About the Course

The London semester is comprised of two interrelated workshops focused on a particular theme, and involves local critics whose work is pertinent to the theme. Each workshop is structured into a fast-paced analysis and synthesis period followed by a curation and exhibition period. The workshops include excursions to visit studio practices and works in situ, intended to explore emergent design sensibilities and modes of research responsive to contemporary issues. Learn more about ARC407 here.

About the Professors

Amber Bartosh is Director of the Syracuse University Architecture Program in London. She is a LEED accredited architect and interior designer who constructs and examines the immersive infrastructures of the built environment using hybrid-reality and interactive design experiences. This research is supported by her professional practice and demonstrated through design-centric physical construction, exhibition, and installation. She has designed and managed award-winning projects for competition, bid & design build processes in the United States, China, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates and her work has been exhibited internationally in Australia, Italy, & Taiwan.

Vanessa Lastrucci is a landscape architect and researcher working between landscape architecture, urbanism and environmental practices. Her work encourages experimentation with the representation of organic and complex systems, timeliness, trans-scalarity and other intangible factors that make an environment. Her professional experience comprehends a number of situated and international public realm and urban landscape projects in London, Barcelona and the Middle East. She holds an MA Environmental Architecture from the Royal College of Art and MArch with distinction from the University of Florence in Italy.

About the Course

London’s Built Environment: The Ways of the Architect presents a history of London’s built environment by examining the changing attitudes and practices of British architects from the mid-17th to the mid-20th century. It explores the ways in which London’s architectural culture was understood and produced through its architects’ diverse trainings, evolving modes of design and notions of style, built and theoretical work. Learn more about the ARC434 here.

About the Professor

Lara Belkind is an architect and urbanist completing a Ph.D. at Harvard University, where she previously received Master of Architecture and Master of Urban Planning degrees.  Her research explores how architects and infrastructure have helped negotiate metropolitan development in a fragmented Paris region.  Her publications have appeared in Writing Cities, Built Environment, Metropolitics, Urbanism & Urbanization, Political Power & Social Theory, and Traditional Dwellings & Settlements Review.  She has taught architectural history and design at Columbia University, the Architectural Association, Yale, and Harvard, and has worked professionally creating large-scale urban regeneration strategies with public agencies in New York and Washington, DC.

About the Course

Genealogies of the City: A Comparative Study of London’s Urban Lineage examines and compare the development of London in relation to three European cities, paradigmatic of the radical transformations of urban environment from the 17^th century onwards: Lisbon, Paris, and Barcelona.

Through notions of biopolitics, political economy and architectural and urban history, we will explore the genealogies of the public in the city and of the private in the house. The content will address the role of planning in the formation of the public realm, and as a response by public and private authorities and entities to the emerging problematics of population. Learn more about the ARC500.1 here.

About the Professor

Alessandro Toti is an architecture historian, trained in Rome and London. He is completing his PhD degree at the Bartlett, UCL in Architecture History & Theory with a research on West Berlin Marxist architecture groups at the turn of the 1970s.

He has taught architectural history and theory, architectural design and urban design in different universities, including UCL, Westminster, Roma Tre, Camerino, and the Rome Programmes of Cornell and Virginia Tech. His publications have focused on Italian neo-avant-gardist and West German Marxist architectural groups, and on contemporary issues of architectural production.

About the Course

London is arguably the center of global design. Many local design firms have offices in London and abroad, and it is this global design network intersecting with British design traditions that situates architectural inquiry in this course.  The architectural survey course involves directly engaging works — archival objects, physical buildings and urban assemblages visited in the field — and producing analytic representations of those works in order to glean lessons. Learn more about ARC561 here.

About the Professors

Amber Bartosh is Director of the Syracuse University Architecture Program in London. She is a LEED accredited architect and interior designer who constructs and examines the immersive infrastructures of the built environment using hybrid-reality and interactive design experiences. This research is supported by her professional practice and demonstrated through design-centric physical construction, exhibition, and installation. She has designed and managed award-winning projects for competition, bid & design build processes in the United States, China, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates and her work has been exhibited internationally in Australia, Italy, and Taiwan.

Davide Sacconi explores forms of buildings, cities, production and research through designs, exhibitions, books and pedagogical projects. He earned his PhD at the Architectural Association where is currently running a Diploma unit, and he is teaching Studio at the Royal College of Art. He has been director of the Syracuse Architecture London program for 5 years. He is co-founder of CAMPO (http://www.campo.space), a space for architecture in Rome, for which he curated numerous exhibitions and events and member of the editorial board of STOÀ (https://stoajournal.com/), a journal on architectural education. For Black Square he edited the books Interior Tales (2015), The Supreme Achievement (2016) and Savage Architecture (2016).

About the Course

What are the creative industries and how do they contribute to the lives of Londoners and the economy of the capital city and nation? This course combines site visits and guest speakers with classroom work, drawing on methods from business studies, cultural history, cultural studies, media studies, sociology, and semiotics. Learn more about BUA/CRS300.1 here.

About the Professor

Dr Katy Layton-Jones is a cultural historian and historical consultant. She holds a BA in fine art and art history from Goldsmiths, University of London, a M.Phil. in eighteenth-century history from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D, which focuses on popular images of British towns in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, also from Cambridge.

Katy is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has published widely for academic, public, and professional audiences, including titles such as ‘Misread Landscapes: Victorian public parks and the industrial imagination’ in Dick and Mitchell (eds.) and Gardens and Green Spaces in the West Midlands since 1700 (2018), ‘A commanding view: Liverpool’s public parks 1722 – 1870’. She is based in the School of History at the Open University and holds an Honorary Research fellowship at the Centre for Urban History, University of Leicester. Katy has taught subjects ranging from the history of London to Worlds’ Fairs to urban theory and conservation, art history, and the birth of consumer society. She is a member of the International Advisory Board for Urban History, published by Cambridge University Press, and the Editorial Board of Midland History published by Taylor and Francis.

About the Course

During From Harry Potter to Airbnb: The Business of Tourism you will analyze a business sector that is all around as you study abroad in London: the Business of Tourism. We’ll touch on the history of tourism to ask, “What do tourists want?”—a necessary precursor to looking at the many ways these needs are satisfied, from the weather and location of a beach holiday, through to the history and museums of famous cities, and the imagined locations created by such works of fiction as Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter.

We will then examine business models of some key new challengers in the sector (Ryanair and AirBnB, for example) and encourage reflection on “tourists as a product” before turning to the future challenges posed by environmental sustainability and international unrest and terrorism. Learn more about BUA300.2 here.

About the Professor

Indy Neogy is an innovation consultant and global culture scanner. Following a business career that has covered six sectors, seven countries and three continents he is now a co-owner of Kiln (www.kilnco.com), an innovation consultancy that ignites creativity in companies by turning trends into objects you can hold. He holds an SB from MIT in Aero/Astro Engineering and an MBA from the University of Leeds. His research interests focus on culture, choice and decision making in business.

About the Course

Essentials of Marketing explores the principles of marketing as a major business function and social process. Students develop a full understanding of the marketing concept and learn how marketing interrelates with other business functions. You will learn how to identify the political, economic, and social factors that affect an organization’s marketing decisions; how elements of the marketing mix work together, and how to understand the various techniques of marketing. Learn more about MAR301 here.

About the Professor

Wahyd Vannoni has been developing and implementing successful corporate communications and social media strategies for over 15 years. He does so in several languages and across industries, from telecoms, to finance and engineering. He has also worked with CEOs and company directors in the UK, Italy and North America prepare for key public speaking events.

Similarly, he helped a past Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank prepare for media interviews. Wahyd has a BA in Finance from Richmond University and a MBA from Boston University. He was elected member of the board at the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia. He is an occasional columnist for PBS Newshour Making Sen$e and Linkiesta news websites and is a keen footballer.

