Global Cities

This course will explore the field of cross-cultural psychology through a focus on Italy and its inhabitants. Students will discuss aspects of cross-cultural analysis from the field of cross-cultural psychology, including cultural influence on human behavior, attitude, values, communication, and societal organization; examine topics of ethnocentrism, individual vs. collective societies, plural societies, cultural views on mental health, and intercultural communication; and investigate methodical issues of cross-cultural research, with the opportunity to be participant-observers of their own experiences in Italy, including through field work.

This course will explore key economic issues in the global business environment. Students will develop an understanding of how global businesses are impacted by real world developments in economics, politics, and finance; critically examine the global economic landscape with an emphasis on the interaction between international economics and business through discussions of current economic and political development; and explore topics such as globalization, country differences, cross-border trade and investment, the global monetary system, and competing in a global marketplace.

This course will introduce a broad range of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Florence from the great projects of the Middle Ages that defined the religious and political centers of the city, with a special focus on major monuments of the Renaissance period. Students will examine issues of social, political, and economic context, as well their function, which was integral to artistic production of the period; conduct related scholarly research; deepen their appreciation of Renaissance civilization; and analyze the interrelationship between people’s creative achievements and their society.

This course will introduce the impact of globalization on London, one of the world's most significant global cities, in comparative context. Students will examine London’s changing identity as a world city with a particular emphasis on comparing the city's imperial, postcolonial, and transatlantic connections, and the ways in which past and present, local and global intertwine in the capital. Students will combine classroom work with experiential learning, centred on field studies to areas such as Brixton, Spitalfields, Southbank, and the Olympic sites in East London.

This course will investigate the aims and principles of developmental psychology as a scientific discipline, and describe the methods used to obtain knowledge about children and their development. Students will explore issues such as children's early attachments, the development of the self, the emergence of consciousness, and the role of play; develop an understanding of the role of education and child care practices and policies in the UK in shaping children's development; and examine childhood from historical, global, socio-cultural, and policy perspectives.

This course will introduce the UK healthcare system and the context within which it operates. Students will explore the evolution of the National Health Service (NHS) from its inception in 1948 to present day; analyze case studies to compare the UK model of healthcare with other healthcare systems such as in the United States, France, Sweden, and lower income countries; develop an understanding of concepts and themes in comparative healthcare; and critically examine the role of governmental and non-governmental organizations in healthcare.

This intensive seminar provides a multi-disciplinary introduction to human rights, a topic central to today’s global politics. Students will explore the theoretical foundations and history of human rights concepts and issues from global, local, and regional perspectives, and the philosophies underpinning them; develop an understanding of the frameworks of human rights law; critically examine the politics of human rights, their contentious nature, and uneven global implementation; analyze a variety of case studies and related practical issues; and evaluate key debates about the politics and morality of human rights.

This intensive seminar will focus on practical issues surrounding human rights. Students will examine politics and morality of human rights; analyze the theoretical foundations and development of human rights concepts, and the philosophies underpinning them; investigate frameworks of international human rights law; and explore London as a global centre for human rights advocacy, practice, and activism. Topics will include human rights and international relations; humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect; postcolonial and feminist critiques of human rights; the intersection of human rights with gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and class; the relationship between human and civil rights; women’s, children’s and indigenous peoples’ rights; and the practical implementation and enforcement of human rights.

This course will explore terms, concepts, and theories of marketing in the international context, as well as its scope and challenges. Students will examine the ways in which global dimensions technology, research, capital, investment, and production impact marketing, distribution, and communication networks; gain insight into the increasingly interdependent global economic and physical environment and its impact on international marketing; analyze current international marketing issues and their implications; and develop an understanding of how companies develop strategic plans that are competitive to survive and succeed in global markets.

This course will explore theories of popular culture from the British Isles, from 1945 through to the present day. Students will compare British and American experiences of popular culture, the differences, similarities, and cross-influences; examine countercultures and subcultures in Britain; explore their connections to music and political movements; develop an understanding of cultures that are based on ethnicity and sexuality, as well as concerns around diversity and related hate crime; and visit urban environments that will help contextualize these subcultures both historically and politically.

This course is available both as a semester and a four-week summer intensive. Please note that the syllabus is for the full semester program. The syllabus for the four-week summer intensive is currently under development and will be available soon.

pending school of record approval

pending school of record approval

This course will explore the multi-faceted dimensions of human interaction with diverse environments in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. Students will develop an understanding of the origins of environmental concerns and current debates in these regions from pre-European contact to the present day; focus on topics as broad as the peopling of the Pacific and the challenge of climate change to selected issues, such as the impact of mining, clean energy futures, our vulnerability to natural disasters, and increasing urbanization; and examine the intersection of culture and nature.