History

The course addresses the development of communism after World War II, focusing on the situation in Central and Eastern Europe. The aim is to study the development of communism during the Cold War, from the Yalta conference in 1945 to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and its consequences in the 1990s and early twenty-first century. The subject is addressed from both genetic and genealogical perspectives.

This course examines the world of the supernatural and paranormal from both historical and contemporary perspectives.

Throughout history our understanding of what it is to be human has depended upon our perceptions of, and relations with, non-human animals. This course traces the emergence and development of animal experimentation from the mid-19th century through to the late 20th and examines how it has informed our understanding of human behaviors, emotions, and their discontents.  Beginning with Charles Darwin's interactions with the orangutan Jenny in London Zoo through to the use, on an industrial scale, of laboratory animals to understand stress-related illnesses and devise drugs to relieve them, students explore the profound effect various species, such as rats, mice, dogs, and monkeys, have had on the human condition in the modern era.

This course provides a study of the text and context of Zi Zhi Tong Jian, and covers the historical background of the era and the corresponding ideas and culture of Zi Zhi Tong Jian. The course also provides a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the author's ideas. This course combines thought analysis with historical interpretation to analyze and guide the reading of Zi Zhi Tong Jian. It is intended to use the "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" as an entry point to interpret relevant literature so as to trace the changes of ideas and culture concepts during the Tang and Song Dynasties.

This course explores how the first Islamic caliphate transformed the society, culture, and politics of western Asia in the centuries after the mission of Muhammad, c. 600-950. In the 7th century the new faith of Islam emerged in Arabia. Its adherents, though few in number, overturned the geopolitical world order, defeating the superpowers of their day to create the world’s largest empire, stretching from Portugal to Pakistan. This course asks how this first Islamic state was brought into being and how it changed life in the Middle East and beyond.