University of Auckland

This course examines horror’s aesthetic, experiential, and political dimensions, while investigating why and how it has persisted as one of popular culture’s most vigorous and influential genres. It closely considers a range of classic and contemporary films, TV shows and video games, confronting questions of power, affect, mediation and representation.

This course examines how normal processes of the earth-atmosphere-hydrosphere-space systems result in events that are capable of dealing disastrous blows to humans on the scale of individual lives to civilizations. It focuses on the geologic processes of events such as earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, hurricanes, tsunami, tornadoes, climate change, and asteroid impacts, and their local, national and global repercussions. In particular, It looks at the spatial and temporal occurrences of these hazards, methods and processes for hazard preparedness, response and recovery, and the social, economic and policy aspects that affect and, in many cases, compound the magnitude of the disasters associated with these natural phenomena. 

This course examines examines sustainability at the national and international scale. It covers existing global initiatives to achieve sustainability, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, and will explore new possibilities for governance of sustainability. 

This course introduces Bayesian data analysis using the WinBUGS software package and R. Topics include the Bayesian paradigm, hypothesis testing, point and interval estimates, graphical models, simulation and Bayesian inference, diagnosing MCMC, model checking and selection, ANOVA, regression, GLMs, hierarchical models and time series. Classical and Bayesian methods and interpretations are compared.

This course examines the cultural reality of being human, as well as the distinct evolutionary journey (within the Order Primates) to become human.

This course examines how smart technologies like AI, urban digital twinning, and internet of things are reshaping urban planning, design, and decision-making processes. It explores their potential and limitations in tackling urban challenges, improving efficiency, and aligning with sustainability development goals while critically examining ethical concerns surrounding their implementation in cities.

This course examines key concepts of geographic information science as applied to earth and environmental sciences. It covers monitoring, analysis, visualization and modelling of landscape change for terrestrial and coastal environments, using imagery from satellites, airplanes (LiDAR) and UAVs. Principles and practice of field techniques, including RTK-GPS, LiDAR and UAV piloting will be reviewed with application to catchment management, conservation, natural hazards and civil infrastructure.

This subject explores traditional and contemporary relationships between tangata whenua and the urban environment in Aotearoa New Zealand. It examines how Māori worldviews shape urban planning practice, with a focus on the impact of Treaty of Waitangi settlements. Key topics include Indigenous development, governance, and resource management, as well as the responsiveness of planning processes to Māori values and aspirations.

This course examines philosophical and conceptual issues in the life sciences. Topics may include the units and levels of selection, adaptationism, the evolution of altruism, biology and ethics, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, cultural evolution, evolution versus creationism, and the origin and nature of life. It addresses questions including: What is life? Why do living things inevitably die? Could artificial life (for example, synthetic cells made in a laboratory) ever be genuinely alive? How should we understand the role of our genes in shaping who we are? We're told that it's important to conserve biodiversity, but what exactly is biodiversity, and should it be the main target of conservation efforts? How do (and how should) social values relate to life scientists' study of human behavior, sexuality, and other topics? How does our increasing knowledge of microbial life, including the bacteria and other microorganisms living inside our own bodies, affect our understanding of the living world and of what it means to be human?

This course examines popular media texts, genres, audiences and industries and reflects on how they influence our notions of self and society. It draws on case studies from a range of popular media, from film and television to comics, games, popular music, social media and advertising.