About the Course

Money and Banking examines the operations and functions of financial institutions and markets, and the management of these by both private institutions and government agencies. Relationships between the financial markets and the real economy are examined, in particular the causes and effects of financial crises. Finally, the management of such crises and the role of international agencies in the interdependent global financial system are discussed. Learn more about FIN355 here.

About the Professor

Stephen Hannah is a freelance economist working as Adjunct Professor for both NYU London and Syracuse London, specialising in macroeconomic and monetary analysis. Stephen has substantial experience in financial markets and public affairs, having formerly been a Chief Economist, Board Director and consultant at several City banks. Following undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Sussex and University College London, his career began in the UK Parliament as an Officer of the House of Commons.

Before entering the City, Stephen lectured at the University of Keele, publishing research on macroeconomic theory and labour markets, and was an Economic Adviser at HM Treasury on econometric modelling, exchange rate regimes, foreign currency borrowing, reserves management and monetary policy.

About the Course

This project-oriented course is designed to introduce students to design solutions that are based on insights into people’s natural behavior, culture, and environment. Students will do field research into how people actually live, utilizing documentation and design research methods. Learn more about IND481 here.

About the Professor

Monika Parrinder has spent two decades in art schools, working at the interface of critical thinking and design. She currently teaches at Central Saint Martins and has had senior roles at the Royal College of Art and external roles across the UK, Europe, USA and India. City-based projects are part of her practice – using experiential teaching and innovation methods. Recently she has worked with students from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and Helsinki Metropolia University, on London-based projects.

Monika also works as a facilitator for inter-disciplinary collaborative projects across arts/science/tech. Monika is often commissioned to speculate on contemporary issues and possible futures through public speaking, writing and convening talks. Her book, ‘Limited Language: Re-writing Design’ was published in 2010. As a Trustee for the Arts Foundation (which provides fellowships for creatives at a break-through moment), Monika has developed awards for Experimental Architecture and Materials Innovation.

About the Course

This class will involve working in multiple areas within the discipline of visual communications. Students initiate, create and complete three in-depth design projects reflecting unique problems of interest to each student/designer. Strategic planning, marketing, and design based on field research in London and within the EU that will add a global perspective to their problem-solving. Learn more about CMD450 here.

About the Professor

Danielle Zezulinski is a Syracuse alumna with an MA from Columbia and over fifteen years’ experience in the global design industry. She is particularly interested in how design thinking can solve major business and organisational problems.

About the Course

Project-oriented design studio open only to and required of design majors admitted to the London Design Program. Learn more about DES485 here.

About the Professor

Francesco Nerici is one of the co-founders of the SUL Design Program. He has a degree in architecture and envrionmental design with studies in Venice and UC Berkeley. Francesco is the creative director of Collectiva – a multidisciplinary design consultancy in strategy, branding, marketing, digital and print communications; and a member of The Chambers – a group of retail experts with in-depth multidisciplinary expertise, consulting clients worldwide.

About the Course

History of Contemporary Design: London offers a survey of major design movements and the work of leading designers over the past 150 years. It examines the evolution of design, its changing cultural, ideological, economic and technological context, and the development of the role of the designer within this period. Lectures will be supplemented with visits to sites such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Tate Modern. Learn more about ART400.1 here.

About the Professor

In his professional life, Steve Jeppesen combines roles in education with those as designer and artist. Currently he is involved with ethical building projects in Croatia and also runs a London-based company which has re-introduced Sir Frank Bowden’s original “All-Steel” design bicycle to the market.

About the Course

Interpreting Shakespeare investigates the ongoing and vital cultural presence of William Shakespeare as his work continues to be performed and reinterpreted today: not just the plays themselves but, where possible, music and dance pieces inspired by the plays. Includes visits to London’s world-famous Globe Theatre in addition to attendance at current productions across the greater London area. Guest visitors form an important component of the course and have over time ranged from Tony and Olivier Award-winning actors and directors to the founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Learn more about ENG320 here.

About the Professor

Mark Leipacher is a theatre director and writer. As Artistic Director of The Faction (thefaction.org.uk) he has directed and produced 14 productions of Shakespeare’s plays. He has written articles for the Guardian newspaper, the National Theatre and the Old Vic Theatre amongst others. He is the author of Catching The Light and the forthcoming biography of Simon Russell Beale both published by Oberon (oberonbooks.com).

About the Course

Contemporary British and European Theater: The London Stage will introduce students to the current London theatrical scene through weekly attendance at productions that are a mandatory part of the course. Students will be encouraged to broaden their understanding of the chosen productions, and of theatre in a wider context, by participating in class discussion, attending talks by theatre professionals, making a backstage visit with the class, visiting the theatre and performance department of the Victoria and Albert Museum, reading related hand-outs and theatre criticism in newspapers, and watching related videos in class.

The course will examine the various elements that contribute to the success of stage productions, and will provide some background to the history of theatre in London to set the contemporary London theatre scene in context. Learn more about DRA351 here.

About the Professor

Cathy Haill is a senior curator in the Theatre and Performance department of the Victoria and Albert Museum and an adjunct professor at Syracuse University with over 20 years’ teaching experience of West End theatre. She has performed, lectured and published on theatre and the ephemera of entertainment.

With a particular interest in 19th century theatre and the history of popular entertainment, she has curated several exhibitions including Circus! Circus! (1988), Slap! (1990), The Wind in the Willows (1993). She contributed to the V&A’s 1998 Power of the Poster exhibition and book, and more recently to the books accompanying the V&A exhibitions on Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes 1902-1929 (September 2010) and The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900 (April 2011). A series of thematic essays by her is available online here.

About the Course

This course is offered by The Higher Education Department at Shakespeare’s Globe, providing a program of directed master classes in voice/verse, movement, and text work including rehearsals and a final project using the Globe stage. All study is with Shakespeare’s Globe faculty. Enrollment is limited. Open only to students admitted to the Drama Program. Learn more about DRA580.1 here.

About the Course

Inside the London Theatre will introduce students to the range and breadth of London theatre, from popular titles to lesser-known discoveries; the tried-and-true to the comparatively untested; musical theatre to Shakespeare; world-class venues to smaller, bespoke studio spaces. Students will learn how to see theatre and also how to read and write about it, and a willingness to immerse oneself in London’s critical culture is both helpful and expected. Learn more about DRA/ENG400.1 here.

About the Professor

Matt Wolf is London theatre critic of The International New York Times (formerly The International Herald Tribune) and London correspondent for the broadway.com website; he spent 21 years as London arts and theatre critic for the Associated Press and over 13 years as Variety’s UK drama critic. He has been on the judging panel of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards since 2009.

About the Course

During The Modern Stage: Theories, Issues, Productions, a variety of current London theatrical productions are viewed and discussed in studying 20th-century theories of theater art and related production approaches, as well as differing ideas about the functions and uses of theater in our society.

Discussion topics and assignments vary according to the plays available, but the course will survey the people, concepts, and issues influencing today’s theatrical artists, audiences and critics. Learn more about DRA451 here.

About the Professor

Dr Michael Barclay has been involved in the London theatre scene for more than three decades. He has lectured on Drama and Theatre Arts at several universities in North America, Britain and South Africa. Dr Barclay earned his PhD form Royal Holloway, University of London and he has been the Head of the Theatre programme at a University in London since the mid-1980s.

Dr Barclay has also directed many prestigious productions at a variety of London theatres. He has taught at Syracuse University for many years, and is responsible for the Acting Majors who study at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Shannon Navarro is a singer, actor, writer, and arts administrator who holds degrees from the University of Tampa (Performing Arts) and the Royal Central School for Speech and Drama (Music Theatre). She served as Company Manager for the National Theatre Arts Company and National Philharmonic Orchestra in her native Trinidad and Tobago before leaving to pursue her PhD at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Shannon’s practice seeks to enhance minority representation in the cultural and political sectors; her research is focused on African-Caribbean representation in musical theatre, looking specifically at stereotyping, representation, identity and Otherness. Shannon teaches a section of DRA451 focuses on theatre management and tech.

