English

This course studies important economic problems that emerged in Japan in the last few decades as well as their causes. The goal of the class is to deepen an understanding of contemporary Japanese economy and its relations to the world economy.

Whether you are interested in fashion design, media, business, or just looking at it from the general perspective of a customer, this course discovers a complete understanding of what is sustainability in fashion and how to achieve it. With Paris as one of the world’s major fashion capitals, this course takes advantage of the city’s resources, exploring exhibitions and special visits to see how brands and leaders are embracing sustainability on a broad scale. These experiences complement practical, real-world case studies in the classroom. The course studies fashion through the perspective of circular economy to evaluate different definitions and practices of sustainability in the field. Topics include an in-depth look at sustainable materials, scrutiny of production and distribution models, evaluation of sustainable business practices, sustainable design strategies, and the influential role of consumers in fostering sustainable styles and lifestyles.

This course introduces students to the key concepts that social anthropologists use in social analysis. It provides introductions to the principal areas of anthropological enquiry, placing kinship, economics, religion, and political life in a cross-cultural comparative context. Bringing these perspectives together, students consider how anthropology shines light on the interconnected nature of life in contemporary global societies.

This course discusses the functioning of both the EU and the UN as normative power intergovernmental organizations. Do they really deserve to be labelled as such? And if so, what extent have they been successful as keepers of international peace? The EU’s Commission and Council and the UN’s Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights at the hand of both historical and actual cases are assessed. Do not expect a clear “yes” or “no”,  but come to learn what the limits and opportunities of the EU and the UN as prominent IGO’s in the field of international politics are and even more important: come to learn how to start your own research on both normative powers by using both secondary and primary sources, including the necessary theoretical toolkit on how to interpret them. 

This course examines traditional Chinese history. It will give a brief account of the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties and the political crises that are cataclysmic to the empires. It covers the period from ancient to late Imperial China. The main theme will focus on the characteristic portrayals of Chinese emperors as well as the political influences of eunuchs, empresses, and their family members, etc.

This course focuses on plant knowledge in a broad sense covering recognition/identification, geographical distribution, ecology, and human use of plants. It covers important crop plants, timber trees, non-timber forest products, medicinal plants, pasture grasses, ornamentals, as well as ecological important plants. During a series of lectures and exercises, the course discusses taxonomic principles, botanical terminology, plant morphology, occurrence of plant families around the world as related to climate, evolution, and continental drift, plant ecology, pollination, fruit and seed dispersal. It introduces various web-based information sources, floras, and apps. Parallel with these overall principles, the course goes through a large number of selected plant families with a highlight on characters, genera, and species. Dry material, and to the extent fresh plant material is available from the Botanical Garden, these materials are integrated parts of presentations and exercises. Students elaborate a report on an in-depth study of a selected topic, plant family, or group of families during the progression of the course that includes several elements of the course curriculum.

The course is for students who want practical experience and skills in social research. The course is designed to mimic a real world research scenario, in which a multi-disciplinary research team takes varying approaches to a topic but works together towards the same goal. The emphasis is on learning while doing, and giving students a structured environment where they can learn how to reflect on your research while they are doing it. The course is taught through lectures and group work. The lectures give you grounding in various research skills, debates, and controversies in social research. The main focus of the course is the group work. Each group develops a topic to investigate, conducts research on it, and presents its findings. Students sign up for a group and conduct a research project under the guidance of a tutor. Visiting students should have at least 2 university-level social science courses (such as sociology, politics, social policy, social anthropology, etc.) at grade B or above.

The course aims provides students with a thorough understanding of core techniques of quantitative economics and econometrics and their application to test economic theories and measure magnitudes relevant for economic policy and other decisions, as a foundation for subsequent study of quantitative topics within the degree programme, and as one of the key elements in the professional training of an economist.

The course examines the ecological and biological principles underpinning the major tropical marine ecosystems. It provides an understanding of the ecological processes that control tropical marine ecosystems, and considers the organisms that are characteristic of each. All the major tropical marine habitats are considered, but with a focus on coral reef, seagrass and mangrove ecosystems. The course also tackles topical research areas on the subject through student-led seminars, which vary depending on the latest scientific research and the specific interests of participants. 

The course equips students with practical skills in data analysis and visualization techniques essential for extracting actionable insights from complex datasets. Lab sessions and projects help students learn about exploratory data analysis, geospatial visualization, and interactive dashboard development. Students gain skills that are highly valued across a wide set of academic and business fields.