English

Histories of modernity are inextricably entwined with histories of empires. Even in a time when the formal empires have arguably collapsed, the categories through which we approach the modern world are still deeply shaped by the persistence of imperial modes of thinking. This course focuses on a range of key concepts of modernity and encourages critically thinking about these concepts by drawing particular attention to the tensions between their metropolitan and colonial careers. The course offers a broad and critical narrative of world history from the nineteenth through the twenty first century. A primary goal of the course is to provide an understanding of how these concepts carry many different histories within them, how they are open to contending interpretations, and how crucial the sense of their varied historical contexts is to the practice of social sciences and humanities. As an introductory course to Historical Studies, content that engages the diversity of students' lifeworld's and is cognizant of our African location are used. We employ innovative teaching and delivery methods, including multilingual pedagogies and digital literacy, that allow more time for active engagement and the development of critical reading and writing skills in the Humanities. DP requirements: 100% of required coursework and course evaluation. Assessment: Continuous assessment (essays, projects, tests, etc.) counts 100%.

Catharine MacKinnon’s 1989 Toward a Feminist Theory of the State remains one of the most influential works in feminist theory and is the most comprehensive statement of radical feminist philosophy. This class is dedicated to a semester-long close reading of the text. Central to MacKinnon’s thought is the attempt to develop an autonomous theory of sexist domination on the basis of sexuality. Students critically reconstruct this theory and examine its relationship to theories of class and gender based domination, as well as its opposition to liberalism and liberal feminism. Over the course of the semester, the book guides the class through many of the core themes of feminist philosophizing, including the social ontology of gender, feminist epistemology, sexual and reproductive freedom, the role of sexuality and pornography in patriarchal domination, and feminism’s relationship to law and the state. MacKinnon’s thoroughgoing social constructionism with regards to gender and sexuality is of particular interest, as in recent years radical feminism has sometimes been invoked to justify trans exclusionary views. MacKinnon herself has since firmly rejected this use of radical feminism. Accordingly, the class, too, examines her rejection of biologicist models of gender and the queer potentialities of radical feminism. Finally, the class discusses how radical feminism in general, and MacKinnon’s thought in particular, currently experiences a revival in feminist discussions about sexual freedom and the politics of desire.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The factors determining the Earth’s climate are explored, such as the geographic constraints, energy and water, and oceanic and atmospheric circulation, solar heating, tropical variability, ice ages, and greenhouse gases. The course looks at how the climate expresses itself in terms of phenomena, including heat waves, tropical cyclones (hurricanes and typhoons), and floods. The potential consequences of human-induced climate change and their implications for policy formulation are analyzed, focusing on risks to people, societies, and ecosystems. The course also looks at the international policy initiatives to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and to adapt to climate change.

This course explores language as a social and cultural practice. It examines how linguistic variation is influenced by cultural diversity, linguistic communities, and social stratification. This course also offers a study of the relationship between linguistic competence and social competence as well as how discourse contributes to the social construction of meaning within different communities. It assesses the role of language policies in actual language use and in the social perception of languages. 

This course examines for embedded system design using the SOPC (system on a programmable chip) approach. It covers embedded applications, microprocessors, microcontrollers, architecture, organization, programming memories, I/O interfacing, sensors, actuators, analog interfaces, hardware/software partitioning and interfacing, concurrency, and implementing data transformations and reactivity. 

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. At the end of the course, students: have an understanding of types of intellectual property rights, innovation and market failures, private and social value of innovations, and models of R&D investment, and are familiar with the economic policy debate undergirding the reinforcement or weakening of intellectual property; know how to analyze the drivers of companies’ strategic choices concerning innovation protection. Course contents include: Patents, copyrights and trade secrets; Market failures: Knowledge as a public good; Private and social value of innovations; Models of investment in R&D; Optimal life of intellectual property right; The optimal combination of breadth and length; Sequential innovations; Complementary innovation; Prizes v. intellectual property; Trade secrets.

The course provides the foundations for advanced property investment analysis in professional practice. It develops essential quantitative skills for the property industry and introduces techniques for financial analysis using financial calculators and Excel. The course emphasizes an analytical approach to property valuation, covering key topics such as capitalization, the time value of money, and discounted cash flows. It examines property investment concepts, formulas, and calculations and develops basic data visualization skills using Excel tables, diagrams, and graphs.

This course provides students with a knowledge and working experience of a number of modern laboratory techniques that help researchers understand the physiology of farmed organisms to inform and innovate husbandry practice. 

This course introduces modern financial economics. After reviewing essential mathematics and learning Python basics, it studies foundational topics such as portfolio choice, mean-variance analysis, and asset pricing. It also examines how intertemporal decisions shape asset prices and explore classic puzzles, including the equity premium puzzle and excess volatility puzzle.  

Course Prerequisites: Familiarity with basic Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Econometrics. No prior knowledge of Python is required.

The climate crisis triggers intense emotional reactions in many people – from fear and grief to guilt, anger, or hopelessness. But how are these “climate emotions” to be understood philosophically? Are they rationally justified or irrational overreactions? Can emotions reveal moral truths about climate change to us? And what role do they play in our moral action? This seminar examines these questions and climate emotions from various philosophical perspectives. Students engage with classical and contemporary theories of emotions, explore the epistemic and moral significance of emotions like eco-anxiety or climate guilt, and ask about the connection between emotional involvement and moral responsibility. The seminar combines systematic philosophical reflection with the analysis of concrete phenomena and invites critical questioning of both classical philosophical categories and one’s own emotional relationship to the environmental crisis.