may show nonlinear behavior. We study basic properties such as equilibrium points, linearization, and stability. We then switch to linear dynamical models with inputs and outputs. They are used in many different areas of the natural sciences and in engineering disciplines. We discuss the following topics and concepts. Linear difference and differential equations, Laplace transforms, transfer functions of linear systems; controllability, observability, minimality; system representations with an emphasis on state-space representations and canonical forms; stability; the interconnection of linear systems including feedback; frequency domain analysis and the relationship with filter theory, Fourier analysis, and time series analysis. To demonstrate the applicability of the techniques and concepts, many examples from science and engineering are mentioned and briefly discussed.

Course objectives

• To have the ability to interpret dynamical phenomena as mathematical systems and to cast them into such form. 
• To understand the basic concepts of linear systems theory. 
• To be familiar with analysis techniques for linear systems, to understand their behavior and interaction. 
• To become familiar with some application areas of mathematical systems and models. 

Prerequisites

SCI2019 Linear Algebra and SCI2018 Calculus

This course develops students’ conceptual understanding of equity portfolio management issues and their knowledge of the problems and proposed solutions. It considers several areas like portfolio optimization, expected return determination, index models and CAPM, multi-factor models, together with a focus on new markets/ tools associated with private investment. It also focuses on sustainability concerns. The course is applied and excel will be regularly used throughout the course to provide empirical examples. Prerequisites: basic statistics; matrix multiplication; basic Excel; basic finance. 

This course introduces material culture studies including their history, comparative study of technology, theories of artifacts, art and museum practice, and theory.

This course introduces different aspects of material and visual culture, and focuses on the relationship between people and "objects."  Lectures cover the object, the museum, the artwork, and the image, decolonization and object repatriation, art and agency, as well as photography within the digital age. 

This course is designed to develop student's understanding of Korean culture and society, focusing on intercultural awareness and communication. In this course, students learn about an ever fast growing and changing Korean society in the era of globalization. This course helps students appreciate the complexity and dynamics involved in Korean cultural contexts, enhance students’ self reflection of their own culture in relation to other cultures, and develop a cross-cultural understanding of other societies. As the world is transformed by globalization, Korea too has undergone enormous changes. Today's Korean society, economy, politics, culture, and the values of its people are vastly different from those of two decades ago. This course provides an overview of Korean culture with an emphasis on the major changes and continuities in Korea. We explore particular themes relevant to understanding Korea such as Confucianism, modernization, cyber-culture, in-group relations, indigenous values, nationalism, gender relations, multicultural families, and popular culture in contemporary Korea. Achievement of these goals requires emphasis on both theory and practice. From the outset, the course attempts to balance theory with practical experiences, in class exercises, and illustrative materials designed to increase intercultural awareness of Korean culture and society. Thus, student participation in class discussion and exercises is essential.

The main objective of this course is to prepare students with the knowledge and analytical tools needed to develop balanced views on Korean culture and society. Upon the completion of this course, students are able: to understand and explain values, attitudes, and norms that shape Korean culture; to develop awareness of, analyze, and evaluate their own cultural assumptions and how they relate to other cultures; to compare and contrast Korean culture and their own; to apply creative thinking and problem solving skills to intercultural/international communication; and to conduct research in a topic related to Korean culture and to write a paper based on the research.

This interdisciplinary course explores the place of the supernatural in American history and culture from the beginnings of English settlement in North America through the current era. It explores the ways in which the “original sins” of American history, such as the enslavement of African-Americans and the dispossession of Native Americans, have been understood through the figures of ghosts, monsters, and spirits, and how the recurrence of such figures over centuries reflects the novelist William Faulkner’s claim that “the past is never dead; it’s not even past.” 

The course provides an introduction to the major vertebrate groups (jawless vertebrates, placoderms, cartilaginous fish, ray-finned fish, lobe-finned fish, early tetrapods, modern amphibians, lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles, dinosaurs and birds]. The core of the course concerns the anatomy and evolutionary relationships of these groups, which are examined through lectures and practical classes in the Grant Museum of Zoology. The course also uses vertebrates to illustrate two important aspects of palaeontological research: analytical methods and evolutionary processes. The methods introduced by these lectures include phylogenetic analysis, cladistic biogeography, and taxic and phylogenetic diversity estimation. Students also examine evolutionary phenomena such as exaptation and adaptation, extinction, adaptive radiation, and the influence of physical factors on evolutionary history.

This course introduces its participants to mass media systems and structures in Germany and Europe and provides them with the analytical tools and background knowledge to assess the ways in which the mass media and politics interact and thus shape each other. The course begins with an overview of the different structures of mass media (public/private) in Germany and selected European countries, including how they have historically developed and particularly which political ideas have shaped the frameworks in which media institutions and individuals operate. At the same time, the course takes a critical look at how the media in turn have shaped and are still shaping the ways in which the political process works and presents itself to the public. Historical and current case-studies are utilized to analyze the manifold points of interaction between media and politics. At the end of the course, students also have the opportunity to compare European and American media politics and to ask whether there may be trends and influences across the Atlantic that are shaping today's politics and mass media on both sides.