University of New South Wales

This course examines how contemporary linguists address issues of language use. It explores topics such as the nature of human communication, the influence of social attitudes on language, first and second language acquisition and development, the historical development of languages, language universals and language typology, and regional and situational variation in language. 

This course examines the physics of the Universe from scales ranging from our Solar System and extrasolar planets to the origin and fate of the Universe. It covers astronomical techniques, history of astronomy across cultures, beginnings of the Universe, formation and evolution of galaxies, origin of life on Earth and search for life elsewhere, stellar structure and evolution, planet formation, black holes, and compact objects.

This course examines the historical, social and cultural implications of the wastes generated by human society. Dimensions and topics you study include: life cycles of materials, how we make knowledge about waste, the social implications of waste management technologies, 'legacy' issues and the 'colonization of the future' by wastes. Our waste stream examples include plastics, water and sewage, nuclear materials, industrial sea dumping, international trade in toxic wastes, domestic landfill, and the creation of 'wastelands' and contaminated sites. Students explore solutions to the generation of wastes by studying the precautionary principle, environmental justice, international waste conventions and treaties, and regulatory and community responses to waste. 

This course examines mathematical language and techniques to unravel many seemingly unrelated problems. The course content addresses five major pillars of discrete mathematics: set theory, number theory, proofs and logic, combinatorics, and graph theory. 

This course examines generative and iterative studio processes. Weekly topics and activities are designed to encourage connections between materials, processes, and ideas. 

This course examines the nature, constitution and effects of the contemporary global political economy from a critical perspective, discussing the variety of approaches to and understandings of global political-economic practices, actors, patterns and ideas. Introducing  international political economy as a field of study and a space of human interaction, the course examines the relationship between politics and economics and the reasons why power, resources and privilege are often concentrated in particular hands. Scrutinizing the past, present and future of the global political economy, the course outlines and overviews key histories in, approaches to and developments of the global economic order. By focusing on particular dynamics in areas such as international development, trade, finance, production, the environment and gender, the course shines a light on how inequality is generated and maintained.

This course examines core skills in the manipulation, statistical analysis, and communication of data. Using examples from the biological, earth, and environmental sciences and using the R programming language, students will examine the role of statistics in addressing scientific questions with different goals, including determining causes, describing variation, and predicting outcomes. 

This course examines the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, peoples and societies. A central focus of the course is the ways in which the philosophical frameworks of Indigenous knowledge systems continue to inform contemporary
Indigenous practice that continues to shape Indigenous identities today. Taught from a range of perspectives, students will develop an understanding of social, cultural, political, economic, and ecological aspects of Indigenous Knowledge. 
Indigenous Studies Major

This course examines the history of early modern China and Japan (ca. 1600–1912) through the lens of gender and sexuality. By examining topics including Confucianism and the family, Samurai status, imperial expansion, commerce and leisure, medicine and religion, it makes a case for gender and sexuality as drivers of historical change in the early modern world. It examines not only women and women’s history, but also men and masculinity, gender-nonconforming communities, and the changing relationship between gender, sexuality and social, economic, and cultural power. It will introduce key questions and debates in the study of East Asian history and the history of gender and sexuality through a range of primary and secondary sources as well as film, fiction and multimedia.