Trinity College Dublin

Penology involves the study of how the state punishes those who have been convicted of offences. The subject covers the interlocking issues of sentencing, prison, and non-custodial punishments. Students to an in-depth look at the penal system and evaluate why, when, and how it is legitimate for the state to punish its citizens. The course also takes a practical look at the administration of punishment, with a particular focus on prisons. Students examine the contemporary issues and problems concerning these institutions and evaluate possibilities for reform. Analysis of penal policy and how it is formed is also involved. Penology involves a broad multi-disciplinary approach which includes aspects of sociology, political theory, and philosophy as well as law and human rights. It is closely related to criminology. Students are not required to take the course in criminology, however, penology and criminology are natural partner-courses and students who study both will find that they inform one another.

The cooperation of people from different disciplinary backgrounds is becoming increasingly important in developing knowledge and solutions in a complex world. This course explores how knowledge is created in and across disciplines, specifically by examining intersection between Computer Science and the disciplines of the Humanities commonly known as the Digital Humanities. It illustrates the potential benefits of and challenges to these interactions, by examining both emerging digital technologies and the traditional roots of cultural production such as language, historical records and institutions, and the arts. 

In this course, students identify the main historical phases in the development of Spanish, from its Latin roots to the modern language it is today.  Students learn to appreciate the influence of the different language varieties which shared, or share with Spanish the geographical space of the Iberian Peninsula, on its linguistic structures. This course helps students recognize the role of the Castilian dialect as the basis of Modern Spanish, and defines the process of its standardization. Students will discuss the role of Spanish as the primary medium of Spanish colonization.

This course covers the topic of food to explore the history of Mexico and its diaspora from the time of the Conquest, with a particular focus on food as national and cultural identity as reflected in cinema and literature. It will also explore how food provides a multifaceted lens through which to examine issues such as food and poverty, food as a transnational site of both community and exclusion, and ecological issues, such as control of natural resources essential to food production and security. Students will examine the topic of food as both a political issue and a source of creative inspiration through our analysis of texts, art, films and television series.

This course develops an understanding of the molecular basis of life through study of the role of nutrients, not only as a source of energy but, as key elements that determine our cellular and whole-body physiology. The metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids and the role of vitamins are presented in the context of human health and disease. The consequences of vitamin deficiencies, mechanisms that allow cells to survive starvation and metabolic derangements such as diabetes and those caused by alcohol consumption are discussed. The course builds on Section 2 (Chemistry of Life) of BYU11101 (Molecules to Cells I) and CHU11B01 (Chemistry for Biologists). While this course is free standing and open, it does complement and expand on the lectures on metabolism in Module BYU22201 (Molecules to Cells II). This course is to prepare students hoping to pursue a moderatorship in the molecular biological sciences.

The course outlines the law relating to refugee and immigration in Ireland in the light of EU membership and international human rights law, develops a critical understanding of the policy behind refugee and immigration law, and develops a practical understanding of the implications of refugee and immigration law. The course is divided in to three parts, Part I deals with the International Framework for Refugee Protection, Part II addresses the European dimension, and Part III considers the Irish framework on Refugee and Immigration law. Topics covered include Principles and Key Concepts in Refugee Protection, the Convention relating to Status of Refugees 1951, Alternative Forms and Instruments of Protecting, the Evolving EU Acquis on Asylum, European Refugee Protection: Practices and Policies, the Refugee in Irish Law, Citizenship and Naturalization in Irish law and Immigration Law in Ireland.

This course introduces students to the environmental humanities, a multidisciplinary formation that brings the visual arts, literature, theatre, history, music, languages, philosophy, politics, law, film, media/cultural studies, anthropology, and cultural geography, into relation with the sciences in response to the environmental crisis. The course focuses on how history/history of art and architecture have responded to the challenge described by Chakrabarty and how these disciplines now contribute to the project of the environmental humanities by rewriting histories and reimagining futures. Students will learn about the climate crisis as a product of modern histories, including histories of science, extractive economies, technology, and media. The course also critically appraises concepts that feature prominently in public and academic debates about the climate crisis, such as Sustainable Development, the Anthropocene, and Planetary Boundaries. 

This course introduces students to the history of Hindu Mythology from 1000BCE to 1000 CE through Sanskrit sources in English translation. The course surveys the history of Hindu Mythology from its inception in the Vedic period (1000 BCE) to its height in epics and Purāṇas (1000 CE). Students explore how premodern Hindu writers used mythology to navigate key religious questions regarding the problem of evil; the ontology of God; gender and salvation; and the creation of the universe.

The course focuses on W.B. Yeats as a playwright and as a theorist of the theatre, combining an intensive focus on Yeats’s own work in the first half of the course with a more expansive consideration of the ways in which Yeats provides us with a way of reading subsequent Irish theatre in relation to recent work in the second half. Hence, the course combines the study of Yeats’s theatre and dramaturgy with consideration of recent work in the Irish theatre, including productions of plays currently running at the time of the module. It considers both the work of Yeats, and of more recent dramatists, not only as literary texts, but as performance pieces.

This course explores modern Middle East and North Africa and the societies and cultures through regionally and historically focused investigations. It continues with an exploration of historical and contemporary European and Western interventions and perspectives on the Middle East, and how these have impacted the region.