Netherlands

This course provides students with detailed knowledge about the molecular processes in cell signaling and control of gene expression. Topics include: intracellular signaling pathways; chromatin structure and remodeling; recruitment and assembly of transcription factors; eukaryote mRNA synthesis, processing, modification, stability and translation; stem cells and reprogramming; and the culmination of the above factors that drive common complex human disease. The tutorials are partially in Problem Based Learning (PBL) and multiple-choice format, with exercises designed to provide a perspective of how cutting edge molecular biological techniques are applied to tackle major research questions in modern biomedical research. Students are acquainted with the best-characterized cell signaling mechanisms in eukaryotic cells, gene structure/function, and different gene regulatory mechanisms (chromatin remodeling and (post)transcriptional regulation) in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The course covers how molecular biology, when used in combination with other biological disciplines (e.g. biochemistry, genetics, imaging), can provide tools to understand (diagnostics) and intervene (therapy) in the cellular complexity of human disease. Prerequisites for this course are Cell Biology and Genetics.

The course covers the real part of trade theory. It is a formal analysis of the reasons for international trade, the way different parties gain or lose from trade, and what can be done about that through trade policy. The subject matter is theoretical in nature, but the theory is illustrated using real life examples and cases.

This course explores the edge of fundamental gene research as well as the contemporary practices in a clinical setting. The aim is to ascertain what remains unknown and what information is currently missing, allowing us to form a plan for the future of genetic testing and genome screening. Attention is paid to the ethical choices that arise with these new developments. These are personal choices such as “Do I want to know it if they find something unexpected?” but also societal choices such as “Should we offer everyone genetic screening as a preventive measure, also when there are no medical indications to do so?” The course discusses the possibilities and the desirability of genetic testing and screening from a fundamental scientific point of view, taking into account that the nature of genetic information can be complex and uncertain. The course requires students to have knowledge of complex relations between genetic information and the (dys)functioning of the body, and molecular processes surrounding gene expression and gene regulation, as a prerequisite.

After completing this course students are able to:

• Think conceptually as a micro-economist and as a macro-economist
• Have an understanding of the main differences between different schools of thought in economics
• Apply the relevant economic perspective to problems on the level of the individual actor, market(s), the economy(ies), and government(s).

Content

Economists develop theories aiming to explain human behavior, especially – although not exclusively – when they operate in the context of markets and market economies. The course Introduction to Economics provides an introduction to the fundamentals of economics as a science. The course covers   mainstream neoclassical and Keynesian micro- and macro-economics, as well as other schools of thought.
 

Microeconomics focuses on the functioning of a single market and the way governments could promote it. Economic phenomena are explained from the perspective of individual behavior in a market setting. When some goods cannot be produced by private firms and sold via the market, the government can take the initiative to provide these goods, e.g. public utilities and collective goods such as dikes, defense, and justice.

Macroeconomics explains the functioning of a set of interrelated markets at the national or the international level. Also in this perspective the potential role of government is introduced e.g.  in keeping a system of markets stable or in reaching economic growth.

The last weeks in the course will be dedicated to the topic of "Rethinking Economics", covering a.o., but not exclusively, institutional economics, feminist economics, Marxist economics and econological economics.

This course introduces students to the dynamic, diverse, often colorful, and surprising world of global religions. It addresses religious traditions that have a huge influence on the world as we know it: Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, but also local traditions in, e.g., Sub-Sahara Africa. The course integrates two components or perspectives: an ideational perspective that concerns religious beliefs and doctrines, and a practical “lived religions” perspective that concerns religious acts and rituals. Both components are approached from a transnational perspective that investigates how religions develop, and interact with each other and with other cultural phenomena and political institutions on a global scale.