English

Johannes Vermeer has become a pivotal figure in the Western European art tradition. This is largely due to the hushed solitude and enigmatic themes of his paintings, which seem to give a glimpse of social practices and material culture in the Dutch "Golden Age". This course interrogates some of our preconceptions of Vermeer and his work and to situate him fully within the branch of painting that became his specialty - genre art. The course traces the evolution of genre imagery in Dutch art, from its roots in 15th- and 16th-century printmaking, and the peasant caricatures of Pieter Bruegel, to its apogee in the refined interior spaces of Vermeer and contemporaries such as Gerard ter Borch, and Gabriel Metsu. Lectures focus on key practitioners, groups of related artists such as the Leiden "fine painters" and the Utrecht Caravaggisti, as well as socio-economic and contextual themes. The course also explores contemporary reception and interpretation, the role of the art market in the production of paintings, and the extent to which these engaging, quotidian images are reflective of actual domestic practices in the Dutch Republic of the 17th century. The course makes extensive use of the National Gallery of Ireland's exemplary collection of Netherlandish art.

Over the course of the 19th century, North Americans in the United States and its territories experienced overwhelming social, political, technological, and economic change. At the same time, they faced significant health challenges from epidemic disease to unfamiliar environmental ills, to feuding physicians. This course addresses such changes in context and introduces students to the debates surrounding the American public's health.

This course introduces students to the main institutions of the American political system: Presidency, Congress, Judiciary. In the process, we learn about the way in which the members of these institutions are selected, the functions played by each of these institutions, and the way in which they interact under the checks and balances system of the United States. Special attention will be given to the historical development of these relationships. The course also covers the institutional structure of the US, such as the Constitution, the federal system, and the party system.

By the end of this course, students have a critical understanding and comprehensive knowledge of the government and politics in the US, as well as the processes through which policy making takes place. Through discussions of current and past events and a close following of the Congressional electoral campaign taking place during the term students are familiarized with examples of how these institutions and processes interact.

In this course, students learn about the pronunciation and the syntax of the Irish language. Students develop listening skills through listening comprehension tasks, through oral activities and through creating speaking opportunities in class. Oral themes that meet the requirements of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Level A1) are acquired. Students are enabled to provide short and simple conversations based on themes relating to their own lives. Students are asked to reflect on their own learning process by being aware of the different learning strategies that they apply and by discussing in class the challenges they face and how they overcome these challenges.

This course introduces students to the key ideas of sociology by examining the relationship between individuals and societies. The course explores how social processes shape individual lives, and how changes that occur around us influence our sense of self. It draws on C. Wright Mills' idea of the sociological imagination. Mills makes three claims: that individuals live within society, that they live a biography or a personal history, and that this takes place within a distinct historical sequence. It is the sociological imagination that provides a means of mapping and understanding the relationships among these three elements, and allows us as individuals to relate our personal lives to the often impersonal social world around us. 

This course introduces the language and methods of the area of Discrete Mathematics and show how discrete mathematics can be used in modern computer science (with the focus on algorithmic applications). Topics covered include (1) sets, relations and functions; (2) basic logic, including propositional logic, logical connectives, truth tables, propositional inference rules and predicate logic; (3) proof techniques, including the structure of mathematical proofs, direct proofs, disproving by counterexample, proof by contradiction; (4) basics of counting, including counting arguments, the pigeonhole principle, permutations and combinations, solving recurrence relation; (5) graphs and trees; (6) discrete probability, including finite probability space, axioms of probability, conditional probability; and, (7) linear algebra, including vectors, matrices and their applications. The course is offered in a blended-learning format. Students are provided with a set of video lectures that they can watch multiple times. Student contact time is in a tutorial format aimed at reinforcing the principles introduced in the online lectures and giving students time to do exercises under the supervision of tutors. Co-requisites: MAM1004S or MAM1005H (unless a pass has been obtained for MAM1004F or MAM1031F or equivalent).

