Ireland

The course explores the human language faculty from the point of view of language impairment. Both acquired impairment (such as aphasia) and developmental impairment (such as specific language impairment) are examined. As a result, the course also explores the various ways brain activity is monitored and understood. Other areas where language is impaired or develops in some "unusual" way (such as in autism and various genetic syndromes) or in "exceptional" circumstances (such as with isolated children, blind children) are examined in order to determine what factors lead to the impairment of language.

This course examines a selection of early Irish-lyric poems and voyage tales from the period circa AD 700-1100. The selected texts illustrate the richness and creativity of medieval Irish literature which represents the oldest vernacular literature in western Europe. This course focuses on the genres of medieval Irish literature, the scribal context of the surviving manuscript witnesses, the existence of hermitic or nature poetry, the interaction between history and literature in early Irish tales, and the allegorical significance of these texts. All poems and tales are read in translation, but students have the opportunity to engage with the texts in their original language as found in extant manuscripts and in published critical editions

The course teaches key concepts prevalent in organic chemistry and the resulting properties of organic molecules. These are presented based on standard U.S. text books and are complemented by specific examples of compounds present in important drug molecules and natural products. Introductory topics include molecular structure, chemical bonding, and orbital interactions. The resulting properties of molecules are then introduced on key compound classes such as alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes that later are complemented by aromatic rings and functional groups such as alcohols, carbonyls, and amines. Furthermore, the crucial properties that explain the reactivity of organic molecules and enable a detailed understanding through distinct reaction mechanisms are highlighted throughout the course. Finally, these concepts are applied towards the planned synthesis of target molecules in combination with suitable structure determination methods.

The UN has defined seventeen sustainable development goals. At least half of these (e.g. clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, industry, innovation and infrastructure, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, life on land, no poverty and zero hunger, and sustainable cities and communities) have implications for how society exploits Earth's finite resources (e.g. energy, freshwater, minerals, soils, and metals). This course provides geoscience and earth systems perspectives on the opportunities, limitations, and challenges that are likely to arise from the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

All societies have patterns of stratification and inequality, i.e. structured differences in economic resources, power, and prestige which are relatively enduring and often reproduced between generations. What’s interesting from a sociological perspective is that the structure and pattern of these inequalities varies between societies and over time in the same society. This suggests that the fundamental processes driving inequality and stratification are social and economic processes. This course focuses on the theories and measures of social class as well as social class inequalities in electoral behavior, education, and health.