University College London

The course provides students with an introduction to the major ancient genre of comedy and will enable them to understand Greek comedy both in its historical context and as a timeless example of the importance of comedy. General and thematic topics may include the origins of comedy and its ritual context; the dramatic festivals of Athens; the staging and performance of comedy (including evidence from archaeology and vase-painting); the development of the genre; the travesty of myth in comedy; the nature of humor; the role of abuse and obscenity; self-referentiality, parody, intertextuality and allusion; plot-construction and characterization; audience-reception and dramatic illusion; and the function of the chorus.

This course offers an introduction to network science and its major applications within economics. It provides an introduction to the fundamentals of graph theory; develops an understanding of the main network effects; imparts an ability to recognizes and analyzes how networks affect market behavior; illustrates some widely used concepts for the evaluation of networks.

The course is an introduction to the study of Greek mythology in its literary, social, historical, and philosophical context. It introduces students to leading concepts and persons of Greek mythology, which form an important foundation of Greek art, literature, and ideas. Everyone is fascinated by Greek myths: but how did these extraordinary stories arise? What was their purpose? Did the Greeks really believe them and what are our sources for them? What is the connection between myth, society and politics? What is the relationship between mythical texts and myth in art? This course looks at a range of Greek myths and suggests some answers to these questions. 

This course introduces students to the study of the neurobiology of behavior. It consists of five parts. Part 1: “Historical Perspectives, Neurons, Neuroanatomy and Methods” introduces foundational ideas that are built on in subsequent lectures. Part 2: “Sensory and Motor Systems” introduces core ideas and experiments in the study of sensation and action. For example, describing the visual and other sensory processing streams and how the motor system works, including the operation of ‘mirror neurons’ that respond during observation of a movement and making the movement. Part 3: “Emotion, Stress and Social Behavior” covers these topics at the large-scale population level to specific neural circuits. Part 4: “Learning and Memory” explore research examining how we and other animals remember the past and learn new information. Part 5: "Disorders and the Prefrontal Cortex" covers research on neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder, and concludes with the role of the prefrontal cortex in controlling behavior. 

The course introduces students to the hieroglyphic script and familiarizes them with a basic working vocabulary of Ancient Egyptian language. It focuses on classical Middle Egyptian which remained in use from ca. 2000 BCE through to the Roman period. The course provides training in the fundamentals of Middle Egyptian grammar, the mechanics of Egyptological transliteration, and the translation of monumental inscriptions and simple texts. The archaeological context of inscriptions is considered where appropriate.

This course discusses migration by situating it within broader social and economic context. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of human mobility, it conceives of migration as an intrinsic part of broader processes of economic and social change a, instead of as a "problem to be solved." Drawing on empirical and theoretical work, this course considers some contradictions and continuities in the way migration has been understood in social science scholarship. Students explore how migration impacts the economy and society, including some implications from a public health perspective. This course encourages students to critically assess migration not merely as an isolated phenomenon, but as an integral aspect of complex global flows of capital, labor, and cultural exchange. 

The course introduces students to the main currents of modern European drama and theatre by providing an in-depth analysis of twelve most representative plays by Henrik Ibsen, A. P. Chekhov, Luigi Pirandello, Bertolt Brecht, Witold Gombrowicz, Jean Genet, Max Frisch, Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard. Students acquire knowledge of advanced methods of drama analysis and enhance their skills in drama and theatre analysis.