United Kingdom - England

In this inter-disciplinary course, (designed for students of geography, environmental science, ecology, and international development who have an interest in biodiversity and its conservation), students focus on the interactions between biodiversity and human societies. The course adopts a rigorous evidence-based approach. Students first critically examine the human drivers of biodiversity loss and the importance of biodiversity to human society, to understand how underlying perspectives and motivations influence approaches to conservation. They then examine conflicts between human society and conservation and how these potentially can be resolved, reviewing institutions and potential instruments for biodiversity conservation in both Europe and developing countries. 

This course introduces students to a selection of independent American films which are frequently overlooked by the dominant histories of American cinema. The films selected are chosen from a diverse range of American filmmakers from the 1960s to the present, and the course therefore hopes to provide an account of American film which reaches beyond the dominant Hollywood model. This leads to consideration of the divisions in American society and how these can be perceived through the work of independent filmmakers. 

This course introduces students to (1) the main disciplines which shape education, including sociology, philosophy, economics, history, and psychology, and the accounts they give of the relationships between education and social change; (2) the structures of formal education in the UK and the different conceptions of the value and purposes of education they represent; (3) how key stakeholders, such as policymakers, professional associations, teacher unions and employer bodies, have influenced the ways in which education is organized, for example, by raising the school leaving age, the introduction of a National Curriculum, or Academies; (4) the potential of education to create a more just and socially cohesive society, and what structural, organizational, and individual barriers help or hinder the realization of this vision; and (5) the role of educational theory and research in identifying and analyzing critical educational changes, using concepts such as, marketization, widening participation, social justice, and social inclusion.

This course explores the representation of revenge across a wide selection of literary texts, some of which are read in translation. Among the topics investigated are tensions between the vengeance of the individual and the operations of law, the moral and emotional transformation of the revenger, the haunting presence of the dead, and ideas about pollution and expiation. Starting with plays from the classical period which form an essential background to revenge tragedy of the 16th and 17th centuries, students study a range of tragedies, relating individual texts to dramatic ideas of genre, to traditions and conventions of stage representation, and to the historical contexts of the period. 

In this course, students evaluate the importance of sex and gender as relevant categories in politics, whether and how they give rise to inequalities and disadvantages, and what should be done about it. In so doing, they also ask how certain areas of life, which are traditionally considered to be entirely private and thus lying beyond the realm of political concern (such as family life) might also have important political ramifications. Students address these questions mainly from a normative perspective. They ask what, if anything, is wrong about gender representations and relations in our society and what, if anything at all, should be done about it.

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. 

The course introduces engineers and technologists to some of the techniques of foresight and scenario planning, including some of the many reasons why those techniques can fail. It is to give a rounded and nuanced view of the business environment into which technologies are introduced and some of the associated governance issues. This advanced course covers complex topics which are not suited to students with no prior knowledge of subjects related to the field.

 

The course introduces students to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) using both the current industry standard software, and the increasing number of web-based geographical tools. The course provides a theoretical background that enables students to look critically at the subject while providing them with practical skills in using these tools. Students gain direct experience of a range of data collection, data capture, database, analytical, and visualization techniques.

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practices of economic policy-making. To understand economic policy-making, students take an economic as well as a political perspective. Students focus on the rationale behind economic policies, and seek to understand major changes in economic policy, and variation in policies across countries. Students also look at individual preferences for these policies, and their implications for the policy-making process. In the process, the course covers areas such as economic liberalization, financial regulation, labor market policies, and policies of poverty reduction and social insurance. The course takes an empirical and comparative approach, and its focus is generic, though most of the literature is concerned with policy-making in EU and OECD countries. 

The course provides an introduction to modern materials chemistry, covering both inorganic materials and organic polymers. Models of bonding and structure in the solid state are developed and linked to functionality of the materials themselves. Synthetic and characterization methods are discussed. Students learn about current challenges in materials chemistry, and how to design materials to overcome them.