English

This course examines archaeologies of world religions and determine the materiality of sacred and secular ritual expression. It explores rituals associated with death such as sacrifice, mummification and cannibalism; shamanistic practices as shown in rock art from Kazakhstan to cave art in France and Spain; the rise of "fertility cult" figurines from Czech Republic to Malta; totemic beliefs and ancestor worship in Torres Strait and ritual landscapes surrounding Stonehenge.

This course provides an overview of the fundamentals in probability and statistics. It aims to provide a good understanding of the methods of probability and statistical analysis of data. Students will be able to use these statistical methods for their own studies and later in professional practice. 

How we eat, sleep, talk, love, shop, work, play, learn and die are all shaped by digital media. Everyday digital media focuses on the transformation of self and society through the digital mediation of everyday practices. How do we organize our social lives and engage creatively in online realms? What are the opportunities and risks of sharing and self-presentation in networked publics? How are communities reconfigured in a digital context? This unit introduces theories of digital culture and identity and applies them to our everyday experiences and interactions with social media, participatory culture, locative media, computer games, virtual reality, smart homes and connected cities.

The course explores the geopolitics of borders in today's world. Topics include: defining, drawing, and managing borders; borders of the Spanish state.

This course deals with the analysis and design of electronic circuits containing diodes and transistors. Topics that are covered include physical operation and modeling of diodes (pn junction diode, zener diode) and transistors (MOSFET, BJT); DC analysis, large-signal and small-signal analysis of basic electronic circuits containing diodes and transistors; and design of basic electronic circuits, including simulation and laboratory exercises.

The course introduces students to the early literature of the Celtic countries (which is studied in translation). This course deals with the early heroic literature of the Celtic countries, with a focus on Irish texts from the Ulster Cycle and in particular on Táin Bó Cúailnge, THE CATTLE-RAID OF COOLEY, the most important extant epic from medieval Ireland.

During the 19th century painting flourished in Scotland and its artists made a significant contribution to British artistic developments. This course traces the development of Scottish painting during this period and introduces students to the discipline of art history. Focusing on some of the major artists of the period, such as Raeburn, Nasmyth, Wilkie, Paton, Orchardson, McTaggart and the Glasgow Boys, the course highlights the principal characteristics and innovations of their art and the context in which it was created. The development of Scottish painting within the wider framework of European art are also be explored.

This is an intermediate English Historical Linguistics course which should be taken after studying the basics of linguistics offered in CO201 Introduction to Language Studies and/or CO202 Introduction to English Linguistics at this school or anything equivalent to these anywhere.  

Building on the knowledge from these introductory courses, this course investigates the internal linguistic development of the English language from a synthetic to an analytic language, i.e. loss of inflections, depending on a more fixed word order, and emerging periphrases and function words such as auxiliaries and prepositions in constructing sentences. It also delves into the external influences on the English language throughout its history, namely, lexical borrowings from Greek, Latin (Classical and Medieval), Old Norse, and (Norman-)French words. 

The course first studies selected features of pronunciation, spelling, and grammar of English from its earliest stage of development. It also considers the cultural, social, and political aspects of the external history of English, especially in terms of vocabulary.  

By the end of the course one will have understood why the English language has become the lingua franca of the world but, for many speakers of it, whether native or non-native, ‘”English is among the easiest languages to speak badly, but the most difficult to use well’ (C. L. Wrenn, The English Language, 1977, p.9). 

The course focuses on the role of religion in the modern and contemporary Middle East and will cover four main parts: an introduction to Islam and its relations to the other monotheistic religions, namely Christianity and Judaism; Islamic thinkers and their reactions to modernity, including modern reformist movements, modernist, and Islamist thinkers; Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East; and Jewish-Muslim relations. Here the focus is on the effects of the creation of the state of Israel and its impact on Jewish-Muslin relations.