About the Course

This workshop is about the acquisition and development of specialist screen acting skills and techniques. Its primary focus will be developing the essential skills of acting for the size of shot or “frame” – a sophisticated concept that requires concentration and excellent preparation. Screen acting techniques will be explored and practised extensively in front of the camera. Learn more about DRA529 here.

About the Professor

Murray Woodfield is a film and theatre producer/director/writer who is Director of The UK Film Festival. His latest work as writer and producer, “A Confession” won the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival and BAFTA nominating Aesthetica Film Festival and is currently screening in festivals all over the world. His company’s previous co-production, “Mike” also won a Bear at Berlin in 2014.

The UK Film Festival also backed “The Phone Call” with Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent which went on to win the Oscar for Best Short Film. Murray teaches acting and screen acting at several drama schools and universities including Ithaca New York London Centre. He also runs scriptwriting courses at Birkbeck College, University of London.

About the Course

Sustainability on Trial: Environmental Justice in Northern Europe (Signature Seminar) is a travelling course that examines diverse and contested approaches to ‘being green’.

The first part of the course explores eco-innovations being piloted in the Nordic countries, home to some of the world’s greatest progress toward sustainable development and carbon-neutral living. In the second portion of the class, students travel into the Arctic Circle to question whether sustainability is living up to its promise for all stakeholders. Who has been benefitted or harmed by environmental policies? Ultimately, the Seminar helps students to understand their impact on the world, and how they can take action to make that impact a more positive one.

About the Professor

Dr Becca Farnum is an activist-academic specialising in the interaction between environmental, economic, social, and political forces; the intersectionality between oppression and agency for those with marginalised identities; and the interplay between localised movements and transnational discourses.

Past projects have involved drafting legal policy for the United Nations; community organising around fair housing, workplace discrimination, and environmental rights; and serving a stint in the Obama White House.
Becca’s teaching focuses on transformative learning, partnering with students to understand and purposefully impact global change in pursuit of sustainable justice.

About the Course

This course addresses some of the most important concepts and issues of the modern world from the perspective of political economy. We will review differing perspectives on the changing global economy and the nature of the modern state and address key ideas regarding development through the experiences of developing countries and their peoples in Asia and Africa. We will also examine the clash between the priorities of development and the imperatives of globalization with environmental concerns. Learn more about ECN362 here.

About the Professor

Dr. Michael F. Keating graduated with a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick in February 2006. His research interests revolve around globalization, governance, development, comparative and international political economy, public policy Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. His doctoral thesis looked at central banking and electricity sector reform in Malaysia and Uganda from the perspective of the historical institutionalism, focusing on the impact of ‘global best practice(s)’ on policy process.

About the Course

Climates of Resistance: Environmental Racism and Collective Action familiarises students with the myriad ways in which racism is manifested in contemporary environmental policy and practice—and the multiple means through which marginalised communities respond to and transform unjust realities. Learn more about GEO/NAT300 here.

About the Professor

Dr Becca Farnum is an activist-academic specialising in the interaction between environmental, economic, social, and political forces; the intersectionality between oppression and agency for those with marginalised identities; and the interplay between localised movements and transnational discourses.
Past projects have involved drafting legal policy for the United Nations; community organising around fair housing, workplace discrimination, and environmental rights; and serving a stint in the Obama White House.
Becca’s teaching focuses on transformative learning, partnering with students to understand and purposefully impact global change in pursuit of sustainable justice.

About the Course

British Masculinity On Screen: James Bond and Sherlock Holmes investigates what on-screen adaptations of Sherlock Holmes and James Bond have to say about the construction of British masculinity.

We will explore issues of gender and sexuality, class, race, ethnicity and nationhood in the construction of hegemonic and “other” British masculinity on screen. In tandem, we will explore the ever-changing places that Sherlock and Bond occupy in British film and television culture. Learn more about FIL/QSX/WGS416 here.

About the Professor

Dr R Justin Hunt is a lecturer and arts professional based in London. He has been teaching at Syracuse University since 2010. He is currently Visiting Lecturer in Fine Art (BA) at The University for Creative Arts (Farnham) and is Relationship Manager (Combined Arts) for Arts Council England. His research is on queer culture and performance, specifically in terms of nightlife and performance spaces in NYC and London.

About the Course

Sex, Gender and the City offers students a critical overview of the contested terms “sex”, “gender” and “sexuality” through the framework of the City. This course will explore some of the ways in which cities and the inhabitants have been historically sexed, gendered, and sexualized. Traversing “the private” and “the public,” the temporal and spatial, and the individual and the social, this course will explore the centrality of these themes in London and British history. Learn more about QSX400.1 here.

About the Professor

Dr Lo Marshall (they/them) is an urban geographer whose research and teaching is oriented around gender, sexuality and cities, with a focus upon LGBTQ+ people’s lives and spaces. Lo is a currently a postdoctoral fellow at the UCL Institute of Advanced Studies, and teaches at the Bartlett School of Architecture. In 2020, they were named an ‘emerging voice in architecture’ for the London Festival of Architecture’s and the Design Museum’s ‘Manifestos: Architecture for a New Generation’, and have contributed to the exhibitions Queer Spaces: London, 1980s–Today (Whitechapel Gallery, 2019) and Electronic (Design Museum, 2020–21).

About the Course

Business of Nightlife: London Subcultures attends to London’s thriving nightlife industries. The dual profit of club culture—allowing collective identities to flourish and cash economies to support vast networks—is rarely interrogated.

Far from being marginal to the city’s identity, the businesses, clubs, and networks that thrive “after hours” help define London and the identities of those who work and participate in them. Nightlife also contributes substantially to the city’s economic activity, both as regulated businesses and through multiple economies of exchange. This course combines sociological concepts with business studies to examine the business of nighttime leisure. Learn more about QSX300.1/SOC200.1 here.

About the Professor

Dr R Justin Hunt is a lecturer and arts professional based in London. He has been teaching at Syracuse University since 2010. He is currently Visiting Lecturer in Fine Art (BA) at The University for Creative Arts (Farnham) and is Relationship Manager (Combined Arts) for Arts Council England. His research is on queer culture and performance, specifically in terms of nightlife and performance spaces in NYC and London.

About the Course

This course is designed to guide students’ professional development during experience in the London workforce. Participation in the course will equip students with the practical skills needed to thrive in a globalised world of work—as well as the theoretical background and critical thinking abilities necessary to reflect on their position in that interconnected system. Learn more about BUA400 here.

About the Course

Youth and Family Practicum: The Global Workplace is designed to guide students’ professional development during experience in the London workforce. Participation in the course will equip students with the practical skills needed to thrive in a globalised world of work—as well as the theoretical background and critical thinking abilities necessary to reflect on their position in that interconnected system. Learn more about HFS493 here.

About the Course

Music Industry Practicum: The Global Workplace is designed to guide students’ professional development during experience in the London workforce. Participation in the course will equip students with the practical skills needed to thrive in a globalised world of work—as well as the theoretical background and critical thinking abilities necessary to reflect on their position in that interconnected system. Learn more about MUI408 here.

About the Course

Entertainment Industry Practicum: The Global Workplace is designed to guide students’ professional development during experience in the London workforce. Participation in the course will equip students with the practical skills needed to thrive in a globalised world of work—as well as the theoretical background and critical thinking abilities necessary to reflect on their position in that interconnected system. Learn more about BAN403 here.

About the Course

Focusing particularly since the period of reconstruction after the Second World War, Multicultural London will look at patterns of urban development, inward migration and the struggle for political and civil rights in relation to the emergence of the wide range of ethnic and religious groupings that compose London’s population at the beginning of the 21st century.

The course will cover a range of theoretical perspectives to help analyse cultural differentiation, cosmopolitism, and hybridisation. We will concentrate on how issues of identity, ethnicity, and religion in London are explored, contested, negotiated and shaped in relation to other markers of identity such as class, language, nationality, and gender. Learn more about SOC412 here.

