Germany

The course discusses topics including existing definitions of risk versus uncertainty and different probability concepts; history of existing probability concepts; ideas of man (Homo oeconomicus vs. Homo heuristicus); models of decision making under risk and uncertainty; analysis and design or decision processes and support; principles of risk communication and perception; and intervention under risk and uncertainty (“nudging” vs. “boosting”).

This course teaches the concepts of the behavior, structure, problems, modeling, materials and the forms of failure of lightweight structures. Students analyze lightweight structures, understand designs, and predict behavior responses of certain structures. The course utilizes several examples relating to aircraft structures to teach the concepts.

This course explores the contemporary utilization of typical Berlin discourses in the context of tourism and city marketing, such as Berlin-specific subcultures, economic developments a la Smart City, political activism, and environmental concerns for tourism. By testing different approaches to experiencing and sensing the city, the course examines the basis of diverse ways of “knowing Berlin.” The course discusses questions including: what makes the tourist perspective so intriguing and specific? Who profits from this way of experiencing a city? How is cultural diversity and complexity practically channeled into profitable tourism sites and activities? In small groups and workshop-based, the course develops and analyzes contents and methods of explorative walking performances based on specific contemporary Berlin discourses and urban projects. In an application of the seminar's findings and self-produced material, students go on tours of Berlin addressing contemporary urban discourses centering on smart city, participation, touristification, and urban activism.

Sociology, a newer science concerned with the impact of the industrial revolution on traditional forms of communal life, beliefs, and authorities, emerged in late 19th century Europe. The pioneers of sociology (regarded as classics today) such as Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, and Leonard Hobhouse, managed to establish the young discipline at the universities in France, Germany, and Great Britain. The transatlantic exchange of sociological ideas intensified during the 1920s with American scholars such as Talcott Parsons visiting Europe and especially with the large wave of emigrants (Paul Lazarsfeld, Reinhard Bendix, members of the Frankfurt School, and many others) to the United States. Modern analytical sociology was created in the United States in cooperation between European immigrants and Americans and (re-)exported to Europe during the 1950s and 1960s. Today, sociology is studied at universities all over the world with some significant regional specializations. While American sociology is best known for its strong empirical orientation (“social research”), sociology in Europe has developed further the theoretical traditions of the classics (“social theory”). Some paradigmatic questions from Weber to Simmel seem still relevant: “Why have essential elements of modern societies – from the rise of modern capitalism, to individualism, urban culture, and democracy – occurred first in the West?” Alienation from society has been a major theme from Marx to Durkheim and Bourdieu. New topics emerged in the face of new challenges: European Integration, the end of the “Iron Curtain” between Western and Eastern Europe, and the pressures of globalization on the European “social model.” And, of course, since Tocqueville's Democracy in America (1853-1840), sociologists on both sides of the Atlantic have been fascinated to compare Europe and the American Experience. The objective of the course is to portray prominent European sociologists and apply their ideas to the challenges of our time.

This course provides an introduction to the EU and its policy on environmental protection and natural resources. After a brief recap of the basics of policy-making in the EU, students learn about the guiding principles and developments within the EU’s environmental policy. Subsequently, the course covers the major environmental challenges currently faced by the EU. The first part of the course discusses the functioning of the European Union to be able to better understand the factors influencing European environmental policy and politics. The course also looks at the European reaction to climate change and discusses the effectiveness of the main solutions to this global problem: the development of renewable sources of energy and the different ways of pricing carbon. The course devotes a special session to the EU’s role in climate negotiations. The second part of the course is devoted to different forms of pollution, such as air, noise, water, and soil pollution, as well as humanity’s impact on biodiversity loss. In this part of the course students discuss the main prerequisites for making the European transport sector more sustainable and European cities greener and smarter. The last session is devoted to discussing the challenges and the opportunities for the future of environmental policy.

This course covers the fundamentals of generative computer graphics: homogeneous coordinates, rendering pipeline, and global illumination. Topics include input and output devices, transformations, raster algorithms, visibility, color, local illumination, global illumination, and textures.