English

This course provides a systematic introduction of concepts, theories and practices, with a focus on handling conflict and negotiation. The course content is composed of two intimately related parts. The beginning introduces the nature and types of conflict, mechanism of conflict escalation and de-escalation, and conflict resolution styles. The rest of the class sessions discuss the characteristics of interest-based negotiation and negotiation strategies. Specifically, the course teaches strategies to avoid various cognitive biases in conflict situations and negotiation, the building blocks of negotiation, the difference of distributive versus value-creating negotiation approaches, the strategies of achieving integrative outcomes, building trust and controlling emotions, utilizing power and persuasion, the importance of non-verbal communication in gaining information and ethics. Some topics are also covered in the context of cross-cultural negotiation and computer-mediated negotiation to cater to the need of today’s international business environment. 

Health communication is becoming increasingly important in a world faced with new health challenges from obesity to Ebola, anxiety to diabetes. This course considers the role of language in our experience of and beliefs about health and illness. Students learn how health communication differs among various communities, both monolingual and multilingual, from the grassroots level, such as in families, to broader groups, for example, between health professionals and patients. It also considers the effects of social diversity, such as the age, gender, and ethnicity of patients and healthcare professionals. Students become proficient in analyzing a range of relevant uses of language, including narratives about health and illness, the representation of health and illness in the media, computer-mediated communication about illness, and public health information, persuasion and campaigns.

At the age of global ecological crisis, this course looks at the environment in its historical dimension in order to understand not how we got here, but rather, where exactly we stand. By examining this history over a long 20th century and in various geographical areas, from North America to Asia, this course examines the environment for what it has become today: the most political issue in the contemporary world.

In this course, students build a foundation for studying development by engaging with first-hand research experiences of Sussex faculty, ranked as the world’s number one for International Development. Each week, a different lecturer shares how they’ve approached development, introducing key concepts and ideas rooted in their own research, and discussing real places and pressing issues. Students explore a variety of approaches to defining and understanding development, gaining insights into the diversity of perspectives that shape the field.

This course provides students with the knowledge and professional development for the 21st century organization. Students learn contemporary organizational communication theories and concepts, the dynamism of working in teams and diversity, as well as leadership communication skills essential in today’s technology-driven and digitally connected global workplace. Students apply case studies to solve the problems and challenges faced by the contemporary globally connected workplaces, learn how to manage intercultural sensitivities and interactions, and demonstrate effective decision-making and conflict-management processes in the workplace through a strong understanding of organizational communicative processes and relationships.

This course gives students an understanding of the key topics and contemporary debates in work and employment relations. Students engage with key concepts and theoretical frameworks in the sociology of work and employment relations. They explore what work means to individuals and the various forms it can take. The course recognizes how employees interact with employers and the conflicts that can arise from these interactions. Students examine relevant trends and developments in the world of work, such as gig work, remote working and the impact of technology on work, as well as the "future of work." This prepares students for the practical challenges of managing complex employment relationships in the workplace.  

In this course, students explore the timeless art of disagreement, offering a singular learning experience for students to discover what it means to foster civil discourse on key political, civic, and social controversies. The course examines the theoretical and conceptual foundations for effective communication in polarized environments, and probes the cognitive, psychological, and sociological factors that shape our opinions and views. Using an intensive, discussion-based seminar format, students immerse themselves in state-of-the-art research, evidence, data, and best-practices bearing on disagreement. Practically, students gain applied skills in critical thinking and persuasion, and learn how to disagree well about contentious topics. Students learn the value of disagreement, why it is essential to human flourishing, and how to persuade and learn from others with deftness, rigor, and compassion.  

This course covers mathematical concepts and algorithms that allow society to recover the 3D geometry of camera motions and the structures in its environment. Topics include projective geometry, camera model, one-/two-/three-/N-View reconstructions and stereo, generalized cameras and non- rigid structure-from-motion. The course requires students to take prerequisites.

This course examines selected aspects of computational intelligence methods in-depth and students develop and test intelligent automation systems. Topics include how computational intelligence methods like artificial neural networks, fuzzy systems, deep learning algorithms and computer vision have been extensively applied in the design of intelligent control and automation systems such as autonomous vehicles, visual inspection of industrial products, automated analysis and screening of volumes of medical images. 

Religious traditions represent significant expressions of cultural values: understanding the past and present states of the world is not possible without some knowledge of these traditions. This course introduces the history, ideas and practices of the three religious traditions whose history is connected, and which together have informed the religious understanding of Europe and the West, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. With reference to matters of ethics, thought, politics and law, the course considers how the diverse ways these religions answer questions about the world and the place of human beings within it have shaped and continue to inform the way people, both individually and collectively, live their lives and seek to find meaning and purpose.