English

Why are some books considered classics while others are hardly read at all? How is the idea of the classic linked to debates about history, representation, excellence, and taste? This course answers these questions through in-depth, guided readings of a small number of major texts that have, at one time or another, been celebrated for their classic status. It considers whether literary classics must be difficult, innovative, representative, or popular; how they shape our judgements about literary tradition and value; and why they remain implicated in debates about sexuality, race, national identity, and class.

Why is it so difficult for the international community to agree on the governance of shared global domains? Why do efforts to address climate change constantly fall short? And why do Global Commons provide States with an opportunity to exploit finite resources, but impose few obligations to clean up the mess? The answers to some of those questions lie in the international frameworks established since WWII to govern "Global Commons" including Antarctica, Outer Space, the Deep Sea Bed, the High Seas, and the atmosphere, which provide freedom of access and use to all States, but few mechanisms for precaution and sustainability. These global commons are protected from claims of national sovereignty, and generally prohibit use of nuclear weapons in these spaces, serving a critical role in disarmament. This course examines contemporary issues in these five Global Commons at the intersection of international law, science, mining, telecommunications, security, and defense. Students learn how to navigate and apply the treaties governing each of the domains to contemporary issues while considering economic and political theory, such as Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons," intergenerational equity and sustainability. By studying the governance of all five domains in the one semester, students gain high-level insight into what governance models work best and where regulatory gaps remain. Solutions are to be found in some domains that might be applied to others. Students have the opportunity to research one specific domain of their choosing for their written paper, and propose new regulation and policy in order to address international challenges. This equips students with the ability to advocate for change and support the global community in realizing the benefits of shared international spaces. Students develop an understanding of: the geopolitical history of the Antarctic Treaty (1959), the Outer Space Treaty (1967), the Sea Bed Treaty (1971) aka the Sea Bed Arms Control Treaty, the High Seas Treaty (2023) aka The Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC); the international framework governing activities in each of these five Global Commons; the application of ethics and theory to the governance of Global Commons; the application of principles in the relevant treaties to real-life case studies; the political forces shaping EU and international policy in these domains; the risk to global peace and security from arms races and over exploitation in these domains.

The writings included in the canon of the New Testament have been composed by different authors over a relatively long period of time. Translated in countless languages, the stories and ideas found in the New Testament have played a major role in shaping socio-political, ethical and religious discourses across the centuries and in different cultures and have been a constant source of inspiration in art, music, and literature. Students learn about the most relevant scholarly approaches to the study of the New Testament and its background in Second Temple Judaism and in the Graeco-Roman world. They examine the variety of literary genres and the diversity of sources and traditions, which contributed to the development of early Christianity and to the formation of new religious and cultural realities in the Graeco-Roman world, and are introduced to the history of interpretation of the New Testament in antiquity and in contemporary culture. 

This course examines how sex, gender and sexuality are entangled with science and technology. How are our understandings of sex and sexuality informed by a history of scientific investigation? How do gender and location shape the production of scientific knowledge? How is science mobilized in claims that binary sex and gender have a natural and biological basis? And how can we use science and technology in the pursuit of feminist and queer goals? The course examines these questions from the perspective of feminist, queer and decolonial theories of science and technology. Key topics include: feminist objectivity; the false binary of nature vs nurture; the construction of biological sex; postcolonial science studies; reproductive technologies; and feminist and queer interfaces with biomedicalization.

This course examines the allocation of scarce resources among competing end uses. Although the focus is on perfectly competitive markets, attention is also given to other types of markets. Analysis also includes concepts of expected utility and uncertainty, and welfare economics.

Every object has stories –shaped by human uses– to tell. This course explores how visual and material culture offers a distinctive window for understanding the past by choosing specific artefacts from the ancient Mediterranean, reconstructing their "biographies" and using them as a prism for thinking about wider social issues. Using both iconic and lesser-known objects, the course focuses on themes such as image and text; religion, power and ideology; warfare; funerary rituals; daily life and its fictions; and gender and sexuality.

This course examines data-driven decision-making. Students develop skills in using data analysis methods and tools for analyzing information. It also equips students to apply modeling skills in a variety of decision-making applications relevant to business.

This course examines the role of evaluation and epidemiology in health. It introduces key evaluation and epidemiology principles and explores the relevance of these across various health issues and settings. 

This course examines creative writing. Exploring the theoretical and practical dimensions of developing a personal creative writing practice, the course emphases writing as a mode of intellectual, historical and aesthetic engagement with the contemporary.

This course examines race and racism in contemporary Australia. It introduces theoretical tools from sociology to assist us in understanding how race and racism operate in Australia, who benefits from racism, and why racism is difficult to change. It looks at situations faced by First Nations people in their fight for sovereignty and justice, anti-migrant racisms, and how race, a social construction, is constantly shifting. The course also explores anti-racism efforts, why most are ineffective, and what might be more effective.