United Kingdom - Scotland

This course takes an ecological approach, emphasizing interactions between different organisms and all aspects of their environment. All environments are now changing under the influence of human activities and many species are under threat as a consequence. In this course, students learn tools that allow them to begin to scientifically address such issues.

This course teaches students the principles underlying the theory of auditing, of the regulatory framework of auditing, and of practical audit approaches and techniques. The latter is taught with reference to case studies. Students are also introduced to the critique of the auditing profession and the profession's response. The course exposes students to current academic research in the field of auditing.

In this course students analyze key social problems such as worklessness, poverty, homelessness, and ill health, and how they have been addressed by public policy. Students examine the historical origins and evolution of the welfare state and engage with challenging debates about the government's current role in welfare.

This course covers the journey of Buddhist monasticism from ancient India to modern Europe and America through a range of texts, including canonical literature and poems and autobiographies of monks and nuns. The course discusses how a disciplined life and living in a community can enable ethical transformations. Although some of the earliest Buddhist texts advocated strict celibacy, most of the Buddhist communities in subsequent centuries adopted a form of monasticism and priesthood that allowed for families. The course explores the social changes, ethical and philosophical ideas that led to the acceptance of families in Buddhist monasticism. Additionally, the course examines how monasticism, with or without celibacy, influences the ethical development of individuals who choose one or the other form of life.

Some understanding of theoretical, ethical, and practical aspects of field work is essential for students engaging in research with people. This course teaches students, especially but not only from religious studies and practical theology, the necessary competence and confidence in this field. This methodology course  investigates how fieldwork plays an important role in the study of religion. The course combines strong theoretical and practical discussion ranging from insider/outsider issues in the study of religion, alongside detailed classwork on participant observation, interview techniques, and writing up fieldwork notes. 

The course provides a foundation for the understanding of fundamental concepts and current ideas in physical geography. The course begins by considering in broad terms the development of physical geography and the key concepts and phenomena of change and evolution, cycles, fluxes and events, the environment as resource and hazard, and the human impact on the environment. The remainder of the course explores these themes in more detail in the context of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, and biosphere. The course emphasizes the importance of spatial variation, and temporal and spatial scales, and interactions between human society and the biophysical environment.

This course introduces the classical methods of analysis for statically indeterminate structures, especially structures comprising line elements, namely beam, truss, and frame structures. It firstly extends from earlier structural mechanics knowledge on deflection of beams to the general analysis of deflections in statically determinate structures, with an emphasis on the method of virtual work. This is followed by the analysis of indeterminate structures using the force method (flexibility method); analysis of indeterminate structures using the displacement method, including the slope-deflection method and moment distribution method. It then proceeds to the matrix stiffness method for structural analysis using the direct stiffness approach, and the general aspects of structural modelling and computer analysis. The course provides a comprehensive cover of the fundamental principles, analysis techniques and practical skills that are required in modern structural analysis applications. 

This course introduces students to the world of magic in the Islamic world. Dismissed as anti-rational by European colonialism and Islamic reformism, magic and other occult pursuits often played an important role in the religious, political, and intellectual lives of Muslims. Making extensive use of both literary and visual sources, this course examines how past and present scholars have attempted to define the occult and esoteric. It outlines several themes such as the role of sorcery in everyday life, politics, and the investigation of science. Surveyed topics include astrology, geomancy, treasure hunting, demonology, alchemy, and necromancy.

Prompted by decolonization, postcolonialism, globalization, and the globalized contemporary art world of the present day, many have suggested that narratives of modern art focused on Western cities such as Paris and New York are now provincial or inadequate. This course examines the rise of early- to mid-20th century "modern" art in a range of countries not usually considered in Western survey courses. With the 1900-1960 date range setting its boundaries, the course involves both close examinations of individual works by key figures, and broad comparative examination of movements and styles across times and places. As well as introducing students to some of the figures and movements that have been taken to show the distinctive nature of modernisms around the world, it asks broader theoretical questions about the status of art history and the study of modernism.