University of Edinburgh

Articulating social network theory and methods, this course seeks to explore the transformations of social life in contemporary societies characterized by the importance of connectedness and geographic mobility. The course introduces students to the theories, concepts, and measures of social network analysis (SNA) through a mixture of classroom teaching and hands-on computer work. It discusses in particular (1) to what extent social life is more networked in late modern societies; (2) how SNA is a powerful way of capturing empirically social life; (3) to what extent social networks are more individualized; (4) how physical and virtual mobility play an increasing role in meetings and social relationships. Key notions are addressed and illustrated through both the discussions of major thinkers and the use of the UCINet software and its visualization program NetDraw on real-world data sets. 

This course provides an introduction to the study of culture, society, and tradition in Scotland, with the emphasis on deconstructing competing conceptions and images of the nation. Theoretical approaches to the investigation of cultural construction, representation, and expression are introduced through heritage, literature, folklore, music, song, visual art, and the popular media. Students are also invited to consider the political context of cultural representation and investigate the interface between culture and industry.

This course explores the range of Shakespeare's writing of comedy from the early romantic comedies, through the "mature" and "problem" comedies, to the tragicomic romances of the last plays. The course considers early modern and recent ideas about comedy as a genre and mode, and trace the ongoing engagement of the plays with various interpenetrating thematic debates. An early interest in illusion leads to a focus on the shifting and unstable nature of perception, linked on the one hand to the effects of love and desire, and on the other to notions of the theatrical. These interests lead to a comic and comedic exploration of the nature and growth of the self, the problems of desire and of gendered identity, and the ways in which these may be addressed through the artifice of the comic form.

The course provides a comprehensive introduction to all branches of oceanography, namely physical, biological, chemical, and geological oceanography, for science students. It also provides a solid foundation for marine aspects of advanced courses in environmental sciences, geography, sedimentology, marine geology, ecology, and meteorology. The course is formally divided into physical, biological, chemical, and geological oceanography but the multi-disciplinary nature of ocean sciences is emphasized through out the course by highlighting the links between disciplines.