English

This course explores the classical theory of games involving concepts of dominance, best response, and equilibria, where it proves Nash’s Theorem on the existence of equilibria in games. Students learn the concept of when a game is termed zero-sum and prove the related Von Neumann’s Minimax Theorem. The course explores cooperation in games and investigates the interesting Nash bargaining solution which arises from reasonable bargaining axioms. Students also explore the concept of a congestion game, often applied to situations involving traffic flow, where they see the counterintuitive Braess paradox emerge and prove Nash’s theorem in another context. 

The increasing uptake of generative AI technologies for a range of purposes from emotional care and companionship to work flow optimization serves as a rich field of inquiry for anthropologists studying human-technology relations. While all technologies are imbued by popular narratives and imaginaries, the use of AI tools in particular is informed by myths of hype and anti-hype that underline the need for ethnographic approaches exploring how these technologies are actualized in practice. This course explores the potential of anthropological theory and methods for elucidating the social, cultural, and political implications of generative AI. With tech companies touting the greater efficiency and profitability promised by these technologies at the expense of other considerations, qualitative research providing a more nuanced picture of human-AI entanglement in everyday life is crucial. So too, the far-reaching impacts of AI technologies provide an opportunity to revisit some of the key perspectives and questions animating cultural anthropology as well as the ways these might intersect productively with other disciplinary approaches. Key topics in the course include the political economy of AI and its impact on the future of work, race and gender logics and biases of AI, and the integration of AI into social media, virtual worlds, and the metaverse.

This course provides basic knowledge of the culture of the Viking Age, such as it is presented in contemporary sources and in interpretations and applications from the past two centuries with a special focus on how this culture has gained considerable importance then and in modern times, in the Viking homelands, and the surrounding world. The course provides skills in interpreting, understanding and discussing certain contemporary sources both written (Old Norse literature, rune inscriptions, chronicles) and archaeological, and to analyze the nature of Viking culture's depiction in high and popular culture in fiction, film, media, monuments and cultural-political contexts with a certain emphasis on its relationship with the romantic tradition. The course highlights how the modern spread of Viking culture has been marked by academic and political disagreements.

This advanced undergraduate course delves deeply into Internet technology. It covers the structure of the Internet and its protocol applications in detail. Students examine the basic design principles, implementation, and operating principles of computer networks used in modern Internet and cloud/data centers, and study in detail the design principles and functions of the transport layer, network layer, link layer, and physical layer, including client-server models, web, video streaming, and smart phone network applications. If time permits, the course includes ultra-low latency/ultra-bandwidth networking issues in data centers. An understanding of the OSI protocol and basic concepts of data communication is required. 

This course covers general chemistry for non-chemistry majors. Basic chemical theory and phenomena are considered in the course. This course equips students with the ability to apply fundamental concepts and principles of chemistry to real-world contexts. By exploring the structure of atoms and molecules, which are the building blocks of matter, and the principles governing chemical transformations, students develop skills to analyze and predict chemical changes. 

This course offers an in-depth exploration of quantitative text analysis methods for studying international relations. Students engage with advanced computational techniques, including text classification, topic modeling, and network analysis, to systematically examine textual data. The class places emphasis on methodological rigor, critical interpretation of results, and the application of these tools to address key research questions in the field. It is designed to equip students with the skills needed to conduct independent research using text as data.

This course examines how British literature from the 1980s is already full of ghosts, specters, and pasts that destabilize any secure sense of present or future. In the first section, students read the novel Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd (1985) as well as parts of the graphic novel From Hell by Eddie Campbell and Alan Moore (1989-1998). They then move on to Jeanette Winterson’s novel Sexing the Cherry (1989), analyzing the feminist potential of (re)turning to nonlinear histories. In the final section of the class, students examine how selected Black British poetry, and the film Twilight City (1989) conjure the violent specter of the British Empire as always already all-too-present. The course has a distinct focus on improving close reading skills and developing methods to approach theory productively. Along with British Cultural Critic Mark Fisher’s and Jacques Derrida’s concepts of hauntology, students build a theoretical toolkit that includes work on historiographic metafiction and the spatial turn. Additionally, the course draws on trauma theory, queer temporality and phenomenology, as well as Afrofuturist and Afropessimist writing.

This course immerses students in a global examination of the rise of far-right movements, employing mixed methods to explore radicalization, narratives, and mobilization strategies. The comparative perspective encompasses cases in both Latin America and Europe. Participants gain practical experience in qualitative data collection and analysis techniques, as well as skills in database construction and discourse analysis. The course culminates in the drafting of a research publication, fostering the development of rigorous academic skills.

All engineering disciplines today employ machine learning for monitoring systems and fault detection, for data-based decision support as well as for leveraging new potentials in the environment of big data. This module teaches the fundamentals of standard machine learning techniques as well as their implementation using standard libraries in the Python programming language based on real-world engineering examples. It focuses on the complete data science process from data exploration over modeling to inference and production.

This course explores banquet culture in the Mediterranean, investigating the traditions of the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. Our journey will take us to museums and archaeological sites in and around Rome, as well as Tuscany, Lazio, and Campania. In particular, we study the material remains from the Etruscan town of Tarquinia, the Villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga, the Greek city of Paestum, and the luxury villas of the Bay of Naples. As we explore these ancient aristocratic villas, we also explore the pastimes of the elite related to banquets, such as raising fish, birds, and flora, by studying their gardens, fisheries, and wine and olive presses, as well as the entertainment accompanying these feasts. Key ancient texts, such as the ancient Roman cookbook by Apicius, invite us into the Roman kitchen with original recipes and menus. Through the investigation of the ritual of feasting, this course assesses how the Roman banquet has shaped our ideas of culture, leisure, and status today.