English

This course investigates significant events that shaped American society and formed the United States from the colonial period to the end of the Vietnam War. The course covers the impact of the colonial legacy on the American self-government and development of a democratic society, the American Revolution and Republican ideology, the Industrial Revolution and Sectionalism, the Civil War and the end of slavery, the rise of Big Business and Corporatism, the World Wars and American Society, the United States and world revolutions, the decline of the American Empire. 

This course takes students on a journey through one of artificial intelligence's most dynamic fields. Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has achieved remarkable breakthroughs, from mastering complex games to controlling robots. The course discovers how artificial intelligence (AI) agents learn to make decisions through interaction, beginning with core concepts in reinforcement learning and deep learning; then it explores how these powerful approaches combine to create sophisticated learning systems. 
 
The course progresses naturally through key topics in decision making with Markov processes, modern deep learning techniques for AI, value-based methods that help agents evaluate their choices, policy optimization approaches for learning effective behaviors, and advanced strategies for stable and efficient learning. The course emphasizes practical understanding through hands-on examples.  By the end of the course, students will understand how to build AI systems that can learn and adapt in complex environments. 
 

This course provides an overview of the historical development of India and South Asia. It addresses questions of Indian and South Asian historiography, covers the main continuities and changes in Indian and South Asian history, and identifies important personae and events. The course develops the general ability to understand key processes and events and their local/national and global relevance for the region today.

This course explores some of the historical roots and key debates of different religions and some of the contemporary issues they face. The course provides introductory groundings to various religious traditions, which may include Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Students explore ways in which these traditions have been defined and understood, both internally and externally, and how they have interacted in key historical moments and present-day contexts. This course may include a trip to a London religious site or other relevant neighborhood setting, a museum, gallery, or library. 

This course engages with key contemporary issues and debates in politics through the thought of political theorists writing from different traditions and perspectives. It examines fundamental and perennial political questions as well as issues new to our time. Topics may include freedom and autonomy, epistemic crisis and democracy, intergenerational justice, animal rights, the impact of AI etc. It offers the opportunity for students to examine more contemporary theorists, debates, and literature in dialogue with each other. The course introduces students to a variety of competing theoretical perspectives, requiring critical consideration of the insights and problems each perspective offers. It provokes students to engage with, evaluate, and critically reflect upon the different ways to think about and conceptualize key issues and debates in political theory.

This course provides an introduction to ecology, sustainability and environmental science, introducing a range of biological topics and how scientists approach these topics to solve problems. 

This course explores the Anthropocene, a proposed geological epoch marked by significant human impact on Earth's ecosystems, climate, and geology. By focusing on pluralizing the Anthropocene, the course examines a diverse range of perspectives, including postcolonial, feminist, indigenous, and ecological frameworks.  The course interrogates how the term 'Anthropocene' can be problematized and expanded, reflecting on how different cultures, knowledge systems, and disciplines engage with the concept.  

This course explores the idea of the Anthropocene in two parts: 

(1) Theory and Concept: The course analyzes how scholars define the Anthropocene with different theoretical backgrounds, providing diverse understanding of nature-social and human-nonhuman relations. 

(2) Case studies: The course dives into various case studies to learn how geographers and anthropologists adopt diverse methods to study the uneven impacts of the Anthropocene across the world.  

This course offers an immersive journey into the world of French luxury, thoughtfully designed to captivate students from various academic and social backgrounds. The course begins with a focus on the history of French fashion, exploring its evolution from the 17th century to its present role as a global leader in style and innovation. Students uncover the cultural and technical advancements that have kept French luxury at the industry’s forefront, while examining how it continues to adapt to changing consumer demands. The course also provides an expanded look at the luxury world, touching on other sectors such as high-end automobiles, watchmaking, jewelry, and hospitality to offer a well-rounded understanding of luxury’s diverse landscape. Building on this historical foundation, the course then shifts to a business perspective, exploring the strategies, management practices, and digital transformations of iconic brands like Chanel, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, and Dior. Students learn how these luxury houses maintain their prestige in a fast-paced, digitally-driven world. To enrich the Paris experience, the course includes field visits to institutions like the YSL Museum and Cartier Foundation, as well as guided excursions to luxury boutiques and hotels. These experiences offer students studying in Paris a unique, hands-on look at the codes of luxury and the art of customer experience, making the most of their time in one of the world’s fashion capitals.