English

This course introduces ongoing debates on human rights by returning to their philosophical sources, in particular theories of natural law and their long intellectual history. Why were natural law theories the original source of the idea of human rights? Why did they
cease to be the dominant theoretical framework from the nineteenth century onward? What replaced them? Can human rights be conceived without reference to natural law? Do human rights retain their validity if one abandons the idea of a universal human nature? The course is structured around three methodological choices. First, it is situated at the interface of philosophy, legal theory, and legal history. Second, it adopts a long-term historical perspective, ranging from ancient philosophy through the Middle Ages to contemporary theories. Third, it sheds light on present-day debates concerning human rights.

 

The course starts in Ancient China at the time of the Warring States Period. Several schools of thought flourished during these 250 years: Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism or Legalism. Next, the course takes students to south Asia, at the beginning of Buddhism. Buddhist ethics promotes a deep-rooted work on human behavior through ethical conduct, meditation and perception of the world. Walking in the Spaniards’ footsteps, students witness the "Destruction of the Indies" through war, genocide, enslavement and colonization. The course ends in Africa where post-colonial philosophers ask fundamental questions about the definition and purpose of philosophy. Students then focus on the work of Nkiru Nzegwu; she argues that the feminist movement is a Western construct that may adequately identify and address the issues of women in the West, but that is not adapted to the status and role of women in a society such as the Igbo one.

This course examines five novels by Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion. Each novel will provide a starting point from which we will explore the representation of broad themes of historical and literary significance relating to late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain. We will examine the ways in which knowledge of the period in which Austen wrote enriches our understanding of her fiction and how the novels in turn participate in certain crucial debates and developments of the period. Topics to be covered will include the representation within the novels of the following: the Navy, marriage and adultery, fashion and consumption, slavery and empire, the landed estate, Bath, the concept of 'improvement', the female reading public and its institutions, leisure, the Gothic, ideas of the family and domesticity, music, the theatre, female friendship, philanthropy and science. We will also critically examine the significance of the Austen 'craze' with reference to film and television versions of the novels as well as Austen's presence on the internet.

Through rigorous analysis of policy theories, historical transitions, and contemporary challenges, students develop sophisticated frameworks for understanding and governing complex change. The course bridges academic theory with real-world application, and equips students with analytical tools used by policymakers, consultants, and researchers worldwide.

This course offers a critical examination of migration policies and governance tools in Western countries, drawing on sociological, political science, and empirical case study approaches. It interrogates the mechanisms of control, dominant discourses, and power dynamics that shape contemporary migration flows. The course focuses on state administrations, associations, international organizations, private actors, and civil society, as well as their interrelations. During the different sessions, it explores the evolution of migration policies and their connections to colonialism, nationalism, and globalization from a comparative perspective. It also provides a broad understanding of contemporary issues—such as securitization, the externalization of borders, the criminalization of solidarity, and the commodification of migration. The course analyzes how stereotypes and discursive frameworks shape public policies and social perceptions, influencing the design and implementation of migration policies, often in ways that reinforce exclusionary practices. It then examines the instruments used to regulate migration, including border technologies (such as AI and biometrics), legal frameworks, outsourcing practices, and the roles of NGOs and private actors. Finally, the course highlights forms of resistance led by migrants, solidarity networks, legal challenges, and sanctuary cities. Firsthand accounts from activists offer insights into grassroots strategies for contesting exclusionary policies and imagining alternative governance models.

The course provides an introduction to key areas of analysis in contemporary sociology. Students learn about critical research and debates within the discipline, and of how sociology engages with topical real-world issues. The course centers on the ways in which power relations, social and economic inequalities, forms of identity and difference are shaped in contemporary societies – focusing on both political and socio-economic structures and everyday experiences and identities. These issues include: class, capitals and social mobility; race, ethnicity and culture; gender and sexual identities; politics, social movements and the nation-state.

This course examines the interactions between markets and politics. Is globalization responsible for the rise of populism in the West? How will the power struggle between China and the United States shape global business? This course introduces students to the key concepts and theories of IPE in order to analyze and understand these pressing issues and questions facing policymakers and citizens. Topics include globalization, international trade, finance, debt, foreign direct investment, development, international migration, and consequences and controversies of globalization.

This course explores the foundations of data science from three perspectives: inferential thinking, computational thinking, and real-world relevance. It focuses on critical concepts and skills in computer programming and statistical inference, in conjunction with hands-on analysis of real-world datasets, including economic data, document collections, geographical data, and social networks. This course also delves into social and legal issues surrounding data analysis, including issues of privacy and data ownership.

The curriculum and format are designed specifically for students who have not previously taken statistics or computer science courses. Students with some prior experience in either statistics or computing are welcome to enroll and often find that this course offers a new perspective that blends computational and inferential thinking. Students who have taken several statistics or computer science courses should instead take a more advanced course.

The course studies two very important changes on the political map of Eastern Europe focusing on the period from the fall of Communism in 1989 to 2007 (the independence of Kosovo): the break-ups of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. It explores the reasons behind the brutal Yugoslav wars and the "velvet divorce" of Czechoslovakia, and offers an insight into films, art happenings, images, and texts created during the period in question. Contextualized within these two very different and yet comparable cases of political demise, these cultural products are examined as complex responses to the events, but also as strategies (aesthetic, political and psychological) to deal with the crisis and the imminent transformations. The course explores these cultural outputs as effective tools in voicing and shaping emerging identities and mapping out the real and symbolic geographies of the region.

This course provides students with an overview of the trans-Atlantic slave trade as it affected societies in West Africa and the New World, from the 16th century to the early 19th century. The course is taught thematically, so that major themes are interrelated in both social and political history on both sides of the Atlantic. In Africa we look especially at Angola, Dahomey, the Gold Coast, Kongo and Senegambia while in the New World there is a focus on Barbados, Brazil, Haiti, and Jamaica. Finally, the course will also consider the impact of this history in Europe through discussions of the rise of consumer societies and the relationship between this and the Abolition movement. By the end of the course, students will have enhanced their critical understanding of this major historical event and will have developed detailed knowledge of specific case studies which sharpen this knowledge.