University of Sussex

This course provides an overview of what has changed (and what has not) in British society and culture since the early nineteenth century. It does not attempt to be comprehensive, but rather uses historical debates to provide a context to questions which remain highly pertinent in Britain today.  Why does Britain, uniquely in Europe, still have a monarchy?  Why is social class still such an important aspect of how the British see themselves? Why have statues of nineteenth-century imperial figures become a source of such violent controversy since the emergence of the BLM? In what ways has ‘Brexit’ revealed Britain’s difficulty to confront its national decline over the last hundred years?  How might movements for racial and social justice in contemporary Britain work within a specific British radical paradigm?  All these questions can only be answered if we address the last two centuries of British history, confronting the longer-term patterns of continuity and change which are still playing out in a nation which struggles to confront both its past and its present. Specific topics covered include: aristocracy and monarchy since 1800; nineteenth and twentieth century movements for social change; advocates and critics of the British empire; explanations for British ‘decline’ in the twentieth century; gender and sexuality, 1800-1914; youth and popular culture since the 1930s.

The course introduces students to literature and debates in the fields of the anthropology of geopolitics and the anthropology of diplomacy. It explores historical expressions of geopolitical projects and processes, focusing on the spatial, cultural, political, and social characteristics of these, the experiences of societies living in contexts shaped by geopolitical processes across the world, and the forms of informal diplomacy that are also an important aspect of the contemporary world (dis)order.

In the discipline of International Relations, there are different perspectives on how and why war occurs. This course takes students through different perspectives on different conflicts, from interstate war to civil war to insurgencies and beyond. Students also consider some developments in warfare – for example the introduction of drones or the violent potential of cyberattacks – and how these affect war.

In this course, students look at the interaction between linguistics and the law and more specifically they focus on the face-threatening strategies of deception, manipulation, and aggression. This is a practical course in which students study the ways that linguistics can be applied in non-academic contexts. Students start by examining the role of the linguist as an expert witness in the legal system and in this section they focus on the use of stylistics in investigating disputed authorship, for instance in missing person cases. Students also examine and evaluate research into linguistic markers of deception.

This course examines the nature of the operating environment for international business today.  Students review the scale, scope, and trends in international business activity and evaluate the various methods that firms can use to assess, enter, and develop non-domestic markets. Students consider the relevance of factors such as culture, psychic distance, host and home country perspectives, and "green" issues on the organization and management of international business. Emphasis is placed on the business environment in key regions of the world, notably the European Union, North America, East and SE Asia and the transition economies of East and Central Europe. Finally, students examine the impact of the evolving world economy, regional integration and globalization on today's international firm.

The course is to introduce students to project management – as a concept, a practice, a skill and a key management resource in achieving organizational strategy and implementing change in organizations. This course focuses on planning and implementing projects that impact organizations, their strategic goals and their operations through business technologies. It also equips students with core knowledge about business technologies, which feature in a majority of graduate roles, along with confidence and skills to learn about these when students encounter them.

The course covers the fundamental principles of medical imaging, including the basics of the 4 major medical imaging methods: Ultrasound, X-Ray CT, PET, and MRI. The focus is on MRI and how it is used to capture the anatomy and function of the human brain. The course also provides hands-on experience with acquiring brain images using a 3T MRI scanner. Students learn how to process and characterize MRI images from healthy volunteers. Functional MRI (fMRI) data is used to learn the basics of statistical analysis used in neuroscience research. Students have the opportunity to interact with the MRI team and also with clinicians and neuroscientists who use the MRI for research.

This course explores diverse aspects of death and dying. It encompasses history, the arts, the impact of technology, anthropological perspectives, social policy, and key theories. Underpinning the course is the permission to discuss a subject normally viewed as "depressing" or even "contagious" in an open – and even fun – way. This challenges taboos and creates space to explore a wide range of aspects, from the mundane to the bizarre.

In this course, students engage with fundamental principles of sound creation and manipulation though exploration of sound design practices in a range of contexts including game sound, virtual reality and other interactive media, film, TV, radio, theater, and live sound applications. By examining the work of influential sound design practitioners, students explore sound design methodologies and techniques. This includes field recording, synthesis, multichannel spatialization, Foley, and the manipulation of sound recordings using DAWs and analog recording devices to achieve a desired aesthetic.

In this course, students address the wider business and project management issues that affect the technological and engineering environment. Some of these issues include the business environment; principles of strategic management; portfolio, program, and project management; quality and control; organizational structure; cultural issues; and governance of project-based organizations and international projects.