English

This course covers the basics of food technology: the chemistry, physics, microbiology, and process engineering of food. The course is designed for students with no or little prior knowledge of chemistry, physics, and biology. It starts with a case study on an existing food product, studying all elements of the food label (ingredients, nutritional value, rules and regulations, etc.) and determining the production process.  Students present their outcomes. Theories on chemical, microbial, physical, and process engineering are explained in lectures. Exercises are used to illustrate the theory. Processes discussed include beer brewing, production of chocolate, dairy, and sugar. Lastly, the course reviews the quality of foods as a function of the treatments and conditions such as shipment, pasteurization/sterilization, and storage.

Dao 道 (sometimes written Tao) means path or road and extends to mean methods and principles. It has a broad range of usage across different schools, most obviously philosophical and religious Daoism. In this research group, we will be reading and discussing selections from the foundational texts of Daoism, the Laozi (also known as Daodejing) and the Zhuangzi, and their direct historical and current reception. We will read texts of both religious and philosophical Daoism. Reading suggestions from participants are welcome. This research group is open to interested bachelor’s and master’s students of all disciplines. Prior engagement with Chinese philosophy is welcome but not required, as we will be starting with the foundational texts.

This course focuses on the principles of micro-economic analysis, particularly, the concept of economic rationality as it applies to individuals and firms, and the analysis of how price and quantity are set under different market structures. Moreover, students are introduced to topics addressed in more detail including the form of utility and production functions, and rational decision making and intertemporal choice in the face of uncertainty. Implications for the behavior and organization of firms is highlighted throughout. The course covers 5 topics: introduction to the concepts of market and economic rationality, consumer theory, market equilibrium, producer theory, and the concepts of externalities and public goods.

This course dives into the history and genre of the short story by reading and analyzing several stories as well as telling short stories ourselves. Aspects and concepts such as genre, plot, beginning and endings, character, setting, point of view, narration, texture and pace, style, and reflection on the relationship between the author, the text, and the reader are examined. Academic analysis and hands-on creative writing are combined facilitating a deeper understanding of how narratives work and how they produce meanings. Peer and tutor feedback are key aspects of this course. The collection of short stories varies every year but covers a diverse range of stories and authors such as Virginia Woolf, Zadie Smith, Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro, Chinua Achebe, Bernadine Evaristo, and Sally Rooney.

This module studies deep-sea, coastal, and pelagic habitats. Students learn how to identify the major groups of cnidarians commonly associated with seamounts and submarine canyons; describe the biology of deep-sea communities; provide detailed description of a range of marine systems including epipelagic, rocky benthos, soft sediment benthos & estuarine systems; describe the physico-chemical gradients found in these habitats and discuss their role in structuring the marine communities found there; describe biological structuring processes in these coastal marine systems; describe the features and adaptations of animals in these systems; and define the relationship between area and species richness and apply this relationship to real conservation problems.

Social entrepreneurship pertains to establishing enterprises with the primary purpose of finding a solution to a social problem or creating social value by reaching out to underserved sections of society. This course introduces students to the concept, theories, and real cases of social enterprises. Through real-world examples and case study analysis, students will learn how such enterprises are organized, what their challenges are, and how exactly they try to solve social problems.

This course will be conducted with a combination of lectures and case discussions. Students are required to purchase and read the assigned cases before the course begins. Links to case studies will be given in class.

Stochastic processes find applications in a wide variety of fields and offer a refined and powerful framework to examine and analyze time series. This course presents the basics for the treatment of stochastic signals and time series. Topics covered include models for stochastic dependence; concepts of description of stationary stochastic processes in the time domain including expectation, covariance, and cross-covariance functions; concepts of description of stationary stochastic processes in the frequency domain including effect spectrum and cross-spectrum; Gaussian process, Wiener process, white noise, and Gaussian fields in time and space; Stochastic processes in linear filters including relationships between in- and out-signals, autoregression and moving average (AR, MA, ARMA), and derivation and integration of stochastic processes; the basics in statistical signal processing, estimation of expectations, covariance function, and spectrum; and application of linear filters: frequency analysis and optimal filters.

In most societies, gift-giving acts as a critical form of social currency. Gifts mark special occasions such as birthdays; they cement diplomatic relationships; they act as bribes and charitable offerings. Gifts and gift-exchange can therefore tell historians much about the social, political, and moral norms of past societies. This course examines the fascinating histories of gift-giving in a cross-period and trans-regional context.

The course gives students an introduction to some key legal areas relevant to business law. It teaches important aspects of business law, looking at business relationships, agency, and the business organization. 

This course takes a critical and historiographical approach to the study of music from the Middle Ages to the late 18th century. It explores the emergence and development of new styles of music through this period and the ways in which they develop from and reflect the societies that produced them. It also focuses on the ways in which we have constructed our histories of these periods: what pieces, and what stories about them, are included, and which are not? Score-reading skills are a prerequisite for this course.