German

This course, comprised of a lecture and discussion section, includes the following topics: 1) Introduction (historical notes, coordinate dependence of Newton‘s equations, systems with constraints); 2) Lagrange equations (systems w/o constraints, non-inertial reference frames, constraints and generalized coordinates, virtual displacements, D’Alembert’s principle, systems w/ constraints); 3) Hamilton‘s principle (variational calculus, derivation of Lagrange equations from Hamilton’s principle, Lagrange multipliers and constraints); 4) Symmetries and conservation laws (cyclic coordinates and canonical momenta, translational and rotational invariance, Noether theorem, translational invariance in time and energy conservation, energy conservation in 1D systems, Galilei invariance and Lagrangian of free particles, relativistic mechanics of free particles, gauge invariance, mechanical similarity); 5) Oscillations (coupled oscillators, driven oscillators, Green function of damped oscillator, parametric resonance, motion in rapidly oscillating fields); 6) Rigid bodies (degrees of freedom, tensor of inertia and kinetic energy, angular momentum, principal axes of tensor of inertia, equations of motion, Euler angles, free symmetric top, heavy symmetric top, fast top).

German academic writing is a skill that can be learned. By engaging with selected modern literary texts in the writing lab, students practice to develop research questions, prepare outlines, draft exposés, construct arguments, and comment on academic positions. The goal of the course is to enable participants to prepare well-structured term papers, bachelor's or master's theses, dissertations, and presentations. It also address the grammatical and
stylistic peculiarities of the German academic language, including intercultural distinctions. Moreover, students investigate the promise, perils, and limitations of artificial intelligence (AI), and the extent to which AI can facilitate many areas of academic work but not replace the need for critical and innovative thinking. By the end of the course, participants are equipped to successfully stand their ground in German academic discourse. At the same time, they acquire transferable skills to write clearly structured, concise academic texts in their own language.

Language anxiety and linguistic insecurity are central topics in multilingual and transcultural contexts. In this seminar, students investigate the causes and effects of language anxiety, in language acquisition as well as in the day to day. The class looks at different forms of linguistic insecurity and language anxiety that are affected by social norms, language ideologies, and individual experiences. The goal of the seminar is to develop a critical understanding of this phenomenon and how to approach linguistic insecurity. The readiness to work with research literature in English is required. Students need to take this seminar alongside the lecture "Second Language Acquisition and Multilingualism".

This course is for absolute beginners. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of German grammar, reading, and writing while developing some basic communicative skills. This course teaches students simple structures, lexis and phrases which enables them to communicate in a limited number of common everyday situations in German-speaking countries.

In this course, students gain an integrative understanding of the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with equal emphasis on data-driven AI (especially machine learning) and model-based AI (especially planning and reasoning). They come to understand AI from the perspectives of decision theory, machine learning, optimization, and classical problem solving. Students learn to independently implement and understand core algorithms from these areas and can identify appropriate problem formulations and AI algorithms for a given application. Course topics include problem formulations and algorithmic approaches from decision theory (including reinforcement learning, multi-armed bandits, control theory), machine learning, optimization, and inference, classical planning, and problem solving. The class also discusses fundamental and recurring algorithmic principles such as dynamic programming, optimization-based vs. sampling-based methods, and decision trees.

 

This course starts with the question of what is understood by “gender” in gender studies and a systematization of the field of gender studies in STEM/planning. In the second part students examine studies of gender studies in STEM and planning in different disciplines. The course concludes with a project phase in which students are in working groups on topics from the field of gender studies on STEM/planning using the materials provided and present the results.

This seminar explores the interface between queer identity, music, and history and investigates how musical spaces may serve as mirrors and critiques of societal norms. Students investigate the experiences of queer artists through a historical perspective and see how they use music as a form of social critique and expression. Beginning with operatic roles in the 17th century, through contexts like the 19th century cakewalk, the cabaret of the Weimar republic in the 1920s-1930s, as well as hip-hop culture, the seminar uncovers how gender transgressivity and performance art are reflected in music. Students analyze queer and transgressive music scenes as “heterotopias” (Foucault) – places of resistance against societal norms – and discuss the role of music in the construction of community and identity. Important texts by Audre Lorde, Michael Foucault, and Theodor W Adorno offer theoretical foundations through which the interventional power of music in the negotiation of identity and difference can be understood. Students develop their own case studies of queer artists and their visual, cultural, musical, and/or social moments of intervention.