University of Edinburgh

Selected aspects of physiological processes in health and disease: from the integrative function of single cells to whole systems physiology. A core emphasis is on the experimental basis for our foundational knowledge of how physiological systems function and their regulation. Topics may include: cell and epithelial physiology, ion channels and transporters and their regulation, cell signalling and communication, endocrine and neuroendocrine physiology, sensory physiology, control and co-ordination of movement, control of feeding and responses to stress.

This is a course for beginners with no previous knowledge of Italian, designed to give complete beginners a basic, working knowledge of spoken and written Italian. It is a communicative course developing students' understanding and production of the language at CEFR level A1/A1+. 

The course looks at anthropological contributions to the understanding of ritual and religion, starting and ending with moments of especially acute reflection on the place of religion in the contemporary world. Our starting point will be that moment in the late 19th and early 20th century when classic theorists (especially Weber and Durkheim) pondered the place of religion in an age of scientific challenge, and students explore contemporary arguments about the boundaries between religion, power, and politics. Students also investigate the intersection of religion and ritual with a range of topics (gender, material culture, the body and cognition).

This course provides an advanced introduction to the anthropology of health, illness, and healing. Students are introduced to key theories and current debates at the interface of anthropology and medicine through a focus on cross-cultural approaches to illness, pain, healing, the body, and care. This course explores biomedicine as one among many ways of thinking through and constituting personhood, illness, and the body. It deals with the challenges that arise when biomedical expertise meets other understandings of illness and suffering; the multiple kinds of care provided in institutional, public, religious and domestic settings; the relationship between curing and healing; and the ways in which people grapple with affliction and uncertainty through narrative, through relationships, and through action. 

How can we understand gender in the contemporary world? How is gender constructed in different contexts and what are the material consequences? How can gender analyses empower us to act as agents of personal and social change? This inter-disciplinary course provides an overview of the major issues at stake in the study of gender relations from a broadly social science perspective. It introduces students to gender studies as a theoretical field of investigation, examining key concepts and debates in the field. Students explore issues of power, inequality, intersectionality, change and resistance through contemporary examples of "doing gender" around the world. In doing so, this course equips students - as 21st century graduates - with awareness and understanding of global inequalities based on gender, race, class, and sexuality, as well as basic tools to undertake gender analysis.

Data is one of the most important assets of any enterprise and plays a central role in many aspects of everyday life, from healthcare, to education, to commerce. In order to be turned into meaningful information that enables and supports decision making, data must be stored, maintained, processed and analysed. Database management systems are complex software programs that allow their users to perform these tasks in an efficient and reliable way. This course is an introduction to the principles underlying the design and implementation of relational databases and database management systems.