English

This course explores the intersection of economics and environmental challenges, equipping students with theoretical frameworks and empirical tools to address pressing environmental issues. The course covers the role of economics in environmental issues, market process modeling, market failure analysis (e.g., air quality markets and externalities), and policy approaches including command-and-control, market-based solutions, risk analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. Students also examine real-world cases such as air pollution (defining air quality, controlling mobile and stationary sources, ozone depletion, and climate change), water pollution (quality, point and non-point sources, safe drinking water), and solid waste and toxic substance management. The course concludes with a focus on sustainable development, including SDGs and climate change issues. The teaching methodology integrates theoretical lectures with case studies, supplemented by contemporary examples such as COP21, the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under Trump, and comparisons of BMW's environmental initiatives and scandals.

Prerequisites: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics

This course provides an introduction into the study of eco-criticism and environmental literatures. Students examine a range of literary and theoretical texts towards an understanding of the development and current issues in this growing interdisciplinary area of study. It examines topics such as the representation of landscape, pastoral, the social production of space, pollution, climate change, nature/anti-nature writing and recent work on interspecies relations. Examples for discussion are drawn from a range of genres that include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and film.

This is a practical course offering students the opportunity to work in small groups in the Music Centre's Electronic Music Hub to create music from electronic sources. Accompanying lectures and seminars examine the history of electronic music, amplified music, and computer music and look at works by significant composers and innovators who have worked in these genres, from Stockhausen to Jimi Hendrix. The course also offers tuition in the music software package Reaper. No prior experience in electronic music is necessary in order to take the course, but some knowledge of music notation or music theory would be advantageous.

This course introduces students to theories of foreign policy that explain U.S. behavior, ranging from military conflict to secret diplomacy. The course is organized into three sections. The first part gives an overview of American grand strategy and values. The second section follows an actor-specific approach, focusing on how crucial actors such as the President and Congress shape American foreign policy. Last, the issue-oriented section will be concluded with a wargaming exercise. Following the lectures on these topics, the instructor will design group exercises and offer materials for course discussion, including detailed case studies of important episodes in U.S. diplomatic and military history.

This course offers an introduction to Archaeology, focusing on case studies from Eurasian later prehistory and beyond. It discusses themes such as the rise of early states, monumentality, urbanism, and death and burial. It offers insights into the workings of archaeological research and interpretation through addressing key theoretical perspectives and methods.

This course is a historical overview of Japanese cinema from its origins in 1898 to the present day. Screenings are comprised of films by Japan's most prominent directors such as Ozu Yasujirō, Kurosawa Akira, and Mizoguchi Kenji, alongside examples that reflect important trends in contemporary Japanese film. While the course addresses questions regarding genre, style, and authorship, students also work to situate these categories within the broader cultural, social, and historical currents of Japanese cinema. Topics include but are not limited to, the impact of WWII and occupation on Japanese filmmaking, the studio system, and the Japanese New Wave. 

The course introduces students to the study of music history, broadly understood to encompass any historical period, geographical era, genre, style, and tradition. Through specialistic study of two or three specific historical contexts or phenomena the course intends to foster an understanding of music as a cultural practice by identifying and articulating the ways in which musics have historically been embedded cultures and societies.

This course addresses the following questions: What is the history of Human Rights discourse, and what is the place of Anthropology therein? Should Human Rights be universal or should they be listed or applied with reference to particular cultural worldviews? What critiques of the international human rights regime have been put forth by anthropologists thus far? How can international organizations that promote Human Rights, and state governments that sign on to international human rights legal instruments, benefit from the historical emphasis by the anthropological community on the notion of cultural relativism and respect for diversity? What is the role of NGOs in parallel to Anthropology in these processes? 

The first section of the course includes a revision of the history of International Human Rights Law. The second part addresses the anthropological critique of that body of law and its applications. 

This course adopts multi-disciplinary perspectives to examine significant and complex issues of China in the past and present. With a general survey of China, this course discusses China’s historical development, revolutionary past, cultural traditions, formal political structure, the market-oriented economic reform, and geographic, demographic and linguistic diversity, as well as contemporary issues of environment, resistance and mass media. Central themes throughout the course include China’s cultural identity, ethnicity, state-society relations, continuities and changes in China’s socio-political values, and China’s role in the global order. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a base of knowledge of China’s historical and contemporary experiences and contexts. 

In the discipline of International Relations, there are different perspectives on how and why war occurs. This course takes students through different perspectives on different conflicts, from interstate war to civil war to insurgencies and beyond. Students also consider some developments in warfare – for example the introduction of drones or the violent potential of cyberattacks – and how these affect war.