Maastricht University - Center for European Studies

What causes jetlag? Why do you feel like having a cup of soup? How come smokers are so hooked on their cigarettes? These and other questions are discussed during the course Body and Behavior. This course mainly studies biological explanations for behavior based on themes such as sexuality, eating and drinking, sleeping and waking, medication, movement, and addiction. Knowledge of the biological basis of behavior is essential for psychologists. The most important structure for explaining human behavior is our brain. However, establishing a link between electrical and neurochemical activities in our brain to behavior is no easy task. You need sound knowledge of neuroanatomy (how parts of the brain are in connection to one another), neurophysiology (how brain cells operate), and neurotransmission (how brain cells communicate). During the first few weeks of the course, special attention is paid to the (further) development of this basic knowledge. Students learn that knowledge of the biological basis of human behavior does not only come from research on humans, but also on animals. Finally, research methods used by psychologists to study the biological basis of behavior is touched upon. Today, psychologists are able to carefully study the structure and function of the brain using these methods. The most important methods are discussed and the pros and cons are compared.

The course is about Dutch art – with an emphasis on painting. Ever since the Middle Ages the Netherlands has played a pivotal role in the history of European art and culture. Dutch and Flemish artists were the first to use oil paints, the first to visually document the lives and cultures of ordinary people, and the first to produce art for a free market. Painters such as Van Eyck, Brueghel, Bosch, Rubens, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Mondriaan are counted among the great masters of history. Their art embodies qualities that are believed to be typical for the country, such as a devotion to truthfulness, attention to detail, and love of textures. But there were many more artists whose works are still considered among the most important in history – if only because they were the first to notice the mundane things nobody else had paid attention to, such as the beauty of a still-life or the wonders of a cloudy sky. From the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance and the Baroque to the modern era, Dutch artists have tried to come to terms with ever-changing principles and conceptions regarding the world around them and have been constantly improving techniques to visualize it. The results of their efforts are the subject of this course. The course mostly follows a chronological order. In the first lecture the (religious) significance of art in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Baroque are introduced. In the following lectures students are given an overview of the development of Dutch art from the Middle Ages to the modern era. The course includes field trips to various museums in Amsterdam, the Hague, or Arnhem to view the original works.

This course focuses on the major groups within the animal kingdom, what defines them, how they are organized and how they are related to each other. Students examine the specific adaptations of certain animals in more depth. The question "What is an animal?" is considered as is the issue of how animals are grouped and related to each other. This is done in the context of the major phyla, their defining morphological, anatomical and physiological features and the sorts of adaptations and behaviors that they exhibit. Students examine certain adaptations such as bright coloration, feeding or parental care in greater depth, using particular animal groups as a source of examples.

This course invites students to explore the history of the Netherlands and Belgium guided by literary texts reaching back to the seventeenth century and moving to the twentieth century (using English translations). From the fight for independence against Spanish oppression into the Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish culture when the Netherlands became a European superpower, through the changes of industrialization in the nineteenth century, on into the twentieth century with Modernism, Fascism, the German occupation in World War II and the ensuing times of the Cold War. The selected texts for this class, written by leading Dutch and Flemish authors and recognized as being part of World Literature, provide an authentic view of the history and culture of the “low countries” within the European context. Starting with Vondel and his dramatized discussion of cultural and religious struggles in the seventeenth century, followed by a portrait of Holland in the nineteenth century, the literary journey reaches the realms of decadence at the turn of the century. The turbulent events of the twentieth century and the effect they had on the “low countries” is then explored from Dutch and Flemish perspectives, including comic book-art, a movie viewing, the depiction of the Maastricht region in fiction and vice versa views from the United States with Williams Carlos Williams and Joseph Heller. Artistic concepts and writing styles from Symbolism to Post-modernism are central elements of the class discussion, together with the continuing presence of the Dutch and Flemish past. The class comes with a day-long academic field trip to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bruges in Belgium, exploring and tasting one of the European capitals of Decadence.

