University of London, Queen Mary

In this course, student learn to process XML (with XSLT and Java), to model data with XML (XML native, RDF), and to query XML data (XQuery). The course teaches many concepts of data modelling and knowledge representation that are beyond the syntactic issues of XML or RDF. The knowledge students acquire in the course is fundamental to the many data design and data analytics tasks occurring in todays IT and business landscapes. The second part of the course is dedicates to advanced DB concepts including active databases, mobile databases, spatial and temporal databases, triggers, performance tuning, distributed databases, and indexing and query optimization. The third part of the course covers the modern, agile world of data processing: NoSQL. It is about the processing of semi-structured data, transforming data streams into formats (triplets, JSON) to be processed by new DB systems (e.g. MongoDB, CouchDB). 

This course introduces the economic analysis of the labor market. It presents both traditional topics in the labor economics literature (e.g. demand, supply, human capital, discrimination and compensating wage differentials) as well as recent developments (e.g. early childhood education, migration, non-competitive labor markets and alternative work arrangements). The focus in the course are the fundamental models of labor economics, while basic empirical methods and empirical applications in contemporary labor economics are also discussed. Students apply the economic concepts to real world empirical problems.

This course provides a diverse cinematic palette, focusing on films, filmmaking formulations and new aspects of non-Anglophone cinemas from regions outside Europe and America. Course sessions cover multifaceted aspects of cinema creation, burgeoning film movements and industry dynamics whilst also studying established and emerging filmmakers. The broad geographic stretch is combined with a specific focus on the current cinematic terrain of countries including Chile, Argentina, Senegal and South Africa. The course also investigates recent and ongoing transformations, such as the magnified visibility of female filmmakers from the Middle East and the rise of new Indian Indie cinema as a competitor to Bollywood.

This course covers the fundamentals of game development in a multi-platform (consoles, PC, Web, and mobile devices) environment. The course focuses on development of 3D games, covering all aspects of game development: the game loop, math, physics, audio, graphics, input, animations, particle systems, and artificial intelligence. This course has a strong programming content, required for laboratories and assignments. The practical aspects are taught using a popular game development platform. 

This course provides an introduction to that most adaptable and global of literary forms: the short story. It explores stories from diverse cultures and traditions around the world, including Asia, Europe, and the Americas. By reading short stories from across the globe, students are also introduced to the idea of "world literature" and some of the debates surrounding this idea.

This course introduces theory and research in cognitive psychology, the study of the human mind and mental processes. Key theories and research in cognitive psychology are discussed, including visual and multi-modal perception, attention, memory, language, reasoning, and decision-making. Experiments and studies from classical and modern cognitive psychology are provided and discussed critically throughout to illustrate these concepts. This course demonstrates the essential role of that cognitive psychology plays in everyday life.

This course examines debates across the field of global ethics. It introduces students to frameworks for thinking about global moral questions concerning for example the global distribution of wealth, the appropriate meaning of human rights in a multicultural world, environmental sustainability, migration, development aid, conflict resolution, and transitional justice. Students are expected to evaluate different approaches to ethical judgment and apply them to real-world dilemmas.

This course is concerned primarily with computer graphics systems and in particular 3D computer graphics. It includes revision of fundamental raster algorithms such as polygon filling, and quickly moves onto the specification, modelling, and rendering of 3D scenes. The following topics may be covered: viewing in 2D, data structures for the representation of 3D polyhedra, viewing in 3D, visibility and hidden surface algorithms, illumination computations. Some attention will be paid to human perception of color and interactive 3D such as virtual reality.

This course explores madness and mental illness in recent and historical performance. It asks questions about how a society's constructions of madness are reflected in and produced by performance, and about the versions of subjectivity or selfhood that emerge when we play mad. The course is taught through practice-based case studies of ancient Greek, English Renaissance and 20th/21st century European texts and performances. It examines the versions of madness and mental illness produced in historical performance, and the ways in which these have been reinterpreted and rewritten to reflect current constructions and concerns of and about madness. It explores recent constructions of madness and its "treatment" on stage.

The 19th century saw the birth of many revolutionary artistic practices that transformed the visual culture of Europe. Industrialization, urbanization, and colonialism brought about a new social order, and artists responded by developing artistic styles that addressed society's modern values. This course explores artistic innovations in Britain and France including Impressionism, Pre-Raphalitism, and the invention of photography. By examining individual art objects and wider art historical themes, students see how new artistic styles responded to issues like class, gender, and race. This course makes use of the rich art collections on offer in London, with seminars taking place at Tate Britain and the National Gallery.