About the Professor

Dan Wheatley specializes in British social history and human rights. He was awarded a scholarship to attend a United World College in Southern Africa before attaining a B.A (Honours) in Classical Civilisation and an M.A. in International Relations.

He has taught the course on “Multicultural London” at Syracuse London program since 2008. Dan serves as an Adjunct Professor and has another vocation as Senior Diplomatic Officer for the Bahai community of the UK, a religious minority deeply engaged in human rights and social policy issues, working at a high level with government, parliament and international institutions.

About the Course

London’s Burning: Rebellious Histories presents an alternative history of London that contrasts conventions of progress and openness with the stories of minorities, rebels and martyrs in order to challenge conventional narratives of the city’s tolerance and diversity. Foregrounding the histories of immigration, religion and politics reveals the crucial role played by conflict, suppression and protest in the development of the metropolis.

In the light of recent political, social and cultural protests that have called into question our dominant historical narratives, this course aims to question our conventional understanding of this metropolis and its 2,000-year development. Learn more about HST300.2 here.

About the Professor

Joe Kerr trained at University College London and the Bartlett School. He has previously lectured at Middlesex University, the University of North London, and the Royal College of Art, and is now a Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London. His great passions are for architecture and the built environment generally, for landscape and rural life, and for public transport, both as an operative and as an advocate.

About the Course

In 1800 the Bloomsbury area of central London, where SU London is located, was little better than a swamp; a century later it had become the intellectual and cultural powerhouse of the world’s biggest empire. How had this come about? Many thousands, including Gandhi, have come to Bloomsbury from all round the world to study – just like you. Bloomsbury’s residents have also included some of the most famous names in English literary and cultural history such as Dickens, Virginia Woolf, and Sherlock Holmes. Bloomsbury is where Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital and George Orwell set 1984. In this course, then, you will be walking in some very distinguished footsteps and have a chance to immerse yourself in the raw materials of history. Learn more about HST300.3 here.

About the Professor

Richard Tames has been teaching with the Syracuse London Program since it began more than forty years ago. He read history at Pembroke College, Cambridge, took his postgraduate degree at Birkbeck College, London and is also a qualified Blue Badge London Guide. He is the author of more than twenty books on the history of London, as well as histories of Oxford, Cambridge, Bath – and Japan.

About the Course

Physical works of art, in addition to being some of the most significant cultural manifestations produced by man, are also an important commercial product. This course offers an introduction to the practice and strategies of art as a tradable commodity. Topics to be discussed include the ethics of collecting, investment strategies, the conservation and preservation of art, and art-related crime with its impact on the art market. Visits may include artist studios, museums, commercial galleries, and auction houses. Learn more about HOA372 here.

About the Professor

Dr Donatella Sparti has been teaching Art History at Syracuse London since 2001. She obtained her PhD from the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (Italy) magna cum laude and specializes in Italian 17th-century Art. She is the author of two books and some fifty articles and reviews published in major Art History journals and conference proceedings.

Donatella began teaching in American study abroad programmes in 1992 in Florence (Italy) and since 1998 in London. In 2007 she was awarded the Michael O’Leary Prize for Excellence in Teaching at SUL and has also been the recipient of many fellowships, including ones from the British Academy, the J. Paul Getty Grant Program and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

About the Course

A History of London in Eleven Objects is an object-led study of the history of London through some of London’s most important art. Examining a selection of nine paintings, one sculpture set and one building, this course will introduce students to a variety of ways in which objects tell their stories and, by extension, what those objects say about the history of the city where they are housed. Learn more about HOA/HST474 here.

About the Professor

James Hicks is a London-based art historian. Originally from Virginia, he lectures for the Tate galleries, the National Portrait Gallery, Sotheby’s Institute and various American universities.

About the Course

Within an outline history of western architecture, London’s architecture developed, from Roman times to the present, and includes the influences of Italy, France, and later, America. All cities are unique and London developed around two centres, two miles apart, along the River Thames. The original walled city, founded by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago, is now a world centre of finance and commerce. At the West End the once monastic settlement of Westminster is where Monarchy, State, and Church now preside.

Weekly class lectures are paired with related visits, including the British Museum, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall Banqueting Hall, Somerset House, Lloyds of London, National Gallery, and Royal Opera House. Some are incorporated in walks in both the City of London, and the West End. Learn more about HOA208 here.

About the Professor

Joe Kerr trained at University College London and the Bartlett School. He has previously lectured at Middlesex University, the University of North London, and the Royal College of Art, and is now a Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London. His great passions are for architecture and the built environment generally, for landscape and rural life, and for public transport, both as an operative and as an advocate.

About the Course

Through the study of London’s outstanding array of museums and galleries, and in particular Art collections, London Museums: Art, History & Science in Contemporary Culture will familiarize students with museum-related debates, museum curatorial practice, and museum-skills generally. Students will analyse major art-historical and sociological themes from the perspective of both museum-goers (the public) and museum insiders (curators, restorers, trustees etc.).

Students will further benefit from guest lectures and discussions with curators and directors from London’s most important museums. Weekly visits to museums will enable students to test theories put forward in class in front of original works and within specifically designed environments. Learn more about HOA473 here.

About the Professor

Dr Donatella Sparti has been teaching Art History at Syracuse London since 2001. She obtained her PhD from the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (Italy) magna cum laude and specializes in Italian 17th-century Art. She is the author of two books and some fifty articles and reviews published in major Art History journals and conference proceedings.

Donatella began teaching in American study abroad programmes in 1992 in Florence (Italy) and since 1998 in London. In 2007 she was awarded the Michael O’Leary Prize for Excellence in Teaching at SUL and has also been the recipient of many fellowships, including ones from the British Academy, the J. Paul Getty Grant Program and the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

About the Course

London grew and came to prominence as the hub of an imperial system underscored by notions of race. This course examines that context, and the subsequent changes to the metropolis in the late 20th and early 21st centuries – because London also has a long history of ideological movements driven by the conditions of the Black Atlantic, such as Abolitionism, anti-colonialism, Pan Africanism, and anti-racist struggles within Britain. The course’s focus will be on the history of the African Diaspora in London over approximately the last 300 years, with particular attention to changes in the demographic background to this Diaspora and the ensuing debates around the various notions of Blackness. Learn more about AAS/HST300.5 here.

About the Professor

Dr. Daliany Jerónimo Kersh has previously worked as a Lecturer in International Relations at Regent’s University (2017-8), an Assistant Professor of International History and International Relations at Richmond, the American International University in London (2018-2020), and Associate Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at St. Mary’s University (2020-22). In addition to teaching at Syracuse London, she is currently a Lecturer in International Relations and Politics at the University of West London, a history lecturer at NYU London, and a political economy lecturer at Fordham London. She is also an External Examiner at Canterbury Christchurch University in History and American Studies, and a Senior Fellow of the HEA.

About the Course

Advertising Practice in a Diverse Society introduces students to the practice of advertising, studying how this complex, symbiotic communications business works: the industry as a whole including regulation and ethical standards; advertising agencies and their internal structure; relating with clients and their customers needs in terms of conceptualisation and research; and advertising itself, comparing and contrasting examples from the US, UK and other countries. Learn more about ADV206 here.

About the Professor

Joe Videan is a graduate of Michigan State University and has nearly 29 years of advertising experience. From Chicago, to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia to the United Kingdom and Europe, he has produced campaigns for clients in most business sectors, using all types of media. Joe has worked as a full time or contract creative director/writer for Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, GGT Direct, TBWA, G2, Grey Advertising, Carlson Marketing Group, Amarrati Puris Lintas and many others. He has received over 25 national and international creative awards on work produced for a virtual A to Z of British and Multinational companies. Having recently left G2 UK (part of the Grey Advertising Network) where he was European Regional Creative Director and Global Copy Director, Joe is now a Consultant Creative Director at TBWA working on Global Brands. Joe began teaching formally as a Consultant Professor for Syracuse University International Study programme in 2009. He has also spoken at many other Universities as a guest lecturer. Joe has lived in the UK for nearly 25 years and resides with his wife and two daughters in the village of Ashtead, Surrey, just south of London.

