King's College London

This course covers the history of Europe from c.1000 to 1500, covering areas on both sides of the Mediterranean. It covers problems of continuity and change in society, politics, religion, and culture, and introduces students to debates about the impact of the rise of Islam, the centuries of the Crusades and the European economic "take-off," the effects of the great plagues and revolts of the 14th century, and about the Renaissance, modernity, and the origins of European states. Students have the opportunity to consider how a vast series of transformations formed European culture, and to reflect on general themes, such as the interaction of religious orthodoxy and dissent, shifting perceptions of gender, or the friction between imperialist drives and cultural coexistence.

This course investigates the way in which literary texts and cultural theories have responded to the emergence of multiple new media formats through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. By situating literary and theoretical texts in a broader network of visual, aural and interactive media the course invites students to consider: the social, political and cultural effects of technology; the specificity of written texts as distinct from other forms of technical media; relationships between text, image, and sound; the historical implications of mechanical reproduction; the emergence of networked communication; the cultural and political impact of the computer.

Using a variety of texts and genres as case studies (including the short story, novel, theater, and poetry), this course explores the way in which 20th-century writers in the Hispanic world have reflected upon their social and cultural realities. Through an examination of new aesthetic trends and new treatments of stock themes such as religion, politics, and love, it appraises the very characteristics of modern Latin American and Peninsular Spanish cultures.

This course enables students to understand the ways in which race has been used as a mode of resistance to various inequalities generated by capitalism. The course teaches students about how capitalism has to be seen through the prism of racial capitalism and draws attention to how anti-racist forms of resistance have targeted the historical entanglement of race and class.

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of this fast-growing market from the perspective of the investor, management team/entrepreneur, and fund manager – and concludes with an external assessment of the benefits (and failings) of private equity). In terms of how the course is taught, this course combines both a theoretical academic understanding of the industry with the practical vocational aspects to provide some of the skills required to work within the industry, taught by someone who is a partner at a private equity focused investment banking firm, has invested in PE deals and who has been backed as a manager in a start-up. Overall, the course provides students with vital knowledge to be able to understand how private equity interacts with other alternative and mainstream asset classes and offers context relevant to those considering careers in investment banking, asset management, accountancy, and private equity. It also provides an insight into different types of private equity (e.g. venture and growth capital) to address the relevance for start-ups and early stage businesses.