Lecture 24 - 11/17/2010
Lecture 24
17.504 Ethnic Politics I (MIT)
This course is designed to provide students with a broad overview of the major theories on the relationship between ethnicity and politics. The course is divided into three sections. The first covers general theory and discusses the social construction of ethnicity as well as the limits of construction. The second section discusses ethnicity as a dependent variable. This section studies the forces that shape the development of ethnic identities and their motivating power. The third section addre
A history of Russian punk
In this episode Ivan talks about the development of the Russian scene and the relationship between punk and the political and social establishment.
Women in Islamic Societies
This course serves as a broad survey of women's and gender issues within the contexts of multiple societies in the Islamic world. The first half of the semester will concentrate on the historical position of women in Islamic societies, defined by the normative values of Islam and by cultural traditions and norms that were sometimes at odds with religious prescriptions. We will discuss how the interpretations of these values in diverse circumstances and who gets to do the interpreting have had im
Chris Patten on Politics and Public Health
Lord Patten, Chancellor of the University of Oxford, discusses his political perceptions of epidemiology in the UK, and in developing and emerging countries.
5.4 ‘The desire to give politico-institutional expression to the first two core concepts
What makes a ‘nation’ and what makes peoples strive for nationhood? This unit will provide you with an introduction to studying political ideas by looking at how people who see themselves as nations challenge the existing order to assert their right to a state of their own.
Ethics and politics
Moral and Political Philosophy: how should we live? What constitutes a just state?
Tackling Diabetes and Obesity in the UK's South Asian Communities
Recent research has highlighted the problems of growing rates of diabetes and obesity in the UK's South Asian communities. A number of factors, including diet, lifestyle and genetics, means that there is increased exposure to these conditions and the associated risk of heart disease, strokes and other problems.
Researchers at the University of Warwick have been working closely with South Asian communities in Leamington Spa and Coventry to develop strategies for tackling the obesity time bomb.
The state of Russia
Professor Christopher Read examines the current state of Russia and its changing political and economic position.
Length: 22 minutes
Parish pieties
The sixth Warwick Symposium on Parish Research, held in the humanities research centre on May 17, 2008, drew together scholars from the UK, Europe and North America to consider religious devotion in late medieval and early modern parishes. Here the organisers, speakers and postgraduates talk about the symposium and different approaches to the theme of parish pieties.
3.A27 Case Studies in Forensic Metallurgy (MIT)
TV programs such as "Law and Order" show how forensic experts are called upon to give testimony that often determines the outcome of court cases. Engineers are one class of expert who can help display evidence in a new light to solve cases. In this seminar you will be part of the problem-solving process, working through both previously solved and unsolved cases. Each week we will investigate cases, from the facts that make up each side to the potential evidence we can use as engineers to expose
Trade and Inequality Revisited
Manufactured imports from developing countries have risen sharply since the mid-90s, when the effects of trade on inequality were a major political issue. Should we be reconsidering the link between globalisation and inequality?
The Hubris Syndrome: the intoxication of power
Lord Owen will explore the effects of political power on politicians themselves and investigate the concept of the Hubris Syndrome and its impact on politicians including Tony Blair, George Bush and Margaret Thatcher.
Popperian Pathways: the demarcation between quack cancer cures and scientific remedies
Why exactly is a scientific approach to medicine preferable to so-called 'alternative' approaches? Michael Baum is professor emeritus of surgery and visiting professor of medical humanities at University College London.
Global Media System, Public Knowledge and Democracy
Much of the world is moving towards the entertainment-centred, market-based media model of the United States. If this continues, we will enter a new era of political ignorance. James Curran is director of the Media Research Programme at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Re-Writing the History of the Constitution: from the miraculous to the political
Was the US constitution the work of confident demigods and innovators or the handiwork of anxious political leaders who relied on longstanding Anglo-American political traditions to save a republican in crisis? Carol Berkin is presidential distinguished professor of history at Baruch College and The Graduate Centre, CUNY.
Russia and Europe: new neighbours defining a new neighbourhood
Russia, Ukraine and the other countries of the former Soviet Union now share a common border with the European Union that both divides and unites. Strong relations between the neighbours will increasingly be defined by trade, and even more by investment in both directions. The challenge is for economic relations to reinforce political relationships that will help both neighbours thrive in a globalised world.
The Last Resistance
Jacqueline Rose's book The Last Resistance explores the power of writing to create and transform our political lives and examines the role of literature in the Zionist imagination.
Iraq: The Way Out
Jonathan Steele will argue that the occupation has failed, not because of a lack of pre-war planning, but because of a lack of informed political analysis by US decision-makers and the British Foreign Office. They failed to see that Islamists, Sunni and Shia, would fill the post-Saddam vacuum and that most Iraqis would quickly come to resent yet another Western intervention in the Middle East.
Thinking Like a Social Scientist: a lecture by Professor Stuart Corbridge
This lecture asks if the global AIDS response has been good for human rights but bad for disease control? Alex de Waal is programme director at the Social Science Research Council and author of AIDS and Power: why there is no political crisis yet.
