United Kingdom - England

This course provides an introduction to basic political theory, a history of international politics and global governance, and to the structure of the global political economy. Students are given an opportunity to learn about the actors, structures, and politics of global health governance and international health policy. This includes global actors such as WHO, the Gates Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria; as well as the role of civil society organizations and social movements in promoting global health equity. With these basic building blocks in place, the course examines the following contemporary health issues through a social and political lens: health financing and health sector reform; global pandemic threats and the securitization of health; the effects of armed conflict on health; and the influence of trade and business on health. The course also examines health inequalities within the local area of East London - a part of London which includes both some of the most deprived households in the country, as well as one of the biggest financial and banking hubs in the world. This includes a field trip, as well as a global health "treasure hunt" in the British Museum.

This course explores microsociological theories of the self, social identity, and social interaction, drawing particularly on Symbolic Interactionism and Goffman's dramaturgical theory. It shows how the ostensibly private world of individual selfhood is created and shaped by social processes, culture, and interaction order.

This course explores some of the historical roots and key debates of different religions and some of the contemporary issues they face. The course provides introductory groundings to various religious traditions, which may include Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Students explore ways in which these traditions have been defined and understood, both internally and externally, and how they have interacted in key historical moments and present-day contexts. This course may include a trip to a London religious site or other relevant neighborhood setting, a museum, gallery, or library. 

This course introduces students to a wide range of texts (literary, visual, and academic), concepts, ideas, theories, and practices, both historical and contemporary, and the skills they need to analyze them. The course is divided into two 5-week blocks, devoted respectively to reading literary texts, visual cultures, cultural theory and politics, and linguistics. 

What does the future world of work look like? This course critically evaluates contemporary trends in the changing world of work. The course focuses on these trends with a view to understanding their implications for work, employment, and society. Some issues explored in this course are automation and AI, emotional labor, flexible working, the platform economy, climate change, regulation and the role of the state, and globalization. 

This course considers specific cognitive functions and properties of the human mind. The material covers perception, attentional processes, language and knowledge representation, memory mechanisms, problem-solving and expertise, and the relationships and links between processes. Studies from classical and modern cognitive psychology are provided throughout.

This course provides a broad outline for the processes of change which led from the introduction of farming to the metal producing societies of the Bronze Age in Europe. Students discuss the different explanatory frameworks offered for the introduction and spread of the Neolithic economy and the formation of early stratified societies. The course discusses the changing definitions of the Neolithic, looks at the Mesolithic background, follows the introduction of farming in the Aegean, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, central and Northern Europe, the lake shore settlements of Central Europe, Megalithic monuments, the Tells of Southern Europe, the settlement of the steppe, the first metals, the inventions of charts, and the Bell Beaker network.