English

This course examines the theoretical frameworks, empirical cases, policy instruments, and cutting-edge debates in the fields of international non-legal social norms and international law from an International Relations perspective. The course goes beyond the conventional moralistic and black-letter approaches, and instead focuses on the political contexts, causes, and consequences of norms and international law. The course is structured in three parts. First, we will focus on the different theoretical perspectives in International Relations for understanding norms and international law, such as realist, liberal, and constructivist approaches. Second, the course will examine the general issues of norms and international law, including the actors of norms and international law, the creation and sources of norms and international law, and the problem of compliance. Third, we will examine the interrelationships between norms and international law, on the one hand, and international politics, on the other hand, in several global issue areas, such as the use of force, human rights, international criminal justice, the environment, and/or trade. 

This course examines the theoretical and practical issues surrounding peace and conflict studies. It begins by exploring the range of different understandings of the roots of violence and the contemporary manifestations of conflict. It  then examines the key actors in conflicts such as elites, constituencies, civil society, soldiers, mercenaries, spoilers and outside actors. Turning to major debates in the field, it explores the question of whether it is ever 'just' to use violence for political ends; the concept of 'non-violence' in theory and practice; and debates over external intervention (including the R2P debate, various 'soft' and 'hard' power approaches and the role and efficacy of the UN). We then investigate key approaches in the field - such as conflict prevention, conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict transformation (and the relationship between these approaches). The role that human security, human rights and international law plays in such processes is also examined. The course then turns to the relationship that conflict resolution has to peacekeeping, peace-enforcing and post-conflict situations. Integral to these discussions is the application of theory to case-studies such as Israel-Palestine, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Iraq East Timor, Sri Lanka and Rwanda. The final part of the course assesses the future of conflict and conflict prevention.

Algebraic topology is concerned with the construction of algebraic invariants associated to topological spaces which serve to distinguish between them. This course focuses on the concept of the fundamental group of a topological space, and discusses its relation to other important notions in topology such as homotopy, covering space, etc.  

Topics include homotopy of paths, covering spaces, the fundamental group of the circle, retractions and fixed points, the Borsuk-Ulam theorem, deformation retracts and homotopy type, the Jordan curve theorem, imbedding graphs in the plane, the winding number of a simple closed curve, the Cauchy integral formula, the Seifert-van Kampen theorem, the fundamental group of a wedge of circles, adjoining a two-cell, the fundamental group of the torus and the dunce cap, the classification theorem, equivalence of covering spaces, and existence of covering spaces. 

Prerequisite: Topology 1 

This course provides an overview of the process of European integration from the post-World War II era to the present. Students study the functions and power distributions of the EU legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. Students also analyze the politics of policymaking in different areas, such as the single market, the Euro, and external trade policy. Current dissensions and dysfunctions within the EU are examined and debated from the perspectives of democratic theory and collective action theory. Noneconomic policy areas, such as foreign and security policies, also are addressed.

This course explores the intricate dynamics of ecosystems and the application of resource management strategies. Students engage in practical exercises and fieldwork, gaining hands-on experience with environmental measurement tools and real-world resource management scenarios. This course examines human dimensions behind managing forests, ranges, water, and fish/wildlife along with the ecological processes that enable these resources or cause difficulties in managing them. Participants are equipped with a comprehensive understanding of ecological systems, the skills required for responsible natural resource management, and a newfound understanding of the natural world.  Recommended pre-reqs include Introductory Biology, Geology, and Sustainable Development.

This course examines relevant OS issues and principles and describes how those principles are put into practice in real operating systems. The contents include internal structure of OS; several ways each major aspect (process scheduling, inter-process communication, memory management, device management, file systems) can be implemented; the performance impact of design choices; case studies of common OS (Linux, MS Windows NT, etc.).

This course focuses on the integral connection between play, creativity and the arts for children and adults, and the essential role they contribute to lifelong learning. Through practical workshops students will use a variety of art media including digital technologies. To understand and learn how to facilitate a focus on children’s engagement through play and the arts, involves students co-playing, co-making and co-imagining in mentored immersive interactions with children in our arts studios. The experiential nature of the course is supported by knowledge drawn from a range of disciplines incorporating theories of engagement, play and creativity, learning, artistic creation, and human development. 

This course’s goal is to analyze how influential media outlets cover current world affairs and main issues, and what unique topic approaches and novel storytelling ways they use that can be applied to local news coverage. This course employs the English as a Medium of Instruction–Contents and Language Integrated Learning method (EMI-CLIL).

This course provides a map of contemporary approaches to the so-called separation of church and state, or political secularism, and enables them to use the relevant concepts and insights in analyses of societal issues concerning religious diversity. This course provides the theoretical and empirical knowledge to make sense of these academic debates and contemporary issues regarding the relation between states and religions. The course explores the concept of political secularism through multidisciplinary readings, especially anthropology, sociology, law, and political philosophy. Theory and concepts concerning political secularism are always be discussed by in depth readings of case studies, for example about native-Americans and religious freedom, Muslim sartorial practices and gender equality in France and Iran, or political secularism in postcolonial nations such as India and South Africa.

This course provides students with theoretical tools, historical cases, and current issues needed to understand the discipline of International Studies. Surveying a wide range of issues that comprise the study of International Studies, course topics will include (neo)realist approaches, cooperation under anarchy, constructivist approaches, unpacking domestic politics, international security, international political economy, the concept of region, China vs. the US (the West), conflict and cooperation on the Korean peninsula, and unification of the two Koreas.