About the Course

Engaged Media: Global Storytelling looks at the UK’s rapidly changing media landscape, with a particular focus on user engagement, storytelling, and media. Students will look at how news reporters, broadcasters and foreign correspondents are adapting in the digital age, and finding innovative and interactive ways to engage audiences. They will also examine how charities and sports franchises are becoming adept at bypassing traditional media to engage audiences and tell stories. Throughout the semester students will take part in a series of reporting exercises for different platforms. Learn more about COM300.1 here.

About the Professor

Carol Nahra is a freelance journalist, documentary producer and media studies lecturer based in London, England. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Carol has written extensively about the factual television industry for publications including Realscreen, Dox and International Documentary. She has been associated longterm with the UK’s largest documentary film festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest, where she writes the film catalogue, sits on the Advisory Board, and works as an Associate Programmer.

As a documentary producer she has helped bring to the screen a number of creative documentaries on topics ranging from climate change to religion to mental health. She produced the feature length documentary Secrets of the Tribe, which aired on HBO and the BBC, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has played at more than 60 film festivals.

About the Course

Race, Gender & the Media examines how the United Kingdom’s domestic print and broadcast organisations were established and function today and the influence social and political history has had (and continues to have) on their operation and output. The division of the course into units allows students to explore the chronology of the British media, the evolving composition of the national population and the roots of their contemporary representation. How the representation of the British population — already divided along lines of social class, gender, race, culture, religion, region, ethnicity and sexual orientation — is informed, entertained and self-identifies will be examined via related theories. This will solidify student understanding about the relationship that exists between media history, practice, ethics and social and cultural anthropology. Learn more about COM346 here.

About the Professor

keisha bruce (they/she) researches media, arts and culture with a specific focus on the Black diaspora, media affects, and Black feminist theories. They have recently completed a Midlands3Cities-funded PhD in Black Studies at the University of Nottingham which focuses on digital diasporic intimacies and visual cultures on social media. keisha has previously worked on research projects related to global Black geographies of protest; influencer cultures and creator labour; regional screen media; and local archives. In October 2022 they will take up a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with University College London where they will research race and racial inequalities in the film industry in collaboration with the British Film Institute.

About the Course

Beauty and Diversity in Fashion Media examines critical issues associated with representations of bodies, clothing and appearances in fashion media. In this class, students will identify and debate the challenging issues associated with the fashion industry and the ways that industry communicates with the public through media. Students will explore the concept of beauty, the politics of appearance, the construction/presentation of self, the communicative power of clothing, the impact of media on body image, and other subjects related to fashion media and its representation of diverse groups in global consumer culture. Learn more about COM348 here.

About the Professor

Emmanuelle Dirix is a cultural theorist who specialises in fashion studies. She has 20 years of teaching experience including at Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion, the Royal College of Art. She has been head of critical and contextual studies at the Antwerp Fashion Academy since 2009. She has published widely on fashion in both academic and popular publications.

Her most recent work includes “Dressing the Decades” (Yale University Press) and several academic journal articles for “Film, Fashion & Consumption”, “Fashion Theory Russia” and the journal “Clothing Cultures”. In addition, she works as a free-lance fashion branding and communications consultant for the luxury industry. Emmanuelle recently joined the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College as a senior teaching fellow.

About the Course

London is the ideal place to consider the full scope of Communications Law for Journalist in the 21st century. Whatever the US statutes, Constitution, and case law may establish as our basic communications law structure is only part of the picture. Anyone who communicates through modern media is speaking not just to other Americans but, increasingly, to the world. And in London you meet the world. First-hand. The continued vibrancy of London as a media market is apparent on every street corner. Therefore, a significant goal of Com Law as it is taught in London is to give students an appreciation of the many layers of national interests and differing backgrounds that come into play when speech, writings, and other forms of communication cross national borders and engage different cultures.

Topics include censorship, defamation and libel, invasion of privacy, reporter confidentiality (or lack thereof), fair trial/free press issues, obscenity, corporate speech issues, broadcast and advertising regulation, copyright/database rights, and internet regulation generally. Learn more about COM505 here.

About the Professor

Allen Dixon, B.S., J.D., is a U.S. lawyer recognized as a leading advocate and international specialist in the intellectual property and technology fields. He has advised a variety of industries and content companies in various capacities for 35 years. His experience has included senior legal positions in companies and trade associations in Europe, Asia and the U.S. He also was European Counsel and Partner at the law firm Covington & Burling in London, and in 2005 established IIPTC in the U.K., which provides consulting on intellectual property, information technology and related matters.

About the Course

Introduction to Visual Culture class is an introduction to the key issues of visual culture. It will examine the politics of images, the role that images play in producing cultural meaning, visuality and power relations, and how images are forms of visual communication. We will examine how images circulate through digital media, remakes, and viral networks, and the cross-fertilization of images between various social arenas, such as art, advertising, popular culture, news science, entertainment media, video games, and design. Learn more about CRS/ART/TRM316 here.

About the Professor

Emmanuelle Dirix is a cultural theorist who specialises in fashion studies. She has 20 years of teaching experience including at Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion, the Royal College of Art. She has been head of critical and contextual studies at the Antwerp Fashion Academy since 2009. She has published widely on fashion in both academic and popular publications.

Her most recent work includes “Dressing the Decades” (Yale University Press) and several academic journal articles for “Film, Fashion & Consumption”, “Fashion Theory Russia” and the journal “Clothing Cultures”. In addition, she works as a free-lance fashion branding and communications consultant for the luxury industry. Emmanuelle recently joined the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College as a senior teaching fellow.

About the Course

Fashion in Focus: Discourses and Meanings will examine the different meanings and discourses of fashion and demonstrate how fashion is in fact so much more than what we see in adverts and shops and indeed carries an extensive set of meanings and has multiple functions in human life. All human cultures engage in body adornment. This course departs from this anthropological fact to build a multi-faceted picture of the different discourses and meanings that together address the full complexity of the term ‘fashion.’ Fashion is both the central subject of the course and at the same time will function as a lens for examining wider socioeconomic tendencies, highlighting that far from being superficial, fashion is in fact “the most talkative of social facts” (Daniel Roche, 2000). Learn more about CRS318 here.

About the Professor

Emmanuelle Dirix is a cultural theorist who specialises in fashion studies. She has 20 years of teaching experience including at Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion, the Royal College of Art. She has been head of critical and contextual studies at the Antwerp Fashion Academy since 2009. She has published widely on fashion in both academic and popular publications.

Her most recent work includes “Dressing the Decades” (Yale University Press) and several academic journal articles for “Film, Fashion & Consumption”, “Fashion Theory Russia” and the journal “Clothing Cultures”. In addition, she works as a free-lance fashion branding and communications consultant for the luxury industry. Emmanuelle recently joined the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College as a senior teaching fellow.

About the Course

The BBC: Reinventing Public Service Broadcasting will explore how the BBC operates as the world’s largest news organization; has pioneered entertainment programming from The Office to the soap opera EastEnders with a distinctive social agenda; acts as a testbed for new styles of programming—mockumentary, reality TV, food programmes, etc; is the major sports broadcaster in the UK; reflects the UK back to its audience through coverage of major national events such as Royal Weddings (most recently between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) and the State Opening of Parliament and responds to the challenge of diversity in front of the camera—for example, the first woman cast as Dr. Who. Learn more about TRF600.1 here.

