Explorations in Confucian Philosophy;
Is Confucianism synonymous with Chinese culture? While it may be an overstatement to equate the two, there is little doubt that Confucianism pervades every level of Chinese culture and society. To be sure, other traditions such as Daoism and Buddhism have also left an indelible mark; nevertheless, Confucianism remains central to the shaping of the Chinese imagination. The influence of Confucianism extends beyond China to East Asia and through migration and cultural diffusion, other parts of the world. Confucianism traces its origins to the teachings of Confucius. What makes Confucius so special and what did he teach? This course will explore some of the key concepts in Confucian philosophy. Much of the discussion will centre on the Analects of Confucius, the foundational text of Confucian wisdom, although attention will also be given to the subsequent unfolding of the Confucian tradition. We will attempt to situate Confucian philosophy in its own context and to bring out its contemporary significance. Confucianism is a living tradition. Its vitality hinges on not only its continuing relevance in Chinese society but also its contribution to meeting the global challenges confronting the world today. There are no prerequisites for this course, other than a keen interest in Chinese tradition and culture, and the willingness to engage the Analects of Confucius.
Global Sociology;
Basic sociological theory
Basic world systems theory and its application
Introduction to sociological methods
The Anthropological Demography of Health;
New thinking and research which brings together anthropological approaches to social and cultural variation, with public health interventions into population problems. Modern science and technology are continually providing us with new means of treating pervasive health problems like malaria, AIDS, and infertility. Populations are living longer than ever before because of new medicines and programmes to implement them around the world. But we all know that new drugs and clinical techniques are not simply ‘magic bullets’ – miracle cures which do the job all by themselves. For one thing, medicine requires infrastructure in much of Africa, Asia and Latin America there is simply not a network of clinics to make scientific improvements available to the poor over large areas or and this is no less important, to monitor the use and misuse of medicines (which can lead, as in the case of malaria to their declining efficacy).
Street-Fighting Math;
Dimensional analysis, easy cases, lumping, pictorial reasoning, taking out the big part, and analogy. The applications will include mental calculation, estimating population growth rates, understanding drag without differential equations, singing musical intervals to estimate logarithms, approximating integrals, summing infinite series, and turning differential equations into algebra.
Demystifying The Brain;
The contemporary computational perspective of the brain function using few or no equations. Therefore, it is accessible to people coming from both biological sciences and engineering sciences. To the biologist or a medical expert it presents brain function from a computational point of view in simple terms without equations. To the engineer (or someone from the ‘hard’ sciences) it presents neuroscience in an engineering-style without using too much biology jargon.