English

This course studies temperate and tropical marine systems and their associated organisms. The marine habitats include coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds. The first marine biology field program takes place on North Stradbroke Island at the Moreton Bay Research Station and includes the exploration of the major marine environments that occur on the island. The second major field program is conducted at Heron Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef. Class-based activities are undertaken at the research station that introduce the geomorphology, terrestrial ecology, management, marine biology and ecology of coral reefs. Following this, students conduct group research projects and present results. Research reports are prepared to international journal manuscript standards.

This class explores advertising as an evolving category of social communication within a convergent media landscape. It takes a strategic managerial perspective to generate insight into the development of advertising and the roles and processes so entailed. Students consider the consumer perspective in the light of advertising's role as a vehicle for cultural meaning. They also look at media consumption issues given the rapid growth in expenditure on digital (especially mobile) advertising communication. The course takes a multidisciplinary approach drawing on sociocultural, psychological, and anthropological perspectives.

Data is one of the most important assets of any enterprise and plays a central role in many aspects of everyday life, from healthcare, to education, to commerce. In order to be turned into meaningful information that enables and supports decision making, data must be stored, maintained, processed and analysed. Database management systems are complex software programs that allow their users to perform these tasks in an efficient and reliable way. This course is an introduction to the principles underlying the design and implementation of relational databases and database management systems.

The course is an introduction to North American literature (USA and Canada) written in English, with a special focus on identity issues and the making of "national" literatures. Classic and founding texts will be compared to outline the symbolic and mythological patterns that have molded US and Canadian realities, from European colonization to the end of the 19th century. Literature in this course is investigated through a constant dialogue with other arts, including media, cinema, photography, and the visual arts. The concepts of identity, memory, community, and inner/outer landscape, constitute the thematic paradigms to approach the evolving mentalities underpinning the evolution of complex identity processes in the so-called New World. The course discusses topics including: discovering, conquering and inventing North America; USA melting pot versus Canadian multiculturalism; puritan roots of American literary discourses; American pioneers, mapping the frontier; Canadian travelogues, female voices of the origins and contemporary interpretations; American transcendentalism/renaissance, eco-criticism, self-reliance, and new canons; the Civil War, slavery, freedom, and human Rights; the Gilded Age; and American proto-modernism.

In this course students learn, for example, that using language in a certain way may result in a more advantageous outcome for the speaker and by contrast, that certain other ways of using language may be considered law-breaking. No prior knowledge of linguistics is required but having some competence in another language in addition to English is an advantage. This course is interdisciplinary and students learn about the ways in which a number of disciplines are related to one another, including linguistics, the law, criminology, and psychology. 

This course covers the basic principles of biochemistry. Topics include amino acids, primary structures of proteins, properties of enzymes, carbohydrates, and lipids and membranes. 

This course covers one of the world’s great cuisines in a course both theoretical and practical. Students will get behind the flavorful philosophy and origins of Thai cuisine as well as its basic techniques and ingredients. This course studies the culture, philosophy, and origin of Thai cuisine. Looking into the history and literature, it examines the dynamics and development of Thai cuisine over time. Topics include characteristics, cultural and regional eating patterns and practices, and common daily dishes. They will gain hand-on experience of the methods of blending and balancing the varied flavors to create a stimulating array of tastes. Classes include lecture, weekly readings, demonstration, and hands-on practice.