University of Auckland

This course explores the theories and arguments presented by philosophers who have addressed questions such as: Is art purely cultural or partly biological? Is art old or an invention of 18th-century Europe? What definitions are plausible and if none are, how does the concept cohere? How does the philosophy of art differ from aesthetics as traditionally conceived? In what manner do works of art exist? What constraints are there on the interpretation of art? Do artistic evaluations always contain a personal element? How does an abstract art form express emotion? Why are we moved by the fate of characters we know to be fictional? Why are we drawn to tragedies when we know the experience of them is unpleasant? How do paintings represent what they picture? Can we learn from art truths about the actual world?

This course presents the myths of ancient Greece and Rome: about gods, heroes, heroines, and monsters. Topics include Greek and Roman myths in their social and historical context, identifying the important cultural and religious roles that myths served in Greco-Roman history; the ‘afterlife’ of Greek and Roman myths in later culture; Greco-Roman mythology from a local perspective, considering similarities and differences with the traditional stories and figures of Aotearoa New Zealand, such as Ranginui and Papatuanuku, Hineahuone, and Maui. The course also focuses on how myths were transmitted. The Greeks and Romans first shared their myths in oral form for hundreds of years, before starting to write down their stories and make art depicting them. Readings include the myths written up in different styles/genres; epics, religious hymns, a tragedy, and a history, to see how different genres shaped the presentation of myths; some artworks that portray myths, and consider what function these artistic representations had for the Greeks or Romans.

This course provides an overview of the technology available to assist musicians and an introduction to modern music production. Topics include Modern DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) functionality, MIDI and audio recording and editing, synthesis, and multi-track mixing.

This course explores the historical development of western theater dance from the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.

This course explores topics in linear algebra and multi-variable calculus, including linear transformations, quadratic forms, double and triple integrals, and constrained optimization. The course is a preparation for advanced courses in mathematics, statistics, physics, and other applied sciences.

This course provides a critical exploration of the interconnectedness of environment and society. The course highlights the importance of understanding how different views and attitudes influence people's interactions with the environment. Key themes include governance, management and development, which are addressed through issues such as conservation, climate change adaptation, disasters and resource use. Classes draw on a variety of case studies from New Zealand and overseas.

This course explores international and regional aspects of folktales and fairy tales. Are these stories products of culturally specific ways of knowing and feeling, or do they express universal human preoccupations present in the collective unconscious? What are the relations between folktales and other popular narrative forms, e.g. fairy tales, tall tales, ballads, and myths? Are folktales formal constructions which are given different meanings by the particular cultures that make, reuse, or preserve them? What are the relations between the rich oral traditions of tale telling and the literary or media narratives which sometimes rely on folktale motifs and forms, for example Superheroes? What do folktale narratives as cultural forms tell us about the making and uses of stories in general?

What is modernity and what makes a novel modern? This course provides answers to this question through the study of novels from a variety of cultures and decades from the early twentieth to the early twenty-first centuries. Including works from Europe, Asia, and America, it considers not only the stories novels tell about modernity but also the formal innovations of structure, style, and voice which novelists have made in their attempts to respond to a world undergoing rapid social, technological and political change. Important foci and themes include the immigrant experience, loneliness and intimacy and America as icon and agent of modernity.

By selecting the important properties of distance many different mathematical contexts are studied simultaneously in the framework of metric and normed spaces. Examines carefully the ways in which the derivative generalizes to higher dimensional situations. These concepts lead to precise studies of continuity, fixed points and the solution of differential equations. A recommended course for all students planning to advance in mathematics.