English

Behavior is a unique trait in animals that allows them to respond rapidly to a changing environment. Most of the exciting, fast-moving phenomena associated with living organisms – fighting, flying, flocking, swimming, sensing, mating, communicating, spreading disease, and more – fall under the umbrella of behavior. As well as being important to understand in natural contexts, all of these traits and processes also have correlates or analogues in human behavior and society, adding further motivation to understanding them deeply and on a fundamental level. Ultimately, taking this perspective, the study of behavior is the study of rapid responses and interacting agents in all forms. This course introduces to the fundamental mechanisms and theories underlying behavioral processes and taught how to think like a behavioral scientist. The course discusses what behavior is and how it works across all possible scales, conveying the groundwork in the underlying structure of nervous systems and building through physiology, learning, communication, collective behavior, and social systems, up to responses to environmental stress. Drawing these lessons together, it discusses the role that behavioral science plays in understanding and managing animal populations and species in a rapidly changing world.

The course contains description of those planets and those among their moons in the solar system that can be envisioned to have physical and/or chemical preconditions to develop life. The development of the earliest lifeforms on Earth, and extreme environments for present-day life on the bottom of the oceans, around hot springs, deep underground, in permafrost, or in radioactive environments. Design of space probes, as well as experiments to study biologically relevant environments on other planets. Analysis of extraterrestrial material in the laboratory, and risks for spreading organisms between different planets. Current and planned instruments and methods to find and to study planets around other stars. Development over geological ages of different planets together with their host star and the development of their atmospheres and climates. The search for intelligent life in the Universe, and possible philosophic and other consequences of a possible discovery thereof. The prerequisites required for admission to the course are at least 60 credits of approved courses within the faculties of either science, technology and/or medicine.

Health issues are highly politicised (domestically and diplomatically), and health governance has been complicated by involving diverse actors with different agendas and approaches. This course considers the questions: How "global" is global health? What are its normative implications? Therefore, this course explores the role of law and ethics in global health governance, including but not limited to the work of related multilateral institutions, policy implementations, research activities, and political processes.
 

The course is divided into two parts. The first part looks at the normative dimension of global health, particularly reflecting on the contestation and application of core concepts, theories, and analytical frameworks. Part II turns to its empirical dimension to identify the legal and ethical accounts of different global health issues. 

In recent years, academic misconduct has occurred frequently, partly due to a lack of understanding of relevant ethics and norms among researchers. To address this, Fudan University has launched a specialized course on bioethics, filling a gap in this field in mainland China. The course aims to help students plan their research paths, adhere to fundamental ethical principles, and become honest, responsible, and creative researchers who enjoy their work. It also teaches them how to contribute to human civilization while protecting their intellectual achievements. The course is divided into nine main sections and employs a teaching approach that combines case studies, discussions, and instructor summaries to guide students in deeply understanding and practically applying the course content.

This course introduces the comparative study of European politics, a comparative analysis of political institutions, and political behavior in Europe. On successful completion of this course, students are able to: Analyze politics in a comparative manner; Describe the differences between the political systems in operation across Europe; Identify the role played by political parties in parliamentary democracies; Assess the necessity of political parties and the functions they fulfil; Evaluate the merits of different electoral systems; Differentiate between the workings of different political systems; Assess whether politics can be analyzed via comparative methods; Evaluate the role of non-party actors in parliamentary democracies.

This course pays special attention to issues of theory and method in the psychology of religion, in order to develop an understanding of personal identity, as well as mental and spiritual health in religious contexts. While recognizing the importance of gender, class, race, ethnicity and other social forms of identity, the course focuses on religious dynamics of personal identity and the formation of selfhood through case studies in consciousness, mysticism, embodiment, intertextual reading practices and cultural resources for being human. The course explores the various ways in which religion might inform personal, social and intersubjective notions of self, while providing conception of the good/the good life. Course entry requirements: Second-year status.

This course introduces basic facts and theoretical models regarding economic interconnections within an increasingly integrated world. The course provides students a global view and understanding of interdependence among all countries. Its content includes a current and an historical overview of trade and its impact on economic growth, the classic theory of free trade, recent developments in theoretical models and relevant empirical evidence and major policy issues arising in open economies that are becoming more relevant today. The course covers traditional (neoclassical) economics and also discuss various challenges presented to such a framework, especially based on experience of developing countries.

This course focuses on how gender is socially, economically, and politically constructed in the community/society and how gender matters in addressing development. The course also addresses the kinds of policy and project interventions to achieve sustainable development and gender equalities.

This course forms part of the third-year major in Applied Statistics. It is an introduction to the study of Operational Research (OR) and explores fundamental quantitative techniques in the OR armamentarium with a strong focus on computer-based application. The course is intended for students in the applied statistics stream but may be taken as an elective by students in the mathematical statistics stream. Topics covered include linear and non-linear programming where students will learn to find optimal solutions by characterizing problems in terms of objectives, decision variables and constraints, decision making under uncertainty through decision trees, decision rules and scenario planning, Queueing Theory simulation through modelling the operation of real-world systems as they evolve over time. Course entry requirements: STA2030S or STA2005S; STA3030F is recommended.