English

This course provides the theory and practice for students to understand ecodesign and sustainability and its affects on design practice. Students examine the design methods related to ecodesign and sustainable design and its applications. Project work is conducted to provide the bridge to integrate such theoretical knowledge into practice.

This course provides an overview of the evolution of the English language from its origins to the 15th century. Topics include: Britain-- it's cultures and languages and the rise of English; emergence of varieties within Old English; Old English spelling, sounds, and grammar; resurgence of a new English; lexical influx in the late middle ages, innovations, and change; support of a language in the absence of speakers-- English texts from the Late Middle Ages; consolidation of English. 

This course introduces students to some of the key social theories and thinkers from the global South. The course's starting point is that classical and mainstream social theory has emerged and evolved in a particular context, and as a result of colonial and imperial power relations. The course is divided into two main sections as well as an introduction and a conclusion. The first section focuses on four theories which originated as a collective endeavor of a number of scholars in the South: postcolonialism, subaltern studies, dependency theory, and decolonial theory. In the second section, students focus on a number of individual social thinkers from different parts of the global South, their stories and social thoughts: Ibn Khaldun (Tunisia), Paulin Hountondji (Benin), Ali Shariati (Iran) and Veena Das (India). 

This course examines an aspect of Thai social life often overlooked although central to the everyday practical lives and visual experiences of Thais. The Buddha image presiding over the Vihara, or Ubosot of a temple, almost always has a name and a story connected to it. The belief and ritual practices surrounding the image make it a practically central component of the life of a Buddhist community.  

And yet such images have scarcely excited much interest beyond the descriptive art historical approach. This selected topic explores the Buddha Images of Thailand and evaluates the power that these images have over what it means to be a member of a community, of what it means to be Thai and what it means to exert power, how they connect the faithful not only with a Buddhist past in northern India but with histories of local communities and great kingdoms alike.  

Above all, Buddha Images of Thailand offers another way to view the landscape of Thailand as sacred geography or Buddhascape. Although an art historical approach is utilized, this course foregrounds and examines the social and political aspects of the image, placing it in its wider historical context. 

This course covers the principles of rock deformation and the tectonic processes that drive this deformation. The goals of this course are the development of skills in the structural analysis of rock bodies to gain an understanding of the geometries, sequencing, and kinematics of deformational features; and understanding of tectonic principles and controls on rock deformation and mountain building. Students learn how to quantitatively evaluate strain distribution, stress fields, and the failure envelope; how to evaluate structures arising from polyphase deformation; and how to use these skills for geotechnical engineering applications. The course may include compulsory field trips.

This course explores a series of key issues related to the spatial production and negotiation of socio-political power in early complex societies in Western Asia and the East Mediterranean between ca. 3500 and 330 BC. The course draws primarily on archaeological survey evidence and historical and iconographic sources to examine the spatial constitution of political power in comparative cases of state-formation and imperial expansion and resistance.

This course focuses on how race and ethnicity have been conceptualized over time, putting them into historical and contemporary context. It explores how race and ethnicity intersect with other social structures such as gender, class, and religion that affect advantages and disadvantages, inclusions and exclusions, and the ways individuals and groups challenge racialized and ethnicized inequalities. 

This course reviews international contextual influences and strategic factors that shape organizations and managerial practices across different cultural settings, and highlights cases concerning China, Japan and Korea (CJK).  

The course develops skills in reviewing and determining methods for critiquing and recommending solutions for businesses through case studies.  By the end of the course, participants are expected to: 

1. Know the relationship between strategic and structural aspects of comparative international business organizations; 

2. Analyze and identify the various socio-economic and cultural influences on international organization issues; and, 

3. Demonstrate an understanding and ability to apply concepts and find solutions to issues identified. 

This course examines the basic nature of reasoning, and also focuses on fallacies which by their very nature obstruct good reasoning. In this respect, emphasis will be laid upon understanding the logical structure of argumentation which is important in recognizing the influence of emotional and rhetorical persuasion in everyday discourse and reasoning as well as in formal situations such as media presentations, political discussions, advertisements, general academic writings, etc.