History

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt from the Neolithic and the formation of the Egyptian state at the end of the Predynastic through to the arrival of Alexander the Great and the incorporation of Egypt into the Hellenistic World. Alongside the historical overview, students study aspects of Pharaonic culture such as royal iconography, mortuary, and sacred landscapes as well as modern reception of the Egyptian civilization in a series of seminars built around specific textual sources or scholarly articles providing a starting point for discussion and debate. 

This course provides an in-depth look at how French history and culture influenced French literature. It utilizes textual analysis and brief history lessons to contextualize literary movements. Poems and passages are critically analyzed for historical accuracy, biases, et cetera.

This course covers the history of war from as far back as the 13th century right up to the height of large-scale, industrialized warfare in World War Two and the global, colonial violence of the 20th century. It does not strive to provide what would end up inevitably being a superficial coverage of all wars in all regions of the world. Rather, different, select periods or conflicts are considered as illustrations to help us explore the central theme of escalation over time and the emergence globally of modern war and violence. This is the fall-only version of the course.

This course explores how Korean thinkers and reformers/activists have engaged religions and ideologies in the major political, social and cultural developments and movements during premodern Korea and beyond. Through this course, the students are expected to gain a deeper understanding of how ideologies and religious ideas have informed the major debates and collective activities that have made the Korean history progress. One further aim of this class is to enhance the students’ability to write readable essays and paper based on their knowledge and insight acquired through the lectures, readings, and discussions.

This course explores theoretical and historical perspectives on the intersection of law, society, and politics, and fosters discussion of contemporary issues among students from different cultures and disciplines. After an introduction to comparative law and legal culture, several classical social theorists are covered (Durkheim, Marx, and Weber) and their relevance to contemporary debates about morality, (dis)obedience, conflict, and property are considered. The course examines the role of totalitarian law in Nazi and Communist Germany, and considers the difficulties such legacies pose for fostering the rule of law in post-totalitarian societies. In this context, the course also examines the need for “transitional justice”, as well as the relationship between law, the market, and economic development (e.g. Weber). Finally, the appropriate limits on the exercise of free speech and the right of association are explored. Overall, the course develops skills at using theory and history to inform debates on contemporary challenges, such as multiculturalism, punishment, (illegal) downloading/streaming/ file-sharing, and economic development. In addition to gaining substantive expertise in various socio- and politico-legal fields, students develop communicative competence through participatory exercises, and intercultural competence through discussion with other students.

This course introduces students to the history of the city in which they are studying. It highlights both the way in which the built environment and physical layout of the city has been shaped by historical processes, and how extant buildings, monuments, and objects can be used to illuminate the concerns and ambitions of those societies that have occupied the area from the early-medieval period onwards. Students analyze primary sources, textual and visual, that foster understanding of the way in which the city has developed through time. The course gives students an enhanced understanding of the cultural, political, social, and institutional history of the city and the university.

This course introduces students to the politics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a particular focus on regional dynamics related to religion, authoritarianism, foreign intervention, and popular politics. The first half of the course provides the main historical, social, and economic features underpinning current politics in MENA by examining historical state formation, authoritarian governance, and political economy in the region. In so doing, the course equips students with the main analytical tools needed to comprehend and critically analyze the course of current political developments, which the second half of the course addresses. Students learn about the trajectory of the Arab Spring, the rise and decline of Islamist political movements, and ongoing struggles with civil wars and terrorism, among other topics. The course requires students have basic knowledge of theories and concepts of political science to participate in the course.