Seoul National University

This course explores Middle Eastern and African politics and society, with special focus on energy; natural resources; Islamic civilizations; geopolitical situations, and terrorism. The course also delves into the domestic and foreign policies of each state in the region, as well as their relations with each other. 

This course introduces students to our current understanding of life processes at the molecular level. It covers various topics related to the structure and function of proteins, nucleic acids as the storage molecules of genetic information, the dynamic nature of cell membranes, and generation of biological energy. This course provides the foundation for students to learn more advanced subjects such as neuroscience, gene therapy, development of new crops, drug discovery, and protein engineering.

This course covers twenty-first century Korean popular culture - from the Hallyu (Korean Wave) phenomenon to cultures of popular protest, including the Minjung movement; culture industry and mass culture; consumption cultures; fandom cultures; globalization of Korean food, as well as emerging cybercultures. Utilizing an anthropological perspective, the course situates these phenomena within issues of class, gender and ethnicity in South Korea.

This course examines the diversity and specificity of contemporary popular arts using aesthetic perspectives. We analyze popular arts as a everyday experience as well as a collective experience using the main concepts of aesthetics such as art, aesthetic experience, and aesthetic sensitivity, and thereby cultivate liberal humanity that connects cultural experiences with critical theories. Through classes that look back on popular arts as easy, familiar, and entertaining, from critical and reflective approaches, we seek to gain a new perspective on the popular 'art'. To this end, we survey previous studies, debates, and perspectives on "popular art". We also look at representative examples which show the transformations of genres and medium, and examine how they have forces the aesthetics to adjust its methodologies and perspectives. Popular art is not only for the masses, but also an art given to the masses. And it is often created by the masses themselves. Through the multifaceted analysis and understanding of the stereoscopic aspect of these popular arts, we gain a new dimension of public, culture, art, and sensitivity.

This course cultivates, through theoretical study, the necessary skills for working in child welfare. It covers fundamental concepts and values, history, policies, organizations, services and skills required in the field of child welfare. The course also provides the foundational knowledge of child and youth development, critical perspectives for analyzing child and youth related social problems, and the understanding of key issues related to child welfare policy and programs. It uses a comparative framework to evaluate the current state of major child and youth development problems and the policies and programs aimed to address them.

This course is an introduction to English Semantics, focusing on the meaning of English words and sentences. It examines the key notions and tools required for semantic research, and explores representative theoretical approaches to natural language meaning, including Formal Semantics and Cognitive Semantics.

This course provides a general introduction of the modern history of the two Koreas. It examines the evolution of Korean society since liberation from Japan in 1945 up to the present. The class covers topics related to transition in the East Asian international order, division of the Korean Peninsula, the Korean War, economic growth and social transformation in South Korean society, North Korean society, and the South-North relationship. It provides a general overview of Korean history since 1945. Through class discussions on student presentations and documentaries, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the key historical, as well as current, issues and to develop and present their own perspectives to look at these issues.

The course looks at domestic dynamics in Korean society from the traditional era and attempts to understand modern Korean history, in particular related to foreign relations. Other course topics include Korea's economic growth and democratization; understanding of North Korea; Korea's position in the world; Choson society and its longevity; the Colonial Period; division of the Korean Peninsula; politics; the Korean War; Armistice agreement system; U.S.-Korea Relationship; U.S. troop presence in South Korea; North Korea's modern history; and, North Korean Society.

This course examines the most recent archaeological achievements from the evolution of humans and the Paleolithic age to the origins of agriculture, states, and empires throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, Australasia, and the Americas (North and South). This course provides an opportunity for students to extend their areas of interest into global prehistory and look at themes surrounding what makes us human and how have we changed over the course of our shared past.

This course provides an overview of theories on international politics and security as well as specific security issues between China, South Korea, North Korea and the US. 

This course offers a general introduction to the language and various aspects of Korean culture to the foreign students currently studying at SNU. Topics to be discussed in the course include the outline of the Korean language with honorific forms. Other topics are Korean history, nature, economy and society; Korean art, music, literature and philosophy; as well as problems concerning the traditional culture such as family, relatives, wedding, funeral ceremony, folk belief, shamanism, seasonal rite and custom.