France

This course examines the philosophy and sociology behind television series, as well as the reception of these shows and political and sociological ramifications of TV series, primarily in France and the US. The first part of the course focuses on critical approaches to media, philosophy, social science, and the reception of different forms of media. The second part of the course examines the series THE KILLING, GAME OF THRONES, THE WIRE, THE STATE, FAUDA, THE HANDMAID'S TALE, THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, UNBELIEVABLE, MARE OF EASTTOWN, FARGO, and WE OWN THIS CITY. These series are investigated for their philosophical implications of dominance between humans, activism, and reactions to conflict. The final project involves the philosophical and social analysis of a TV series of the student's choice.

This course explores the role of the citizen within contemporary democratic processes. It draws on insights from political sociology and comparative politics to answer essential questions regarding continuity and change on issues such as vote choice, political participation, public protest, trust in the political system, ideological orientations, and political attitudes. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of the economic crisis on the changing preferences and behaviors of mass publics across Europe. The course develops the students' analytical skills in comprehending current political events, public opinion, new social movements, and current electoral dynamics from a comparative perspective. Each session of the course draws on theoretical concepts and links them to empirical findings using comparative, time-series survey data. Students are invited to critically combine theoretical tools with empirical evidence in order to comprehend the dynamic link between public opinion and political parties in postmodern Western democracies.

This workshop studies how to read and analyze journalistic content on economic and social themes in a professional manner. It provides an opportunity to question journalistic expression by analyzing the facts and data it provides, the credibility of the information transmitted, and the meaning of their publication on certain dates and distribution platforms. The course examines quality, balance, and relevance of the sources; tone, rigor, and atmosphere of the expression; precision of the information; point of view of the narration; identification of the news; typology of the publications; analysis of the formats; and platforms of distribution.

This course provides a critical analysis of European Union institutional structure and political functioning from the point of view of political science. It reflects on the nature of the European Union political system and policies by looking at its historical and constitutional design. The course then examines how European Union institutions are appointed, how they function, their respective powers, and how they interact with each other and with the national political institutions and civil society actors. The course also describes European policy making, examines the process of institutional reform, and the challenges the European Union is facing today.

This course examines how the European Left thinks and practices economics, above and beyond the vast but erroneous stereotype: that this is a party that is incapable, once in power, to conduct a coherent economic policy. At the crossroads of history, sociology, and political science, this course reexamines the tormented history of the Left towards economics, from the first world war to the consequences of the financial crisis of 2007-2008.  It uses a transnational comparative approach and looks at several case studies done in the European zone to examine the movement of ideas and the crucial role of the economy in the changes and political recompositions of the Left during this time.

This course provides a critical introduction to Buddhism and interrogates the origins and transhistorical resonances of Buddhist thought, practice, and praxis. It examines the possibility of the Buddhist turn in critical theory, one which must be irreverent and far reaching in its approach, and engages with a polyphony of voices ranging from lamas and practitioners to psychoanalysts and philosophers. The course explores whether Buddhism can function as a comprehensive framework for rethinking philosophy, politics, psychology, and the aesthetic in our current moment. It rethinks debates concerning what Buddhism really is (religion, psychology, empiricism, spirituality, tools for living, etc.) and explores how Buddhism problematizes commonplace understandings of belief and reason, mind and body, idealism and materialism, immanence and transcendence, ontology and anti-foundationalism, dream and reality, desire and gratification, and pain and pleasure. The radical Buddha is rediscovered as both a person and allegorical nexus for rethinking the condition of the world and the condition of being in the world.