University of London, Queen Mary

This course examines Anglo-American relations from 1939-1991 and analyses the nature of the special relationship from historical and political perspectives. Set within the rich historiography of this subject, the course considers how US and UK governments responded to major events in world history from 1939 to 1991. Throughout, particular reference are made to Anglo-American relations in the political, diplomatic, economic, defense, and intelligence arenas and to the importance of personalities in strengthening and weakening the alliance. Students reflect on UK and US social, cultural, and political values in the context of international relations, and develop an understanding of ethical and political issues arising from modes of representation.

This course examines how environmental challenges have been, and continue to be, shaped by empire. These impacts affect how Earth's history, the biosphere, and the climate are known, and extend to both extractive technologies and financial relationships that enable extraction. But the effects of empire run deeper, to the very way the environment is understood. Using London as a launchpad for field trips and firsthand encounters, this course challenges students to rethink how ideas of the planet’s past, present, and future are shaped by empire. Students examine how empire has shaped, and continues to shape, environmental knowledge; explore sites and spaces of empire, such as where the material markers of scientific knowledge persist in advancing ways of knowing and relating to the environment today; investigate how contemporary modes of extraction maintain links to the legacies of empire, such as in and through financial activities; are provided with concrete analytical skills for situating contemporary challenges in historical context; and are encouraged to engage critically and thoughtfully with how environmental thought, and baselines for assessing environmental impacts, have been influenced by the data collected through empire.

This course offers students an opportunity to put theory into practice, cultivating a sense of the history and theory of documentary film alongside the chance to make their own short non-fiction film. The theory part of the course charts the historical development of documentary through the examination of films ranging from the early 20th century to the present day, with the focus on issues of truth, ethics, technique, and creativity. The practical part of the course supports them to create and complete their own short documentary film. Four key issues are central to the course: 1) locating the truth one wants to convey; 2) adherence to an ethical code during film production; 3) engaging with storytelling, exposition, visual, and structuring techniques, including considering how meaning is made in post-production, and 4) exploring creative formal approaches appropriate to the film.

This course suggests that the lyrics of Taylor Swift can and should be read as literature. In doing so, the course pays close attention to formal elements such as rhyme and word choice. The course also analyzes her songs with the help of key texts in critical theory and discuss the political, national, and historical contexts of her work. Queen Mary's London setting encourages students to pay particular attention to the way in which the UK, and London in particular, figures in Swift's lyrics. 

This course provides a broad overview of psychiatric practice in Britain from the beginning of state-regulated asylums through to the advent of current policies of pharmaceutical treatment and community care. Using a mixture of secondary sources and primary texts, students examine how the diagnosis and treatment of madness has been shaped through the rich interaction of social, scientific, political, economic, and cultural factors. Students evaluate approaches to the concept of "madness" from historical, psychiatric, psychoanalytical, sociological, and legal perspectives, and demonstrate how techniques from each disciplinary approach can be applied to a study of identity and human behavior.

This course is for students with either no or very little previous knowledge of the French language. It provides students with a sound knowledge of essential French grammar and vocabulary and develops the four key language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It presents and covers all the basic elements of the French language, including its pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. The course is well balanced between the presentation of the main grammatical concepts by the tutor in seminars and by activity-based, mixed-skills classes which incorporate oral expression and comprehension as well as reading comprehension and written expression. Translation is also used from time to time as a way to practice grammar in context and to expand one's lexis.