Germany

Programming and synchronizing concurrent processes that access shared resources: non-sequential programs and processes in their various forms; non-determinism, determination; synchronization mechanisms: locks, monitors, guards, events, semaphores; non-sequential program execution and object orientation; process control, selection strategies, priorities, dealing with and avoiding deadlocks; co-routines, implementation, multiprocessor systems; interaction via messages; programming and synchronizing concurrent processes that interact via message exchange; remote calling techniques; client-server, peer-to-peer; parallel computing on the network; coordination languages; processing on the server and on the client, mobility; middleware, structured communication, static and dynamic interfaces; event-based and stream-based processing; security of applications on the network; outlook on non-functional properties (time, memory, quality of service).

The varieties of German differ in the lexis and pronunciation of words as well as in morphology, morphosyntax, syntax, and lexical semantics. In the course of this seminar, we will deal with various such variation phenomena from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective 

The seminar deals with the literary representations of insects. The introduction to the topic is the Czech play by the Capek brothers “From the Life of Insects” from the 1920s, in which the society of the interwar period is criticized in an allegorical manner. The traces of this short text can be found in the Russian novel “The Life of Insects” by Viktor Pelevin. The novel captures another transformative era - the geopolitical change of the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The characters show the characteristics of insects, but act like humans and experience both physical and social metamorphoses. In addition to considering the obvious intertextual references, the inclusion of Jan Švankmajer's animated film “Insects”, a free film adaptation of the play, also opens up a further intermedia perspective. The theoretical focus is on the concepts of allegory, metaphor and metamorphosis. Knowledge of the Slavic languages (Czech/Russian) is not a prerequisite for participation.

Suppose one event happens, and then another. What does it take for the first to be a cause of the second? We will consider answers to this question that reduce causation to laws of nature and to counterfactual facts. Then we will turn to grounding, which is the relation of determination that physicalists take to hold between physical facts and mental facts. We will look at the recently popular idea that grounding is closely analogous to causation, or even a kind of causation.

The European Union is an important actor when it comes to law-making. While this often appears to be very abstract, it does impact our lives as European citizens very much, also on the national level. In 2021, the European Commission opened a series of citizen-led debates, the Conference on the Future of Europe. These meetings, taking place in various formats, allowed citizens from all over Europe to share their ideas and provide suggestions on how to improve their future in Europe. This seminar will offer students the opportunity to investigate this process more closely, its results, achievements and implications for all inhabitants of European member states. Connecting them in a better was with EU institutions is crucial considering that European elections will take place in May 2024 and that Eurosceptical voices are rising in many European societies. At the end of the seminar, students will have fostered their background on theoretical perspectives to critically analyze Europeanization, integration and multi-level governance, including institutional, feminist and sociological approaches.

Agile software development methodologies and frameworks have changed how software is created, and are widely used and supported. This is not surprising, given that agile approaches stand, among other aspects, for continuous change and collaboration between stakeholders. These characteristics are aligned with the dynamic needs of business models pursuing innovation, which is why companies consider agile software development a key element for the future. In this seminar we will explore the rise and evolution of agile software development. Among other aspects, we will look at the principles and values behind it, what differentiates it from traditional software development approaches, its main frameworks and methodologies, the challenges jeopardizing its values, and what we can expect from it for the years to come.

Participants learn basic concepts, their theoretical foundation, and the most common algorithms used in machine learning and artificial intelligence. After completing the module, participants understand strengths and limitations of the different paradigms, are able to correctly and successfully apply methods and algorithms to real world problems, are aware of performance criteria, and are able to critically evaluate results obtained with those methods. More specifically, participants are able to demonstrate: 1) Understanding regarding basic concepts of neural information processing 2) Knowledge of unsupervised machine learning methods 3) Application to problems of statistical modeling, explorative data analysis, and visualization. Topics include 

1) Principal Component Analysis, Kernel-PCA 

2) Independent Component Analysis (Infomax, FastICA, Second Order Blind Source Separation) 

3) Stochastic Optimization 

4) Clustering, Embedding, and Visualisation (Central and Pairwise Clustering, Self-Organizing Maps, Locally Linear Embedding) 

5) Density Estimation, Mixture Models, Expectation-Maximization Algorithm, Hidden Markov Model 

6) Estimation Theory, Maximum Likelihood Estimation, Bayesian Model Comparison

What is at stake in reading, writing, depicting and telling the histories of Berlin’s architectural and urban landscape? How do historical and analytical frameworks shape scholarly understandings of the city? How does the architecture of Berlin shape its history and theory? Conducted as a discussion seminar, this course uses recent architectural and urban histories of 20th century Berlin to explore different ways of narrating the city’s history. Each week, students will approach Berlin’s urbanity through different textual and visual media to discuss the themes and methods—from femininity to migration, politics to privatization—by which they narrate the entanglement of Berlin’s physical and social landscape. Over the course of the semester, students will develop their scholarly reading techniques, and their fluency in the multipolar and manifold circumstances of the city. The premise of the course is that engaging the narrative can lead to ‘changing the narrative,’ thereby opening the door for students to develop an original final project, situating their worldly experience in the past, present and future of Berlin.

Handling commercial finite element software, solving a complex stress analysis problem, obtaining background information on advanced strength of materials theory, solving engineering problems collaboratively in teams, presenting and documenting results. Preparatory lecture series: introduction to components and materials of microelectronics and the surface mount technology (SMT), basic mechanics of elastoplastic deformable bodies, introduction to the concepts of the commercial finite element software ABAQUS. Homework assignments: learning and using the finite element software ABAQUS. Project period: literature review, finite element based stress and durability analysis of a SMT component, presentation and documentation of achieved results.

How does racial difference teach us to see, or not to see? This seminar examines the intersection of Modernist aesthetics and racial formation, with a focus on the United States and Europe in the 20th century. From monochrome painting and mid-century furniture to Josephine Baker and Isamu Noguchi, we will analyze how race materializes through form and style. Topics and themes will include: race and abstraction; primitivism in 20th century art; formalism and art historiography; exhibition history. By the end of this course, students will gain an interdisciplinary foundation in conducting aesthetic analysis from a critical race viewpoint. Readings include Clement Greenberg, “Towards a Newer Laocoon [1940],” in Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1986); Richard Dyer, White: Essays on Race and Culture (London: Routledge, 1997); Frantz Fanon, “The Fact of Blackness [1952],” in Black Skin, White Masks, trans. Charles L. Markmann (New York: Grove Press, 1967); Stuart Hall and Sarat Maharaj, "Modernity and Difference: A Conversation," in Modernity and Difference, ed. Gilane Tawadros and Sarah Campbell (London: Institute of International Visual Arts, 2001).