Netherlands

In the course, Latin is taught from scratch. The course covers the largest part of Latin grammar and syntax, except for the tense system and some advanced topics, such as the subjunctive and the gerund(ive). Hearing, speaking and writing Latin, all on an elementary level, are an integral part of the course. Attention is also paid to cultural aspects of Roman civilization, such as the Roman family, slavery, the geography of the Roman empire, mythology, and Roman education.

This course offers an introduction to the theories and methods of history as a field of knowledge. Our general area of enquiry for this course is international history in the 20th century. Students take up independent research projects related to some aspect of this field. The course begins with an analysis of history as a discipline by exploring how historians operate; the assumptions they work from; their methods and sources; as well as their disagreements. The questions considered in this section include: what distinguishes history from the social sciences; historical sources, methods, organization, and framing; the assumptions historians make their ability to infer causation; and how the recent rise of transnational and global history challenges (and complements) more traditional approaches to international history.

Then methodology, and particularly to the use of archival sources are reviewed. Students learn to identify sources and work with archival catalogues and hone their skills of analysis. The questions considered in this section include: methods use to collect and interpret different forms of historical evidence? what can our sources tell us about historical causation? how do we incorporate different types of sources, such as oral history and memoirs, into our analysis? how do we critically evaluate our sources, and interpret silences and omissions? how do we avoid drowning in the seas of evidence that can spill out from the archive?

Throughout the course, students pursue an independent research project on a chosen subject within the field of international history which reflects the process of devising and executing a piece of historical research. Students select a topic, devise a research question, assess historiographical literature, identify and select relevant sources, dig into the sources, managing notes, and put their analysis to paper.

This course provides students with an introduction to law. It starts with the basic concepts of law, the actors in the field of law, and the different sources of law. The difference between common law and civil law is also discussed to provide a better understanding of the different traditions in Western jurisdictions. After this introduction, different fields of law are briefly discussed, illustrated with examples taken from cases. The second part of the course focuses on the rule of law, legal philosophy, and legal reasoning.  Then the relation between national law, regional law (i.e., European Law), and international law are discussed. In the last two lectures, students take the role of decision-maker to experience the application of law in practice and what kind of predicaments one might encounter.

The course starts from the premise that climate change calls for new approaches to sustainable development that take into account complex interactions between climate, social, and ecological systems. This course focuses on experiences, actions, and approaches aiming at the production of services for a society that addresses both adaption and mitigation and promotes long-term climate resilience.

This course provides insight into the some of the most relevant social sciences and social scientific perspectives commonly used in global sustainability science. It introduces the field of social science – broadly the study of the relationship between individuals in their context within society – and its application to our understanding of environmental issues.This course discusses the skills needed to identify and apply some of the key social science concepts and theories that are commonly used in sustainability science. The first part of the course introduces the study of society, of society’s interactions with the environment, and of societal change, thus also demonstrating the specificity of a social scientific perspective on sustainability. The second part of the course examines various social processes of change in nature-society interactions, thus introducing and discussing a range of different, but often complementary theories that are commonly used to conceptualize change toward sustainability. The course is taught through interactive lectures and tutorials, and makes ample use of real world examples and case studies. The course involves diverse learning activities which include concept mapping, small group discussions, writing exercises, and hands-on critiques of students' own implicit assumptions about social processes that are critical for sustainability.

In this course students receive an overview of the basic principles of connectionism and neural networks ranging from simple to complex models of neurons and their interconnections. Students learn how these models are used to study brain function for a wide range of topics including vision, decision making, and higher cognition. The course begins by identifying the brain, its structures, and their function. Also covered is the type of information processing carried out in the neural structures and what the physical and biological constrains are within those neural structures.