English

This course examines Anglo-American relations from 1939-1991 and analyses the nature of the special relationship from historical and political perspectives. Set within the rich historiography of this subject, the course considers how US and UK governments responded to major events in world history from 1939 to 1991. Throughout, particular reference are made to Anglo-American relations in the political, diplomatic, economic, defense, and intelligence arenas and to the importance of personalities in strengthening and weakening the alliance. Students reflect on UK and US social, cultural, and political values in the context of international relations, and develop an understanding of ethical and political issues arising from modes of representation.

This course offers students unfamiliar with life in Britain an opportunity to explore key aspects of literature, art, and culture in Contemporary Britain (20-21st century) as revealed in plays, novels, poems, films, and scholarly texts. The course is topic-based, with a range of related topics covered under the themes of feminism and multi-culturalism. Each topic is introduced through formal lectures and the use of audio and visual materials. The course facilitates the development of intercultural competence within a diverse cohort in terms of nationality, and students consider frameworks for discussing intercultural competence. The course also includes an external trip related to the themes of the course, for example to a play or exhibition. 

The goal of this course is to enable students to have an overall understanding of the field of computer networks and a preliminary understanding of related technologies, and to further understand and master the key technologies of the new generation of Internet (including the principles and specific implementation of the technology), and to initially cultivate students' research capabilities in the field of computer networks.

This course covers torsion of open and closed non-circular thin-walled sections; bending of unsymmetric thin-walled beams; idealized beams; multi-cell torque boxes and beams; tapered beams; introduction to mechanics of fiber-reinforced composites; classical lamination theory; failure theories for composites. This course is intended for students who are interested in the design and analysis of thin-walled structures, especially aircraft structures.

This course explores the development of ancient science and technology and its interrelation with Greco-Roman societies and the environment. The course encompasses the ancient Mediterranean area and the Near and Middle East and range from the Bronze age to the early Middle Ages, with a focus on the Roman period. It takes a wide view of technology, ranging from primitive tools and agriculture to automata (robots), aquaducts, and catapults. The course uses texts and archaeological evidence, and incorporates field and museum learning experiences as well as explaining the latest scientific advances.

This course examines how environmental challenges have been, and continue to be, shaped by empire. These impacts affect how Earth's history, the biosphere, and the climate are known, and extend to both extractive technologies and financial relationships that enable extraction. But the effects of empire run deeper, to the very way the environment is understood. Using London as a launchpad for field trips and firsthand encounters, this course challenges students to rethink how ideas of the planet’s past, present, and future are shaped by empire. Students examine how empire has shaped, and continues to shape, environmental knowledge; explore sites and spaces of empire, such as where the material markers of scientific knowledge persist in advancing ways of knowing and relating to the environment today; investigate how contemporary modes of extraction maintain links to the legacies of empire, such as in and through financial activities; are provided with concrete analytical skills for situating contemporary challenges in historical context; and are encouraged to engage critically and thoughtfully with how environmental thought, and baselines for assessing environmental impacts, have been influenced by the data collected through empire.

This course introduces foundations of microeconomic theory, including how individual consumers and producers make decisions and how different market mechanisms operate to allocate resources. The course emphasizes problem solving using calculus (rather than graphs and tables in introductory courses). Therefore, students are expected to have some background in multivariable calculus.