United Kingdom - England

The course looks at world cinema's origins and some of its more celebrated manifestations from the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, paying particular attention to the circulation of world cinema in the era of globalization. As world cinema is marketed and consumed as a hybrid form, a fusion of the national and the international, the local and the global, students consider how, for example, China's Fifth Generation and the New Iranian cinemas of the 1980s and 1990s explored ethnically specific cultures in ways that made them (and their makers) exportable and desirable abroad. 

This course surveys the history of British cinema across six decades, from the medium's origins in the 1890s to the end of the 1950s. Students will examine a wide variety of British films and genres from this period and learn to identify major trends and moments in the history of British film production, distribution, and exhibition, while investigating the ties between British cinema and Empire history. It encourages students to read such history within the broader context of the cultural debates and institutions (such as the British Film Institute) that have helped define British national cinema in this period. 

The Nordic countries have often been regarded as model societies, famous for their high levels of economic prosperity, social equality, and political stability. Students discuss the historical roots of this distinctive Nordic experience and how it has changed since the end of the Cold War, as the Nordic countries have needed to adopt to new regional, Europewide, and global developments. The historical introduction is followed by a thematic examination of contemporary Nordic societies in a comparative perspective, looking at the varied legacies of the Nordic model. Topics include Nordic foreign and security policy, domestic politics and the rise of the populist right, immigration and integration, crime and justice, gender equality, environmentalism and Nordic co-operation. It should be noted that a focus on the Nordic countries also provides a new perspective on some of the most important developments affecting the whole of Europe over the last 30 years. 

This course offers a critical introduction to United States history from the end of World War I to the present day. It is made up of four thematic sections which focus on: the state and political development; gender and sexuality; the US and the world; and race and ethnicity. The course focuses on historiographical questions that occupy scholars and interrogate change and continuity in political and social ideology during the 20th and 21st centuries. 

The course examines the peculiar nature of early modern English crime, law, and punishment through its recent historiography, testing arguments about social control, the use of evidence, levels of violence, and changing patterns of crime. From the level of state-building down to the pettiest transgressions, students will see the law in action and follow the people in court.

The course introduces students to some overarching questions associated with literary, artistic, and intellectual culture in medieval and Renaissance Italy, and will provide them with some of the linguistic and analytical tools and terminology for approaching literary and visual texts from these earlier periods. The course thus develops broader critical skills as well as prepares students for specific medieval and Renaissance cultural studies.

This course provides a comparative introduction to the topic of political authoritarianism. Authoritarianism, understood as non-democratic governance, is one of the main scourges of modern politics. Though there was a wave of democratization following the collapse of the Soviet Union, authoritarianism has persisted in numerous guises, including the semi-authoritarian regimes that have developed in many of the so-called "democratizing" states. In gaining an understanding of contemporary authoritarianism, students will develop a more nuanced appreciation of the variety of different ways in which power can be exercised. 

In a globalized world, fostering cultural competency is essential for success in any profession and trade that values the diversity of people and their cultures. This course draws on evidence-informed techniques to develop students' cultural competency, focusing on their knowledge and understanding, their awareness and sensitivity, your skills and interaction, and your leadership and management capability. Students are introduced to a range of disciplinary methods that are ideally placed to help them develop specific domains of cultural competency. The teaching is delivered by a wide range of methodological experts from across the College. Learning is dynamic and interactive, and focused on how to make positive changes at the interpersonal, team, institutional/structural and systemic levels. 

This course introduces students into the riches of the Greek literary tradition. It is for students coming to university without any background knowledge of ancient literature and offers a chronologically laid out, broad survey of periods, genres and best known authors of Greek literature and thought. Although the broad conceptual categories of “socio-cultural context” and generic expectations define the overall intellectual tone of this course, extracts from the texts are woven into lectures to whet the students' appetite to continue with further reading of their own. No previous knowledge of ancient Greek/Latin literature and philosophy is assumed and all texts underpinning the teaching of this course can be studied in English translation.

This course equips students with a thorough understanding of the causes and consequences of brain damage in humans. It provides knowledge on how the study of individuals with brain damage can lead to a better understanding of human brain function, and it educates students on the core ideas of recovery and neuro-rehabilitation.