This course teaches students an understanding of human rights as embedded in specific historical circumstances, and looks at their codification in international law as the product of heated political debates and struggles. In order to do so, it articulates itself in three interlocking learning units. The 1st unit is historical: it traces the genealogy of the concept and focuses on the birth of the “human rights regime.” Unit 2 looks at specific cases and rights, and Unit 3 examines critical readings of human rights as an instrument for “Western hegemony,” or as inadequate in other ways. The course covers the historical development of human rights, civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, the right to health, women's rights, intervention, LGBTQ rights, and critiques of human rights. 

The course provides students with a clear understanding of how basic economic principles, technical constraints, and sustainability goals shape the design, operation, and outcomes of markets for energy commodities, namely, electricity and natural gas. The course first illustrates how the price of energy is set at the wholesale and retail level and how this price accounts for technical constraints and environmental policies (taxes/cap-and-trade).  Then, the course explores how market agents interact in these markets and, most importantly, the potential consequences of such behavior on society at large (e.g., on the level of prices paid by final users and on investments in renewable technologies, etc.). While students acquire skills for making optimal techno-economic decisions in other courses, this course takes them a step further and they learn that the outcome of their individually optimal choices strongly depends on the decisions made by others (competition and cooperation are both possible). In line with the inherently multidisciplinary approach required for the energy transition, the course offers students from different tracks the opportunity to productively work together and learn from one another. Useful prior knowledge derives from the following courses: Mathematics and Systems Analysis (GEO1-2411), Science of Energy Technologies (GEO1-2203), Policy Evaluation and Design (GEO2-2113), and Principles of Economics (GEO1-2255 or GEO1-2435).

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The objectives include: Critical Analysis: Train students to critically analyze how culture and social structures both shape and are shaped by the physical environment. Spatial Awareness: Help students understand the spatial dimensions of social phenomena, exploring how territories impact social interactions and cultural expressions. Cultural Appreciation: Foster an appreciation for cultural diversity by examining how different cultures manifest within specific territories, and how cultural practices are influenced by geographic locations. Research Skills: Develop research skills by teaching students how to investigate and analyze the relationships between social structures, culture, and territory through empirical studies and literature reviews. Globalization Impact: Explore the effects of globalization on local cultures and identities. Emphasize how global forces interact with and sometimes challenge local customs and territorial boundaries, fostering critical thinking. 

This course focuses specifically on the spatial and cultural dimensions of contemporary life. It begins by exploring the historical development of the discipline and its intersections with other social sciences, then moves toward a more focused examination of how territory and culture interact within the context of consumer society. Particular attention is devoted to understanding how consumption shapes and is shaped by both physical and digital environments. Consumer culture is not approached merely as an economic phenomenon, but as a complex system of practices and meanings that contribute to the production of social identities, symbolic landscapes, and territorial imaginaries. From shopping malls and theme parks to social media platforms and algorithmically curated spaces, students investigate how consumption environments function as sites of cultural production and negotiation. Throughout the course, students engage with theoretical perspectives and empirical case studies that highlight the interplay between material culture, globalization, prosumption, and the hybridization of space. The physical and the digital are not treated as separate spheres, but as interconnected and co-constructed domains that define how individuals navigate, appropriate, and give meaning to their social worlds. By combining lectures, seminar discussions, and multimedia materials, the course fosters a critical understanding of how contemporary spatial practices reflect broader cultural transformations. In doing so, it encourages students to reflect on the ways in which space and culture co-evolve in the context of late modernity, shaping both inclusion and exclusion, identity and belonging.

This course examines the anonymous song-poetry which stands in contrast to the 'court' tradition of panegyric and learned poetry of the 17th century. Neglected by most of the early collectors, it has been regarded by some critics as containing some of the most powerful Gaelic poetry extant. The course considers (1) questions of definition, range and subject matter, authorship and transmission; (2) the evidence of the orain luaidh, which raise all these questions in acute form; (3) the relationship between these 'sub-literary' compositions and the rest of the Gaelic tradition; and (4) the assessment of these songs from a literary point of view. The lecture in the first hour will be delivered in English. The tutorial in the second hour is available in either Gaelic or English, dependent on individual degree programs.