Utrecht University – University College Utrecht

Our contemporary world is deeply permeated with media and new technologies that inherently influence the way we communicate, transfer knowledge, exchange information, offer representations, and experience reality and its possible imaginaries. This course traces the development of such media technologies (print media, telephony, radio, television, film, internet, mobiles, games) and accounts for their historical transformations while focusing on their intermedial character and their relation to other arts (literature, photography, performing arts, painting, architecture, music). The course takes into account archeological and philosophical notions of media and how new forms of communication exert social, cultural, and political influences in a global context. In particular, the course addresses fandom and popular culture, gender and race in networked spaces, convergence culture, intellectual property, the role and function of social networks in the redefinition of the public sphere, notions of citizenship and democracy, and the future of digital humanities.

This course provides an overview of long-term developments in the world economy and reviews how the theoretical insights of social scientists help us to understand world history better. The main emphasis is on understanding the two main problems of social and economic history: what are the origins and drivers of economic growth, and why does that process result in wide disparities in wealth?  Students independently carry out a research project and acquire skills relating to social and economic historians, for example, source criticism, and working with data and theory.

In the course, Latin is taught from scratch. The course covers the largest part of Latin grammar and syntax, except for the tense system and some advanced topics, such as the subjunctive and the gerund(ive). Hearing, speaking and writing Latin, all on an elementary level, are an integral part of the course. Attention is also paid to cultural aspects of Roman civilization, such as the Roman family, slavery, the geography of the Roman empire, mythology, and Roman education.

This course provides students with an introduction to law. It starts with the basic concepts of law, the actors in the field of law, and the different sources of law. The difference between common law and civil law is also discussed to provide a better understanding of the different traditions in Western jurisdictions. After this introduction, different fields of law are briefly discussed, illustrated with examples taken from cases. The second part of the course focuses on the rule of law, legal philosophy, and legal reasoning.  Then the relation between national law, regional law (i.e., European Law), and international law are discussed. In the last two lectures, students take the role of decision-maker to experience the application of law in practice and what kind of predicaments one might encounter.

Country of tulips, windmills, bicycles, and canals, with friendly and open-minded people. There must be more to the Netherlands than is being suggested by such stereotypical images. This course explores peculiarities, intricacies, and dynamics of Dutch culture and society in a global context.
The course provides various perspectives on contemporary Dutch society and culture, discusses themes such as national identity, toleration, ethnic diversity, and the echo's of two world wars in the previous century. Each theme is presented within a historical dimension and includes case studies from Dutch literature, architecture, film, or painting. With reference to the concept of "cultural memory", narratives about the past featuring in today’s realities are explored. The course is designed for international exchange students, to familiarize them with Dutch society and culture as they find it during their stay in the Netherlands.

This course examines how the tragic worldview is expressed in the great dramas of Greek antiquity, such as Aeschylus’ Prometheus, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Antigone and Euripides’ Bacchae.  Attention is paid – through the study of the Old Testament book of Job and Marlowe’s Faust – to the continuing importance of the tragic worldview in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Finally, after exploring the political and philosophical conditions that caused the ever-decreasing importance of tragic modes of thought in modern times, the course turns to the remarkable new meaning the tragic legacy of the Greeks took on at the end of the nineteenth century. Through Friedrich Nietzsche’s mightily influential The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music and a series of important works it inspired, it will be shown how the tragic worldview of the Greeks inspired artists to reject the dogmatism of reason and to find beauty, happiness, and truth in the irrational, subconscious and at times dark recesses of the human soul.

This beginning Dutch language course covers both Dutch language and culture. The language part of the course helps to develop the basic skills and strategies necessary to successfully handle uncomplicated oral and written communication skills. These may occur in a variety of social situations one could encounter in daily life in the Netherlands. The main purpose of the culture and society part of the classes is to provide a basic understanding of present-day Dutch society and culture. Attention is given to various issues pertaining to Dutch culture and society today. Through culture presentations covering the culture of the Netherlands and the Dutch given by the students themselves and group discussions, students learn to understand mainly the inside perspective, in other words the Dutch way of approaching and discussing cultural and society issues. After completing this course students are able to orally communicate and understand uncomplicated speech about various topics beyond the most immediate needs; engage in basic conversation about a variety of topics such as personal history, personal experiences, study, and university life; and participate in simple conversations. After completing this course students are able to communicate and read written communication in simple texts in various general domains; and write in an uncomplicated form on a variety of familiar topics, personal topics, general events, and concrete descriptions.