University College London

In this course, students study econometric methods to analyze individual-level data (microdata). The course starts by studying core policy evaluation methods, then covers various extensions, and finally reviews limited dependent variable models. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on (a) agents’ choice and selection into treatment, and (b) heterogeneities in treatment impact. Related to these keywords, the lectures answer the following questions: What are appropriate econometric techniques to measure policy impact when assignment to the policy (treatment) is not random? What is the econometric framework to measure policy impact when the policy impact is heterogeneous among the individuals?

Many current philosophical discussions, both in practical and theoretical philosophy, center around the explanation of normativity. This course focuses primarily on practical normativity, starting with the crucial concept of a normative reason and then look into a number of different topics, e.g. values and reasons; reasons for attitudes and the wrong kind of reasons; and normative powers and voluntary obligations.

This course explores why and when Russian policymakers consider military interventions necessary; how they are presented as legitimate and justifiable. It investigates the widespread beliefs and ideas among the Russian political elite associated with intervention, state sovereignty, and the role of the West.

This course examines how international factors influence the economic policies of developing countries. Students evaluate different theoretical debates, with an emphasis on how cross-border flows – such as goods, capital, production, people, and pollution – influence economic policymaking in developing regions. They address several themes that are central to understanding the politics of economic policymaking in emerging economies, including, the legacies of colonialism, trade protectionism and liberalization, globalization and the race to the bottom, the role of the state in development, and the influence of international organizations on developing countries.

This course examines the sweeping changes in religious life in Europe between the late Middle Ages and the 17th century. It concentrates on the upheavals associated with the Protestant and Catholic Reformations (the latter known also as the Counter-Reformation), but places these in a much broader context, examining the role of religion in the social, cultural, and political world of early modern Europe. The course does not treat religious issues solely in theological or ecclesiastic terms, but also in terms of piety – the "varieties of religious experience" Europeans had, and community – the social and spiritual bonds formed by religion. It pays attention to the "common folk" as much as to famous leaders, and looks for long-term shifts behind the era’s revolutionary events

This course focuses on how race and ethnicity have been conceptualized over time, putting them into historical and contemporary context. It explores how race and ethnicity intersect with other social structures such as gender, class, and religion that affect advantages and disadvantages, inclusions and exclusions, and the ways individuals and groups challenge racialized and ethnicized inequalities. 

This course tackles a central political and social issue of our times: the role of emotions such as hatred, anger, patriotism, shame, and offence in our politics and society. Students investigate questions such as, what is the social and moral value – or disvalue – of these emotions? When are these instrumentally beneficial, and when are they corrosive of our democratic culture or society? Informed by contemporary work in psychology, ethics, feminist philosophy, and political philosophy, this course explores a range of emotions. 

A broad-sweep survey across of Greek literature. All readings are in translation. Topics included vary slightly from year to year. Authors and genres covered may include the following: Homer; lyric poetry; Herodotus and Thucydides; Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides; Aristophanes; Plato and Aristotle; Hellenistic poetry; and ancient prose fiction. The course provides basic information and a chronological and thematic framework and is intended as an introduction to ancient Greek literature and theoretical approaches to literature. 

This course deals with some of Aristotle’s most influential ideas. Students begin with one of his ethical works, the NICOMACHEAN ETHICS, and then move on to his metaphysics in the CATEGORIES. Students then look at Aristotle’s ideas about nature, causation, the infinite, place, and self-motion in his PHYSICS. Throughout the course, students consider questions of interpretation, try to understand how Aristotle’s ideas fit together and engage with his views and arguments critically.

This course starts with a historical overview of computer simulations in science and engineering and an introduction to the challenges and opportunities in connecting simulations, theory, and experiments. Students address the core concepts essential to understand and interpret computer simulations in science and engineering, including the fundamentals of statistical physics, interaction potentials, Monte Carlo simulations, equation-based simulations, and the concept of coarse-grained simulations and enhanced sampling techniques.