University of London, Royal Holloway

This course introduces students to the basic principles, methods, and techniques of AI to provide the foundations for more advanced courses in this area. It explores the approaches in the field by referring to the wider historical context in which the AI vision was set and will further motivate the content to be taught by presenting existing and potential applications. Topics include first principles, including the role of first-order logic for knowledge representation, computational reasoning and problem solving systems, the use of search as a capability for exploring alternative solutions, and how AI systems use knowledge to plan and learn from first principles. Students develop intelligent systems by assembling capabilities to concrete computational problems; understand the role of knowledge representation, problem solving, and learning in intelligent-system engineering; and appreciate the role of problem solving, in wide applications that require a basic understanding of human intelligence from a computational perspective.

This course sketches the emergence of modern India (and its neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal) from the mid-19th century to the present day. It explores iconic historical events such as the Great Mutiny of 1857, the Amritsar massacre, Gandhi's Salt March, the Partition of India into Pakistan and India, the Maoist revolution in Nepal, and the recent slide of the region into the grip of competing religious fundamentalisms.

This course examines the Arthurian romances of Chretien de Troyes, works by Chaucer, the Gawain-poet, and Sir Thomas Malory. It explores romances set in the mythical British past, in the classical cities of Troy, Thebes, and Athens, and in the more recognizable landscapes of medieval England and France. The course examines the often inventive and unpredictable ways in which medieval romance works to articulate specific historical and cultural anxieties.

This course analyzes emerging markets' commercial realities and national cultures within the context of a global economy (including Brazil, Lebanon, Nigeria, Venezuela, China, and India) . It examines family businesses in emerging markets, and innovation in and from emerging markets. The course provides students with the necessary analytical skills to assess emerging markets for potential entry. It also focuses on the opportunities and challenges that multinationals face when doing business and investing in emerging markets.

This course is designed for international students to help them develop an understanding of a new cultural setting. It explores aspects of contemporary Britain (20-21st century) revealed in newspaper articles, films, songs, documentaries, and scholarly texts. In classes and through coursework, students analyze these texts, and they acquire and practice study strategies that enable effective independent learning in a UK higher education environment.

 

This course covers criminological theory and key issues within the discipline. It draws on sociological, biological, and psychological perspectives as a way of understanding criminal behavior. The course examines issues such as drug use, organized crime, white collar crime, and terrorism.

This course covers the history, formal complexities, and cultural politics of the contemporary cinema in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In addition to examining contemporary Chinese cinemas, the course focuses on the following questions: How do recent films create the spectacle of China, narrate its history, and represent its contemporary realities? What makes a film Chinese? How are the parameters of Chinese cinemas determined in the era of increasing cross-cultural borrowing, multinational co-production, and international dissemination? How does the transnational constitution of Chinese cinemas call into question older paradigms of national cinema? How has Chinese cinemas become world cinema? Films discussed include CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON; RAISE THE RED LANTERN; FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE; and THE KILLER.

This course outlines the molecular tools currently available for the exploration of genetic diversity in a range of organisms, and for the genetic manipulation of micro-organisms, plants, and animals. It describes how genetically modified, transgenic organisms can be produced by a variety of transformation methodologies. The course examines the application of molecular genetic strategies in basic biological and biomedical research and in areas as diverse as crop improvement, pest management, vaccine development, microbial evolution, human inherited disease, and cancer.

This course examines modern British society, from the aftermath of WWII to the present. It examines significant changes that have taken place, including changing attitudes about identity, the role of the state in providing welfare, and the function and reach of education. These changes are examined in the context of significant cultural conflicts and challenges in the areas of leisure and pleasure, the famiy structure, social groupings, and crime. The course contrasts these changes with elements of deep-seated continuity, in the form of recurring patterns of ethnic, gender, class, and wealth inequalities.