About the Professor

After reading English at Cambridge University, Christopher Cook joined BBC TV as a documentary writer/director/producer before moving to Channel 4. He continues to broadcast on politics, the media and the arts for the BBC and is a regular contributor to a number of print publications. Christopher has run a department in one of the London art schools and has been a visiting professor at the London College of Fashion within the University of the Arts. He is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck College in the University of London. He teaches on a number of other Study Abroad programs in London where his life is governed by just three passions, classical music, soap operas and food. But not necessarily in that order

About the Course

During Documenting Reality: Factual Formats in British Film and TV,  students will examine the rich history of British factual programming, and how it is used to reflect and document every aspect of life in the UK. They will become acquainted with the enormous range of subgenres, such as animated, musical, and authored documentaries, as well as explore the world of reality formats and fixed rigs.  Throughout they will consider the ethics of using real contributors to tell stories for mass consumption.

With abundant in-class screenings and numerous visits from independent directors, students will leave with an appreciation of the variety of British documentary programming, its role in British culture, and its impact on the rest of the world. Learn more about TRF560.2 here.

About the Professor

Carol Nahra is a freelance journalist, documentary producer and media studies lecturer based in London, England. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Carol has written extensively about the factual television industry for publications including Realscreen, Dox and International Documentary. She has been associated longterm with the UK’s largest documentary film festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest, where she writes the film catalogue, sits on the Advisory Board, and works as an Associate Programmer.

As a documentary producer she has helped bring to the screen a number of creative documentaries on topics ranging from climate change to religion to mental health. She produced the feature length documentary Secrets of the Tribe, which aired on HBO and the BBC, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has played at more than 60 film festivals.

About the Course

Introduction to camera handling, functions, and controls. Principles of composition, creative use of Photoshop applications, and high-quality digital printing for portfolio or book production. Learn more about PHO204 here. 

About the Professors

Ian Hessenberg has worked as a professional photographer in many fields: portraiture, theatre and dance, fashion, advertising, editorial and commercial/industrial photography. He was Head of Photography at The University of The Arts (Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, London) and has wide experience teaching students across many disciplines.

Simon Periton is a practicing fine artist working in a wide range of media including painting, sculpture and photography. He has exhibited widely in Britain and internationally and has been recently commissioned by Oxford University as the Site Wide Artist as part of the redevelopment of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter. His teaching experience includes Goldsmiths University, Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, Sheffield Hallam University and The University of The Arts, London where he also worked in the Photography Department at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design for twelve years.

About the Course

This course teaches the value of public speaking and trains students in the practical skills of speech writing, various speech methods, and the presentational skills needed to be an effective communicator and a participant in public discourse, as well as in the professional world. Learn more about CRS325 here.

About the Professor

Emmanuelle Dirix is a cultural theorist who specialises in fashion studies. She has 20 years of teaching experience including at Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion, the Royal College of Art. She has been head of critical and contextual studies at the Antwerp Fashion Academy since 2009. She has published widely on fashion in both academic and popular publications.

Her most recent work includes “Dressing the Decades” (Yale University Press) and several academic journal articles for “Film, Fashion & Consumption”, “Fashion Theory Russia” and the journal “Clothing Cultures”. In addition, she works as a free-lance fashion branding and communications consultant for the luxury industry. Emmanuelle recently joined the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College as a senior teaching fellow.

About the Course

While travelling to Dublin, Belfast, and Derry/Londonderry, students of Borders in Flux: Identities and Conflict in Ireland (Signature Seminar) will discover how Ireland’s past is inseparably entangled with its present and how old wounds fester in current politics. The themes examined in this course include concepts of national identity (Irishness and Britishness); the religious conflict and peace-making attempts within Ireland; and considerations of new tensions wrought by international migration and regional politics. Learn more about HST/REL/PSC300.4 here.

About the Professor

Dr Maggie Scull [on maternity leave] is a modern historian whose work explores religious institutions, secularisation, political violence, sectarianism, and peace. Previously, Maggie held an Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at NUI Galway. After graduating from Boston University, Dr Scull earned a Master’s and PhD at King’s College London while beginning her teaching career, which has included work with American students abroad.

Maggie’s interdisciplinary research explores the relationship religion and politics in the contemporary period. Her current work examines the role of funerals throughout the conflict in Northern Ireland. Oxford University Press published her first book, The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-98, in 2019. She has been a regular contributor to the international press including The BBC, The Irish Times, and RTÉ Brainstorm.

Dr Robert Collins is a historian of modern Irish history, with a particular focus on the importance of the Irish American diaspora to the trajectory of twentieth century conflict. Robert obtained his PhD from the University of Limerick in 2020 and has amassed several years’ teaching experience in a variety of courses relating to Irish, British, and American history.Since the completion of his PhD, Robert has published several articles for RTÉ Brainstorm, as well as a peer-reviewed journal article in December 2021 titled ‘A Tremendous Motivating Factor: Irish Northern Aid and the Belfast March Tour’. His first monograph, Noraid and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1970-1994 is scheduled for publication with Four Courts Press in September 2022.

About the Course

Politics and Media: Mass Persuasion investigates the power of news journalism to persuade audiences and shape public perception. It is designed especially for the study abroad context, examining global news as a form of mass persuasion about international politics, more than domestic politics or election campaigns.

Understanding mass persuasion requires delving into the psychology of mass audiences and national cultures, and even into our own minds. It also requires looking critically at the industries and technologies of news journalism as vehicles for mass persuasion, and analysing global news reporting to expose the most typical persuasive techniques used in shaping political views and values. Learn more about PSC315 here.

About the Professor

Dr Troy Gordon earned a BA from the University of Puget Sound, and an MA and PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. From 2001-2006, Dr Gordon was Lecturer in Writing Programs at UCLA, and in 2007 he relocated to London to serve as Head of the Media & Communications Department and later as Associate Dean at Hult International Business School.
In 2012, Dr Gordon took up the post of Academic Director at Syracuse London before stepping into the role of Director, a position he has held since 2014. Dr Gordon researches, teaches and presents on techniques and uses of mass persuasion; the study of mass atrocities and post-conflict societies; critical perspectives on US foreign policy; male/female friendship; study abroad education; and the changing nature of work and organisational life in the 21st century.

About the Course

How have foreign observers understood the United States and how have Americans understood their place in the world? This class will explore these questions through a series of case studies which consider the relationship between the United States and other nations—including friends, neighbours, enemies and opponents. This course aims to lead students away from their “comfort” zone and encourage them to think critically about American national identity and American influence in world politics. Learn more about PSC350 here.

About the Professor

Dr. Daliany Jerónimo Kersh has previously worked as a Lecturer in International Relations at Regent’s University (2017-8), an Assistant Professor of International History and International Relations at Richmond, the American International University in London (2018-2020), and Associate Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at St. Mary’s University (2020-22). In addition to teaching at Syracuse London, she is currently a Lecturer in International Relations and Politics at the University of West London, a history lecturer at NYU London, and a political economy lecturer at Fordham London. She is also an External Examiner at Canterbury Christchurch University in History and American Studies, and a Senior Fellow of the HEA.

About the Course

In studying Human Rights and Global Affairs, we explore a crisis in understanding, as well as practice, of human rights. We will examine the international human rights framework and how in practice it has evolved, particularly on the intersections of ethics, politics and law.

The course will also look at the responsibilities of both State and non-State actors in the application of human rights protections. We will explore particular cases where states have failed to protect their citizens; other cases where human rights have flourished; and we will explore how civil society, transnational networks, and an emerging global community continues to fight hard battles for the protection of human rights across the globe. Learn more about PSC354 here.

About the Professor

Dr Karen Bennett received her PhD in Human Rights at London Metropolitan University; MA in International Relations at the American University School of International Service in Washington DC; and BA in International Communications at Webster University. Karen began her academic work in human rights and international relations in 2003, both conducting research and teaching at universities.

Previous to academia, Karen was a human rights practitioner. Her research interests are in human rights cosmopolitanism and the effectiveness of transnational networks as mechanisms for human security, especially in the protection of civil society actors. She has led global research projects and has developed training and action research programmes with civil society individuals and groups. Karen lives in London and works as a human rights consultant and teaches human rights at Syracuse University London and the University of London School of Advanced Study.

