University College London

This course critically explores the history and current state of political geography and geopolitics and examines empirical issues from the vantage point of the spatiality and materiality of politics and power. The course develops the complementary insights that politics and power are fundamentally spatial, that geographical phenomena have political dimensions and implications, and that geographic space is infused with both power and political potential.

Our strength of beliefs influence our decision making. But how should we measure strength of belief, and what rational constraints are there on one's strength of belief? How should one's strengths of belief change in response to evidence? And how exactly ought one's strength of beliefs feed through into rational decision making? These are the central questions that students tackle in this course, where they are introduced to the probabilistic representation of strength of belief, arguments for the rationality of probabilistic degrees of belief, arguments for various rational constraints on those beliefs - including constraints concerning belief updates in response to evidence - and to decision theory.

This course helps students understand how business regulation operates in domestic and global contexts. Students examine the foundational reasons for why government intervenes in market economies, as well as how regulatory agencies are designed, created, and maintained.  Students look closely at the nature of regulatory standards and how they are shaped, and they examine how business organizations understand and comply with regulations.  Additionally, students examine environmental regulatory tools, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade programs to understand how they are designed and how effective they are in reducing the incidence of pollution.  Finally, on the domestic front, students learn about regulating innovation and technological challenges, such as artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and social media on tech platforms.  

This course introduces Greek art and architecture in the period 2500-50 BC. In the context of abroad chronological survey, the focus is on three main themes: the relationship between Greek art and society; addressing current problems in Greek art history, reception of Greek art and contemporary society; and extensive training in visual analysis and the different lenses to look at Greek art. Through images, videos, and 3D models, but also through museum visits to the British Museum, students engage in detailed and in-depth object analyses and discussions.

This course provides an understanding of key issues and applied methodologies relating to management accounting frameworks used by managers when faced with making financial decisions in the context of the business environment. The focus is on information for cost management, budgetary control, and short and longer term financial decision making. It examines the blend of financial analysis and managerial judgment required to make sound decisions. In particular there is an emphasis on issues in overhead cost recovery; contribution costing and CVP analysis; costing issues in the context of a competitive environment, including activity based costing (ABC); relevant costs for decision making; core investment appraisal techniques (ARR, Payback, NPV and IRR); budgetary control, variance analysis, and standard costing.

Authoritarian populist parties hold power in Hungary and Poland and have gained significant support in countries as diverse as France, Italy, and Germany. But what is populism? Is it part of a historical trend or is it markedly new? Does populism speak for "the people" or is it a danger to democracy? Is the rise of populism irresistible or can liberal democracies react to this challenge? The course takes a look at competing ideas of populism before evaluating the causes of the recent growth of populism in Europe and the United States. The course analyzes explanations which highlight economic causes, cultural backlash, and elite manipulation. The course concludes by looking at strategies which liberal democracies might use to respond to populism.

This course gives an introduction to different forms of storytelling, exploring the origins and evolution of fairy tales with a focus on contemporary retellings. A variety of fairy tales are examined, ranging from ancient myths and medieval storytelling tradition to Disney’s adaptations and TV series such as ONCE UPON A TIME and GRIMM. The course introduces students to different literary genres, such as children’s literature (by looking into how children’s novels such as ALICE IN WONDERLAND and THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO have been retold) and graphic novel studies. Students learn different approaches of literary analysis, such as comparative criticism and psychoanalysis. The course includes excursions to relevant exhibitions and interactive workshops on storytelling.