This course begins with an introduction to Bacteriology and Virology. The general principles of replication, classification, metabolism and antibiotic resistance of bacteria as well as the presence of bacteria in several organ systems and the composition of the indigenous flora are discussed. This is followed by a discussion of the general principles of replication, classification, and pathogenesis of viruses. Several aspects of bacteriology and virology are further discussed in the expert and tutorial group meetings, which include topics as HIV, Tuberculosis, and extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL). The following lectures coverinfectious diseases, outbreaks and resistance, and microbiological diagnostics. In these topics, both the bacterial and viral aspects are discussed. The last part of this course deals with genetically modified microorganisms, in which students gain insight in the purposes of modification and the tools that are available. In the Problem-Based Learning tutorial group linked to this part of the course, students design their own experiment.

The course discusses the principles of genetics with application to the study of biological function at the level of molecules, cells, and multicellular organisms, including humans. The topics include the structure and function of genes; chromosomes and genomes; biological variation resulting from replication and recombination, mutation and selection; DNA repair and the genetic basis of disease inheritance. The following topics are covered as well: the chemical structure of DNA and the molecular mechanisms of DNA replication; the basic principles how information stored in genes is converted to a (cellular) phenotype in the form of RNA and protein; the concepts of genome structure, comparative genomics, and functional genomics; the molecular basis of single gene inheritance (Mendel's first law), sex-linked single gene inheritance and, human pedigrees; the concepts of Darwin's theory of Natural Selection, molecular evolution, and the origin of new genes and species. The prerequisite course is Cell Biology.

This course provides students with detailed knowledge about the molecular processes in cell signaling and control of gene expression. Topics include: intracellular signaling pathways; chromatin structure and remodeling; recruitment and assembly of transcription factors; eukaryote mRNA synthesis, processing, modification, stability and translation; stem cells and reprogramming; and the culmination of the above factors that drive common complex human disease. The tutorials are partially in Problem Based Learning (PBL) and multiple-choice format, with exercises designed to provide a perspective of how cutting edge molecular biological techniques are applied to tackle major research questions in modern biomedical research. Students are acquainted with the best-characterized cell signaling mechanisms in eukaryotic cells, gene structure/function, and different gene regulatory mechanisms (chromatin remodeling and (post)transcriptional regulation) in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The course covers how molecular biology, when used in combination with other biological disciplines (e.g. biochemistry, genetics, imaging), can provide tools to understand (diagnostics) and intervene (therapy) in the cellular complexity of human disease. Prerequisites for this course are Cell Biology and Genetics.

This course is situated on the interplay between social, clinical, and forensic psychology. Next to the major models on the existence and maintenance of aggression, and both nature and nurture-related causes, the course focuses on the main expression forms, cultural influences, and pathological disorders related to aggression. The course addresses how aggression can be measured adequately and what the treatment options are. The course examines topics including reactive and proactive aggression; anger and hostility; pathological disorders related to aggression; the main models on aggression such as GAM and I-cubed model; nature and nurture related origins of aggression; treatment models available for aggression including like cognitive therapy, stop-think-do approaches, schema therapy, and EMDR; and assessment methods used to measure aggression.

The course invites students on an exciting literary and historical journey through the grand shifts of Europe in the twentieth century: from Great Britain’s crumbling class systems at the turn of the centuries to the French trenches of World War I and from there to the reactionary roaring twenties, the rise of fascism and Hitler’s claim to power in 1933, resulting in the horrors of the Holocaust. The course culminates at the shallows of the Cold War period, with its absurdities and the shadows of the past still lingering. The chosen texts for this class provide a trident of literary historical accounts: autobiographical, fictional, and historiographical. The course begins with a cultural, political, and physical view of fast-changing early-century Europe. It then moves to World War I and how that changed landscapes for civilians, soldiers, and the insider-outsider American expatriate community, most famously of Paris. During discussions of WWII and the Shoa, the focus is on the histories that have remained and the histories that have been lost since the war. This is discussed through the lens of those who documented (in the form of diaries), those who retold the stories as second-generation survivors, and those who didn’t have access to the stories of the horrors of the war, and therefore had to fill in the blanks themselves. The last chapter of the class discussion is devoted to the aftermath of Nazi terrors and the contradictions of living under Cold War conditions. During the seminars, students are encouraged to engage with the texts from a critical point of view: for example, what does a feminist reading of WWI literature look like? How do we de-colonialize our understanding of the Roaring Twenties? What histories have still gone untold in our existing Holocaust-literature canon? The class comes with a day-long academic field trip (specifics to be announced) that gives students the chance to experience some of the topics discussed in class.