About the Course

Using the city’s unparalleled networks of diverse religious and faith communities, architecture and infrastructure, Beyond Belief: Religion and Power will explore the contrast between religious animosity and coexistence. We will examine how England’s historic periods of civil and religious strife were catalysts for colonists to create a society in the American landmass, in part due to their search for religious liberty. We will also study the secular critique of returning religiosity in national and international affairs, such as those who advocate an entirely secular public order or even advocate anti-conversion laws to limit missionary activity. In the final sections of the course, students will explore debates over the benefits and the challenges of the UK’s religious diversity in contemporary society. Learn more about PPSC426/REL325 here.

About the Professor

Dan Wheatley specializes in British social history and human rights. He was awarded a scholarship to attend a United World College in Southern Africa before attaining a B.A (Honours) in Classical Civilisation and an M.A. in International Relations.

He has taught the course on “Multicultural London” at Syracuse London program since 2008. Dan serves as an Adjunct Professor and has another vocation as Senior Diplomatic Officer for the Bahai community of the UK, a religious minority deeply engaged in human rights and social policy issues, working at a high level with government, parliament and international institutions.

About the Course

Death as Political: Violence, Grief, and Protest examines how contemporary protests build on other collective responses to death around the world and asks students to engage with the pain and emotion of a conflict society – as well as its constructive potential. As demonstrated by recent events, death can serve to draw attention to wider concerns. Sites and rituals of death in the form of memorial infrastructure, commemorative institutions, and highly publicized funerals are often used by activists, community leaders, and policymakers to champion particular causes. Learn more about HST/PSC300.6 here.

About the Professor

Dr Maggie Scull is a modern historian whose work explores religious institutions, secularisation, political violence, sectarianism, and peace. Previously, Maggie held an Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at NUI Galway. After graduating from Boston University, Dr Scull earned a Master’s and PhD at King’s College London while beginning her teaching career, which has included work with American students abroad.

Maggie’s interdisciplinary research explores the relationship religion and politics in the contemporary period. Her current work examines the role of funerals throughout the conflict in Northern Ireland. Oxford University Press published her first book, The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-98, in 2019. She has been a regular contributor to the international press including The BBC, The Irish Times, and RTÉ Brainstorm.

About the Course

Europe’s Economic Policy Failures from Maastricht to Brexit will examine the major internal and geopolitical challenges of the European Union through a prism of failures of structural economic policy decisions. You will gain an understanding of the EU’s structural economic shortcomings which contributed to the Euro crisis, the migration crisis, and Brexit.

With an introduction on the economic justification of the EU, the launch of the Euro and the EU expansion, the primary focus will be on the resulting structural economic policy shortcomings which now challenge the EU. The course work will encourage you to critically examine the economic ramifications of policy choices associated with the Euro, the free movement of labour, and competition policy. Learn more about ECN300.1 here.

About the Professor

Mike Harris has spent over 27 years in London as an analyst, equity macro-strategist and research manager for investment banks. With 22 top number 1 rankings in the prestigious Institutional Investor survey for both company research and macro strategy, he is the single highest rated research specialist in the history of the survey in Europe. He managed the Emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa equity and macro research team at Bank America Merrill Lynch and he was Head of Research at Renaissance Capital where both of his teams respectively received number one rankings.

As founder of Cribstone Strategic Macro he advises controlling shareholders and companies on European stock market listings across sectors and institutional investors on macro strategy. He previously taught a course on Investment Banking in Emerging and Frontier economies at the Syracuse program in London. He is a regular guest on CNBC Squawkbox Europe.

About the Course

Health Psychology examines how social, behavioural, and cultural factors influence physical and mental health conditions and local and global contexts. It is also designed to promote cultural competence in diagnosis, treatment, and research strategies.

Students will learn how culture influences human behaviour and the conceptualisation of health and psychopathology, with a focus on current, controversial topics. They will also examine the ways their understandings of health and well-being shape, and are shaped by, the healthcare system, their own values, and their assumptions. Learn more about PSY382 here.

About the Professor

Dr Limore Racin holds a PhD in Cross-Cultural Psychology and completed the Harvard program in Global Mental Health: Trauma & Recovery and Mind Body Medicine. She has work experience in capacity building projects related to culture, public health, and mental health throughout Southern Africa and Israel. She has also participated in projects both at Tate Modern and the Wallace Collection. Currently, she is a lecturer at Goldsmiths College in the Psychosocial department and practices as a private psychotherapist.

About the Course

Responding to the 100-year anniversary of the First World War, Conflict, Trauma and Collective Memory: Psychology and the Great War looks at what that conflict and others have taught psychologists about conflict, trauma and collective memory. The course includes several field trips around London to museums and sites. Learn more about PSY400.1 here.

About the Professor

Dr Catherine Roberts was awarded her PhD for a social psychological thesis on the impact of victimisation and has since worked both in the UK and the US as an Independent Research Consultant. She was a founding member of the collective which launched the Rape Crisis movement in the UK. She was Research Fellow at the Tavistock Clinic in London from 1996 to 2003, heading a National Research Programme.

Catherine began teaching at Syracuse University London Centre in 1994, and has combined experience in research, therapeutic practice and teaching, each supporting the other. A new focus, responding to experience of teaching and counselling, is providing learning support and mentoring for study abroad students at Syracuse London.

About the Course

Forensic Psychology: Crime and Violence introduces topics of interest to psychologists, members of the legal profession and those in law enforcement. Psychology plays an important role in the understanding of many aspects of criminal actions and their aftermath. This course will explore how psychologists work with the legal system. The primary focus will be research into criminal psychology. Topics such as terrorism, influential factors for jury decision making, competency to stand trial, pathways towards criminal behaviour and others will be covered during the semester. Learn more about PSY474 here.

About the Professor

Dr Lara Frumkin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, a chartered psychologist, fellow of the Higher Education Academy, associate fellow of the British Psychological Society and international affiliate of the American Psychological Association. Before coming to the Open University, she worked in government and non-profit as well as in academia.

After receiving her qualifications in the USA (BS, MA, PhD in psychology), Lara worked at the American Psychological Association. There her work centred around policy and informing the public about psychological research and practice. She then worked at the US Department of Justice linking psychology to relevant aspects of justice, national security and crime. Since moving to the UK in 2003, Lara has worked at Middlesex University and the Institute of Education. Most recently she was programme leader for the BSc forensic psychology at the University of East London. Lara is a community and social psychologist by background and applies this to criminal psychology and cross-cultural interactions.

About the Course

In this course, you will be introduced to the wide range of issues in the field of sports. Throughout the semester, you will explore where sport comes from and consider how people in different countries view and utilize sport. You will also examine sport from a political perspective, studying how the governing bodies of various sports in the U.K. interact with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. You will also learn how sport events such as the Olympics become an opportunity to generate business and interest in a country.

In addition to time spent in the classroom, you will attend and reflect on a variety of sporting events and tour several stadiums, which will allow you to make comparisons and gain a better understanding of the sport. Learn more about SPM300.1 here.

About the Professor

Genevieve Gordon-Thomson has enjoyed a successful career to date teaching sport- and law-related topics at both American and British institutions. Gen is a lawyer with a first degree in Business and a Masters in International Sport Law. She is currently an editor of Law in Sport, co-author of Law for Recreation and Sport Managers, and Director at Tactic Counsel Ltd, a sports law and brand management company.

About the Course

Sociology of Sport introduces students to foundational sociological theories, key research foci, and contemporary issues in the sociological study of sport. The course broadly intends to question the important and often complex place sport holds in society today, challenging the notion that sport is a trivial or apolitical enterprise while revealing the ways in which sports “matter” in contemporary culture; using examples such as the Olympics in Rio 2016 and Pyeongchang 2018. Learn more about SOC367 here.

