Social Science

Autumn Term: October 2011 - December 2011
Spring Term: January 2012 - March 2012
Summer Term: April 2012 - June 2012

Introduction to International Human Rights
Watching the news every day, we might find ourselves wondering why the international human rights system doesn’t do a better job at saving people from terrible fates. This course will consider the ambitions, successes and failures of the international human rights regime. We will cover topics such as whether torture is ever justified, the protection of refugees, and the different ways that rights are implemented in different regions of the world. We will also consider the rules of war and how they are implemented. We will debate the specific protections offered to women and children. The course will also cover economic and political rights. Can the international human rights system make the world a safer and better place?
Lena Barrett BCL BL EMA
Term: Autumn
Day: Monday
Start Date: 10 October 2011
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 10
Full fee: £67.00

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How to Build a Human Being: an Introduction to the Montessori School of Thought
This course uses the discoveries of Dr Maria Montessori as an aid to understanding how babies, children and adolescents develop. It explores how we can use this knowledge to help build brighter, happier and more peaceful human beings. Beginning with an introduction to Dr Montessori’s own life, we will then discuss her discoveries about human psychological, social, emotional, physical and spiritual development from birth to 24 years. We will examine how parents and educators around the world are using Montessori’s discoveries not only to aid children’s development but to work towards a more peaceful world. Consideration is given to current research confirming Montessori’s theories, especially in the field of neuroscience. The course concludes with reports detailing the successful application of Montessori’s methods to people suffering with dementia. Sessions will include lectures, discussions, archival material, film clips, photographs and handouts. Montessori educational materials will also be presented.
Bernadette Phillips BA MA MontCert MontDip
Term: Autumn
Day: Wednesday
Start Date: 12 October 2011
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 10
Full fee: £67.00

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Spring Term: January 2012 - March 2012

 

Evolution and Behaviour
Evolutionary Psychology: do women love money and men love beauty? Looking through the lens of the past, Evolutionary Psychology considers how psychological characteristics may have served a different purpose in the past. The theory of evolution, first laid out by Darwin, is applied to modern human behaviour. Evolutionary Psychology assumes that the human brain consists of specialised areas adapted to serve a function and seeks to explain why certain behaviours have developed. This course will provide an introduction to evolutionary psychology, and explore key concepts including mating and jealousy, aggression and warfare, altruism and kinship.
Corinna Dressler MSc
Term: Spring
Day: Thursday
Start Date: 26 January 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 8
Full fee: £53.50

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Law in the Twenty First Century: where are we going and what will it be like when we get there?
This course will look at the current and future trends in terms of both substantive law and the ways in which legal problems and disputes are resolved. We will explore briefly the nature of the English legal system and then look ahead to see if we can predict what law in the rest of the century might look like. This course may appeal to those with a broad interest in ‘legal’ matters regardless of their experience and background. At the end of the programme participants should be able to appreciate the principal characteristics of law and the legal system and to identify the trends and likely consequences of law as the present century unfolds. A high degree of audience participation will be expected.
Richard Grimes LLB MA DPSE
Term: Spring
Day: Thursday
Start Date: 26 January 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 8
Full fee: £53.50

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Summer Term: April 2012 - June 2012

 

Maria Montessori: a Woman for all Seasons
Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Helen Keller all admired her. The Queen of Italy came to visit her in a run-down tenement in the backstreets of Rome. Hitler and Mussolini closed her schools and burned her books. This course explores the life and achievements of Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an important figure in the history of education. Students will be brought into the life of Dr Montessori, Italy’s first female doctor and one of Europe’s first campaigners for women’s rights. A thorn in the flesh of Hitler and Mussolini, she was interned by the British during the Second World War and nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. The course examines her role as a pioneer of Special Needs Education and the founder of a worldwide system of education which spans birth to adolescence. Sessions will include lectures, discussions, archival material, film clips, photographs and handouts. Montessori educational material will also be presented.
Bernadette Phillips BA MA MontCert MontDip
Term: Summer
Day: Thursday
Start Date: 26 April 2012
Time: 7-9pm
No. of weeks: 10
Full fee: £67.00

Unfortunately this course is cancelled

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Social Reform and War in Britain (1900-1920)
During the early years of the last century, British politics engaged in a fundamental struggle between the competing social needs of its urban and rural workers and the wider imperial, world aspirations of the country’s political elite. The way in which policy decisions both at home and overseas played out still resonant in our world today. This day course will look at the fascinating world of the Edwardians as they strove to alleviate poverty and want at home, whilst striding the world stage where they were engaged in an arms race, and new diplomatic ententes that were to lead to the Great War. Who were the champions of this fast moving and complex world and what were the challenges that they were grappling with? What impact did their aspirations have upon British society in the 20th Century? To help us understand something of their world we will use contemporary sources and materials.
Keith Brooker BA PhD
Term: Summer
Day: Saturday
Start Date: 09 June 2012
Time: 9.30am-4.30pm
No. of weeks: 1
Full fee: £35.00

Unfortunately this course has been cancelled

 

Last Updated: May 15, 2012 | Iain Barr (ijb3@york.ac.uk)

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