University College London

This course provides a thorough grounding in current themes and debates in Environmental Anthropology in the present period of accelerated environmental and climatic change that has been termed the Anthropocene. The course introduces a range of ideas and approaches, both historical and contemporary, in the anthropological study and theorization of human-environmental relationships. Students receive a detailed introduction to the field of Environmental Anthropology, and its place within the history of the discipline of Anthropology. The course explores classical approaches such as cultural ecology and ecological anthropology, before moving on to broach more contemporary approaches including environmental anthropology, political ecology, and the anthropology of nature, as well as recent attempts to incorporate nonhuman actors into anthropological analysis in more experimental ways. 

This course provides an introduction to the study of International Political Economy (IPE). IPE is a field of research that combines the study of politics and economics, exploring both domestic and international factors that impact preferences, behaviors, and policies relating to economic globalization. The course covers major topics of inquiry within IPE such as the politics and policies relating to international trade, international investment, and international finance. Students are introduced to theoretical and empirical research analyzing each topic covered. 

This course introduces students to the key ideas in the study of language in society, with a focus on sociolinguistic phenomena which are observable in London. The course takes a survey approach, ensuring that the breadth of sociolinguistic scholarship is explored. The course is research driven, and students are exposed to the range of methodologies used in the discipline; students have the chance to carry out a project on dialectology and language attitudes within class sessions, and are taken a field trip to photograph the linguistic landscape in Brick Lane, China Town, and Camden. 

The ability to communicate scientific information well is important if one is to disseminate scientific ideas clearly and accurately. Scientific communication involves more than just writing. It also involves the ability to read, analyze, understand, and critique scientific subject matter in a knowing way, at an appropriate depth and breadth, and with an appropriate style for an intended audience. Within this broad context, this course guides students through writing a scientific research paper, as applied to the physical sciences, for an audience of their peers. Students write about one real physical phenomenon such as one of Hooke’s law, Torricelli’s law, projectile motion, the behavior of a pendulum, or some other suitable phenomenon. Such investigation is supported by simulations and/or practical experiments.

This introductory course provides a comprehensive introduction to digital research for students from a range of backgrounds. Through a variety of interactive sessions students develop an understanding of the key principles of Open Science and Scholarship, the importance of reproducibility and methods for managing research projects. The course serves as a platform for students to undertake digitally enabled research projects.

This course analyzes developments in Russian literature after Stalinism, covering major literary texts and events in Russian cultural history from 1953 to the present, with a brief look at the period immediately preceding the post-Stalin era. Each week is devoted to a particular text or author, but certain themes recur throughout the course, including: emigration and exile; the boundaries between published and unpublished literature; experimentations in literary form; the effects of ideological and political change on literary production; and writers’ involvement in (or withdrawal from) politics.

The course introduces students to the main theories and concepts in International Relations. In particular, this course covers debates such as liberalism, (neo)realism, Marxism and critical theory, constructivism and new-constructivism, gender and IR, postcolonial approaches to IR, ethics in IR, and the role of theory in IR.

Throughout history, representations of the Apocalypse or "end of the world" have evolved with the times, reflecting the changes occurring in the natural world, societies, politics, and beliefs, as well as our understanding of the world and of our place within. Taken individually, each of these stories or images mirror a society at a specific time but, together, they also illustrate the evolution of our thought-systems, philosophies, moral values, and spiritualities. Today, at a time when global environmental and health concerns are growing, and in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, apocalyptic representations are still permeating many discourses, from the arts to politics and economics, from gender to science, AI and the physical world. Using the exciting perspectives opened by the theory of the Anthropocene, this course presents an overview of some of the original apocalyptic tales, and the work of key artists of Western apocalyptic fiction, art, and architecture.

This course explores the relationships between science, technology, and democracy, and the changing role of the State in science and technology (S&T) in our societies. Students explore science and technology policy issues and look at wider challenges, such as efforts to improve public engagement in decisions about science and technology, initiatives to encourage more responsible research and innovation, and debates about the apparent rise in fraud and misconduct in science and concerns on the part of some scientists that many published scientific findings may be false. The issues explored in this course are critical to citizenship in a modern science and technology-based democracy. 

Mental disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia, are prevalent across the globe, significantly impacting individuals and communities. This course explores both the understanding of mental disorders and the psychological treatments used to address them. The first half of the course introduces students to the clinical presentation, etiology, and diagnostic frameworks of various mental disorders, and these disorders are examined through multiple perspectives, including developmental, sociocultural, neurobiological, and psychodynamic approaches. The second half of the course explores a range of psychological treatments, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic Therapy, Humanistic Therapy, and other therapeutic approaches, focusing on their application to specific mental health conditions. Importantly, this course involves research methods in psychology, mental health, and psychotherapy.