Trinity College Dublin

This course addresses kinematics and dynamics, and is focused on applications in biomechanics. It reviews the fundamental matrix algebra required for kinematics and dynamics analysis and computations, introduces three-dimensional kinematics and dynamics, and covers the theory and procedures for modelling systems of rigid bodies connected by kinematic joints. The course also considers applications to human body modeling for gait and impact analysis, vehicle dynamics, and robotics.

This course examines the historical study of emotion through a focus on Old English literature. Students look at a series of short readings, which are provided both in the original language and in translation, to consider some specifics of Anglo-Saxon emotional culture, methodologies for study, and our own response. Topics include the highly personal use of THE WANDERER by W.H. Auden; the emotions of shame and love; affective piety; performative concepts of emotion; the problem of vocabulary (do modern English words match up with Old English ones?); and the Anglo-Saxon concept of the Mod, which encompasses both emotion and thought. The course focuses mostly on texts that modern readers typically find engaging, such as the elegies, but also considers texts we may find disconcerting or repellent, such as THE BATTLE OF BRUNANBURH, or that belong to unfamiliar genres such as the saint’s life.

This team-taught course introduces students to a range of texts, authors, and issues in Irish writing. Students work across genres and forms, encountering canonical and less often studied works. This is an innately comparative course which proposes and encourages various ways of thinking about Irish texts, while at the same time providing a sound knowledge of the social, cultural, and political conditions in which these texts were written and read.

This course explores contemporary Irish theater, with specific reference to its representation and evaluation across a variety of media platforms. The course focuses on the discourses and practices of the media. Students engage with contemporary theater practice in the form of print reviews, articles, blogs, vlogs, social media platforms, and panel discussions.

What exactly is a mind? This course pursues an answer to this question by exploring various characteristics and capacities that have been identified as distinctive of mentality, including but not limited to consciousness, rationality, a sense of self, the ability to have perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs about the world, the disposition to exhibit certain forms of behavior, and the possession of a sufficiently complex brain. The course considers questions that have been the subject of sustained interest and debate among those engaged in philosophical and scientific studies of the mind. These include: What is the relationship between the mind and the brain? Can non-living entities, e.g. computers, have minds? How do mental states, e.g. beliefs, desires, and sensations, cause physical effects, e.g. bodily motions? Is consciousness essential to mentality? Can mental states and processes be fully explained in non-mental, physical terms? How do thoughts and perceptions come to represent various objects in and features of our environment? What determines the content of our thoughts and perceptions?

This course gives students a basic understanding of the linguistic structures of Irish Sign Language (ISL). It introduces the basic descriptive parameters of the language. Focus is particularly on the phonetic, phonological, morphological, and morph-syntactic breakdown of ISL, with reference to other signed language given to provide a cross-linguistic comparator. Topics include analysis of the basic parameters of a sign, compounding processes in ISL, verb categories in ISL, non-manual features, and use of space in ISL. Later, particular focus is on the morpho-syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of ISL. Topics for discussion include the identification of word order in ISL, use of topic constructions, question marking, negation, reflexives and reciprocals in ISL, and passive constructions. Other issues addressed include iconicity and gesture, and their relationship to signed languages.

This course discusses texts of Montesquieu, Graffigny, and Diderot. Students work in reading groups, and they are required to meet in their appointed groups at a fixed time each week to discuss pre-circulated questions

In this course, students learn the basics of an Gaeilge (Irish, or “Irish Gaelic”), Ireland's first official language. They explore the journey to revitalize the Irish language, develop language skills, and expand their understanding of different cultures.