University of Bristol

The course examines social developments and political tensions that shaped the modern United States, including visions of early century reform; the emergence of mass society and the "new woman"; the redefined role of the State in the aftermath of the Great Depression and in World War II; racial reform and the white supremacist backlash in the 20s and 60s; sexual liberation and counterculture in the 60s; the renewed power of Conservatism in the 70s and 80s; and the crises and culture wars of the late 20th century.

This course focuses on different scholarly perspectives on ethnicity, nationality, ethnic groups, and nations. Divided into three parts, it begins by establishing an analytical framework for the study of ethnicity and nationalism that stresses the historic specificity and social construction of ethnic groups and nations. In the middle part, the course examines a range of ways in which ethnicity and nationality are experienced, legitimated, and reproduced in the modern world. The final part of the course is devoted to contemporary applications of these concepts: how ethnicity and nationalism manifest themselves in politics, culture, and everyday life. Combined, these three parts establish different ways in which ethnicity and nationality are modern social constructs.

The course covers the basic model theory and proof theory of 1st order languages, the Gödel Completeness Theorem and the Godel Incompleteness Theorems characterizing the non-provability of the consistency of a formal system within that system. These theorems are the foundations of 20th century logic.

This course introduces students to medieval literature, and presents both the diversity of literature written between 1150 and 1550 and its distinctive qualities. Students study a selection of texts including some of Chaucer’s CANTERBURY TALES, SIR GAWAIN, and THE GREEN KNIGHT, medieval drama, romance, and court poetry; religious writing, lyrics and travel writing may also feature. Students learn to read and translate Middle English, but also read some texts in the other languages of medieval Britain in translation, and study texts by both male and female writers. Students learn to analyze medieval poetry and prose, and gain an understanding of medieval modes of writing, genres and meters.