University of Manchester

This course introduces students to key theoretical ideas about the growth, development, and change of urban areas. It is divided into two parts. The first part of the course provides an overview of the evolution of planning and development, with a focus on the UK from the 19th century to the 1980s. The second part of the course introduces a range of key concepts that are necessary for understanding contemporary cities, covering issues of modernist urban planning, deindustrialization, urban competitiveness, neoliberalism, urban regeneration, gentrification, creating spatial order in cities, and so on. Through discussing these topics, students develop an understanding of the evolution of urban planning and development approaches and the ability to analyze how economic, social, political, and environmental pressures shape patterns of land use in urban areas.

In this course basic principles of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry are discussed to develop an understanding of how these biological factors underlie human brain function. Topics include biological basis of emotion, motivation, stress, sleep, autistic, ADHD, and substance abuse disorders. Students become familiar with multidisciplinary methods of investigation through use of behavioral, computational, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging tools.

This course examines ideas of culture, ideology, and hegemony, discourse, media aesthetics, and digital convergence. Class discussions investigate the history of communications techniques, the implication of media in the workings of power in modern societies, the politics of media aesthetics, the role of audiences in shaping media, and the impact of digital technologies. Specific examples are introduced to clarify the main ideas, including the printing press, 19th-century visual entertainments, early and avant garde films, fan-fiction, and computer games.

This course explores the institutions and practices of international aid through the lens of development and humanitarian expertise. The course is structured around a visit in the last lecture from aid practitioners such as from the British Red Cross who discusses their work and how to get into the profession of development, humanitarianism, and other related careers. Students work in groups throughout the semester to prepare for this event, ultimately producing blog entries that showcase what they think anthropology can offer to understand humanitarian and development issues.