About the Professor

Sean Heath, a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at the University of Brighton, has conducted extensive research on competitive swimming participation of children and youth in Canada and the UK. His thesis research explores immersion as the material, social, and affective aspects of participation in the competitive swimming lifeworld. His research interests are in sport anthropology, the sociology of sport, and sport ecology. This includes how bodies, movement, our senses, well-being, and human-water interactions are entangled to affect our environs, and how our environments effect sport. He has published in the journal NEOS and the edited volume High Performance Youth Swimming

About the Course

Reading Pictures, Seeing Stories looks at narratives about looking and at still images (principally painting and photography) of narratives. Working back and forth between words and images, the classroom and the gallery, the practical work of the course will make explicit some of our collective assumptions about seeing and our frameworks of viewing. Discussions will focus on important theoretical texts, along with significant short narratives and novels. A number of class sessions will take place outside the classroom and consist of small seminars about particular works, complemented by individual seeing, thinking and writing exercises. Learn more about ENG430.1 here.

About the Professor

Beside his work with visual artists, Forbes Morlock has published on hospitality, friendship, seduction, transference, cinema, and the uncanny—as well as the writing of Jacques Derrida, Jacques Rancière, and Sigmund Freud. He has taught at Syracuse London for more than 20 years, including leading courses to Istanbul, Florence, Edinburgh, Yorkshire and the Lake District.

About the Course

Global Cities and World Cinema will explore this special connection over time and across space, focusing on a variety of films that feature the city as not simply as a backdrop to action but as integral to it. It gives students the opportunity to explore a variety of cinematic representations of the city with reference to World Cinema, including the significant cultural events, architectural developments, and artistic movements. Learn more about ENG430.2 here.

About the Professor

Bev Zalcock is a teacher, writer and filmmaker. She has two published film books to her name, as well as numerous academic publications. She is also teaching film at Birkbeck College, University of London.

About the Course

Travelers’ Tales: An Education Abroad invites you to ask yourself why did you decide to study abroad? What do “they” (your parents, friends, the university) expect you will learn abroad? What have you really come to learn?  We will explore the landscape of learning, and the journey and the story as figures that organize our experiences of learning. Learning happens, you may discover, not in the ways or places you think. Learn more about ENG464 here.

About the Professor

Beside his work with visual artists, Forbes Morlock has published on hospitality, friendship, seduction, transference, cinema, and the uncanny—as well as the writing of Jacques Derrida, Jacques Rancière, and Sigmund Freud. He has taught at Syracuse London for more than 20 years, including leading courses to Istanbul, Florence, Edinburgh, Yorkshire and the Lake District.

About the Course

Writing London: Studies in Creative Nonfiction helps students develop their creative and nonfiction writing through exploring the importance of the global city of London in a variety of genres: travel writing, cultural criticism, personal essay, fiction, correspondence, biography, and memoir. Themes common in urban writing including alienation, mental health, belonging and/or dislocation, the crowd vs. the individual, and immigrant experiences will also be a focus. Learn more about WRT422 here.

About the Professor

Nicola Sayers is an academic and writer. Her research interests include contemporary literature and culture, life-writing, memory, nostalgia and utopia. Her book, The Promise of Nostalgia: Reminiscence, Longing and Hope in Contemporary American Culture (Routledge, 2020) explores nostalgia as a prominent affect in contemporary American cultural production. Alongside her academic work, she has published cultural and arts criticism, and personal essays, in various publications. She is currently a regular columnist for www.3quarksdaily.com and is working on her first novel.

About the Course

Countable and uncountable sets; diagonalization proofs; finite state automata; regular, context-free, context-sensitive, recursive, and r. e. languages; Turing machines; relationships between classes of languages and machines; the halting problem; proof methods for decidability and undecidability. Learn more about CIS473 here.

About the Professor

Tugkan Batu has earned his BSc degree in Computer Science at Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkey) and his MSc and PhD degrees at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA). He has held Postdoctoral Fellow Positions at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas at Austin, and Simon Fraser University. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the London School of Economics. His research interests lie in algorithms and theory of computation in general. In particular, he is interested in randomised computation, sublinear algorithms on massive data sets, and property testing.

About the Course

Thinking clearly about the ethical implications of the machines of our own creation is both a fascinating exercise in its own right, and a requirement for attempting to strike a balance between various technological and social forces, such as innovation, social ethics, and our general conception of technology. In a world in which, according to many estimates, at least half of our current jobs will be partially or fully automated, we had best consider the full ethical and philosophical implications of the world that we have already entered. Will robots be our controlling masters, or will they help us to build a brave new world of leisure and self-development?. Learn more about IST300.1 here.

About the Professor

Dr Eric B. Litwack is a philosopher and ethicist with years of experience in academia and both the private and public sectors. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield. He has been an ethics consultant to both industry and the Canadian and UK governments. In addition to general social and moral philosophy, Dr Litwack’s current research interests are centred on applied ethics, political theory and the philosophy of technology. He is also a practicing psychotherapist. Dr Litwack first taught at Syracuse University in London in January 2013.

About the Course

Mathematical modeling of computational problems; searching and sorting algorithms; search trees, heaps, and hash tables; divide-and-conquer, dynamic programming, and greedy choice design techniques; graph algorithms; NP-completeness; and selected topics. Learn more about CIS477 here.

About the Professor

Tugkan Batu has earned his BSc degree in Computer Science at Bilkent University (Ankara, Turkey) and his MSc and PhD degrees at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA). He has held Postdoctoral Fellow Positions at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas at Austin, and Simon Fraser University. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the London School of Economics. His research interests lie in algorithms and theory of computation in general. In particular, he is interested in randomised computation, sublinear algorithms on massive data sets, and property testing.

About the Course

Data in Society aims to help students think critically and ethically about the role of data in everyday life. Students will critically examine how individuals, groups, and society create and are created by digital data and algorithms. We will explore social, political, legal, and professional issues across varying contexts including social media and the Internet of Things. Learn more about IST343 here.

About the Professor

Dr Eric B. Litwack is a philosopher and ethicist with years of experience in academia and both the private and public sectors. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield. He has been an ethics consultant to both industry and the Canadian and UK governments. In addition to general social and moral philosophy, Dr Litwack’s current research interests are centred on applied ethics, political theory and the philosophy of technology. He is also a practicing psychotherapist. Dr Litwack first taught at Syracuse University in London in January 2013.

About the Course

As technology changes, so too do organizations and the ways they communicate. The goal of this class is to provide a broad overview of “social media”—what it is, how its use has changed organizations, and ways to strategically, effectively communicate through different social media platforms within and beyond the organization to achieve organizational goals. Learn more about IST486 here.

About the Professor

Wahyd Vannoni has been developing and implementing successful corporate communications and social media strategies for over 15 years. He does so in several languages and across industries, from telecoms, to finance and engineering. He has also worked with CEOs and company directors in the UK, Italy and North America prepare for key public speaking events.

Similarly, he helped a past Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank prepare for media interviews. Wahyd has a BA in Finance from Richmond University and a MBA from Boston University. He was elected member of the board at the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia. He is an occasional columnist for PBS Newshour Making Sen$e and Linkiesta news websites and is a keen footballer.

About the Course

Bioethics: Technology, Science and Human Rights examines the interface of biological science and ethical concerns by employing philosophical principles and procedures—first to clarify bioethical problems, and then to develop attempts at resolving them. This will be done in a global context via four modules: reproductive ethics, end of life ethics, patient’s rights and autonomy, and the ethics of medical experimentation.

The complex interface between culture and ethics will be examined on these questions, mainly in addressing the question of global competition and debates around patient autonomy. Learn more about PHI494 here.

About the Professor

Dr Eric B. Litwack is a philosopher and ethicist with years of experience in academia and both the private and public sectors. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield. He has been an ethics consultant to both industry and the Canadian and UK governments. In addition to general social and moral philosophy, Dr Litwack’s current research interests are centred on applied ethics, political theory and the philosophy of technology. He is also a practicing psychotherapist. Dr Litwack first taught at Syracuse University in London in January 2013.