The aim is to provide those students who are taking a first course in Earth System Sciences with a fundamental knowledge of how our diverse and living planet Earth works with weaving together an understanding of the dynamic and interactive processes in the Earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere. In addition, students should become familiar with the way the study of Earth Sciences blends observation, information, hypothesis, communication and decision making for a better understanding of the future of our planet.
The intent of the course is to explore the principles of landscape ecology as a framework for landscape-scale research, analysis and management. The course will provide the theoretical background for understanding and managing a variety of landscape types across different geographical regions. Students are introduced to the distribution patterns of wild animals and plants and to the factors that determine these patterns. In this course, emphasis is on aspects of biogeography, biodiversity and implications for conservation issues. Particular attention will be given to the importance of plants and animals within the context of their ecosystems or biomes and to the relevance of physical, biotic and human factors in shaping ecosystems. Emphasis will also be placed on the ecological and cultural contribution of plants and animals to sustainable human living on the planet.
Polar Regions cover the Arctic and Antarctic areas of the Earth. These mysterious places were the focus of exploration and colonial contest in the early 20th Century. Today, Polar Regions are internationally co-administrated and where scientists of different countries are allowed to station and conduct research. The regions hold about 90% of the world’s freshwater resources mainly in the forms of glaciers, icebergs and ice-caps. It is known that rising temperatures are the causes of changing global climates, oceanographic currents, biomes and carbon reserve. As human activities are increasingly affecting Polar Regions which are environmental sensitive and vulnerable, it is important to understand these interrelationships and what can be done to protect the tundra. The course provides fundamental knowledge and discusses the geographic significance and issues related to future management of the Polar Regions.
The course looks at how elements in video games are drawn from existing popular culture and other cultural products, and focuses in particular on the socio-cultural relations linking gaming with social values, cultural beliefs, art and literature, politics, and money. It is taught primarily by lectures and class work, and is attentive to both commercial and independent video games, comparing what we find there with elements found in other established forms of culture, modern or traditional, commercialized or independent. It thus looks at how video games are embedded in a larger and deeper context of cultural organization and practices that brings together different worlds, and tries to explain why they took a certain form, and why they are so popular and successful.
This course is a critical overview of the Japanese video game industry. Once a dominant force in video game industry, the Japanese video game developers are now facing stiff challenges from both the overseas developers and other emerging media of entertainment. The course starts with tracing the history and development of the industry, followed by an overview of the process of creation, development, marketing, circulation, and consumption locally in Japan. Then the focus will be shifted across the borders, examining how Japanese video game products adapt and compete in the overseas markets according to different local social, economic, and cultural circumstances.
This course is an introduction to the exciting new field of video game studies. The course starts with tracing the historical background and recent development of the video game industry, followed by discussions on the major methods and approaches used to analyze video games as a cultural product. Through in-depth and comparative study of video games in social, economic, aesthetic, psychological, and gender perspectives, the course aims to engage students in a critical discourse on the major debates surrounding the medium.
The consumption of the Earth’s resources has reached an alarming level, bringing intensive and pervasive deleterious impacts. This course surveys the major issues related to human-nature interactions, their current status as well as prognosis for the future. A synoptic view on the cultural roots of the exploitative utilization of our planet sets the backdrop for a systematic assessment of the diverse but interrelated components of the resource system. Major natural resources such as water, soil, forest, fishery and biodiversity are mainly discussed at the global scale in the light of their uses and misuses in different human societies, and the possibility for a more enlightened approach towards a sustainable future. Adopting a non-technical approach, this course appeals to students with a background in humanities, social sciences or science disciplines.
Recent decades have been characterized by increasing awareness of environmental issues and the need to come to terms with them. This course will examine, in turn, many of the current major environmental issues related to the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere as well as looking at major threats posed by the environment itself in the form of natural hazards. In addition, the issue of a potential nuclear threat and the ever-increasing demand for energy are explored. Finally, the matter of sustainable development and intelligent management of the planet for present and future generations is addressed.
In Creative Writing 1 we will use writing to explore and experience the world. Class assignments will include both short creative non-fiction and short fiction assignments. We will concentrate on the importance of sensory details, perspective, and narrative structure. In addition, we will read and discuss many writers spanning many genres of writing. You will be asked to react to the pieces and attempt to use some of the themes and styles in your own writing.