Novel Writing - David Dabydean
Critic, writer and novelist David Dabydeen is Director of the Centre for Caribbean Studies and Professor at the Centre for British Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Warwick.
Producing ‘The Queen’ - Andy Harries
The man who produced the award-winning British film, “The Queen” has swapped the red carpet of Hollywood for a Coventry University lecture hall this week.
Andy Harries, who saw Dame Helen Mirren win the Oscar for her outstanding performance as the Queen, spoke to John Mair, as part of the Coventry Conversations series.
Andy was appointed Controller of Drama and Comedy in 2000 having spent seven years creating and running Granada’s acclaimed Comedy Department. In his capacity as Controlle
Can we trust the International Media? - John O Oucho and Fred Mudhai
John O Oucho holds a PhD in Population Geography and was a post-doctoral fellow of the Carolina Population Center in the university of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S.A. in 1982-3. He has taught at the University of Nairobi (2 decades), University of Ghana (3 years) and University of Botswana (8 years). He was elected Fellow of the Kenya National Academy of Sciences (KNAS) in 1989 and the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) in 2003. He is a well traveled and well published academic and ha
21H.206 American Consumer Culture (MIT)
This class examines how and why twentieth-century Americans came to define the "good life" through consumption, leisure, and material abundance. We will explore how such things as department stores, nationally advertised brand-name goods, mass-produced cars, and suburbs transformed the American economy, society, and politics. The course is organized both thematically and chronologically. Each period deals with a new development in the history of consumer culture. Throughout we explore both celeb
Spin, Blair and PR - Richard Peel
Richard Peel is at the top of the PR tree in Britain. He has ‘spun’ for many of the bluest chip organisations in Britain – The BBC, The ITC, Ofcom, The England and Wales Cricket Board and now Camelot the lottery operator.
In this Coventry Conversation Richard talks about spin, politics and public image.
Why all Governments Need Spin - Nicholas Jones
Nicholas Jones was for many years BBC political correspondent. His books include Sultans of Spin, The Control Freaks, Soundbites and Spin Doctors and Trading Information. He has been involved in the world of politics for more than 30 years as a journalist, most prominently as the BBC’s political correspondent and in uniquely qualified to talk about how politicians can manipulate the media.
In this Coventry Conversation, Nicholas discusses why spin is central to all governments, both Tory and
The Specials - Horace Panter in Conversation
Horace Panter is a true icon of British music. In the 1970s Horace formed "The Specials" who went on to become one of the biggest bands of the 1980s. This year they are reforming to play a number of big shows, including headlining slots at Glastonbury and V Festival.
In 1972 Horace started studying fine art at Coventry’s Lanchester Polytechnic, now known as Coventry University. In his second year there he met Jerry Dammers and soon they formed The Specials. They started playing in Coventry b
17.441 International Politics and Climate Change (MIT)
This course examines the interconnections of international politics and climate change. Beginning with an analysis of the strategic and environmental legacies of the 20th Century, it explores the politicization of the natural environment, the role of science in this process, and the gradual shifts in political concerns to incorporate "nature". Two general thrusts of climate-politics connections are pursued, namely those related to (a) conflict – focusing on threats to security due to envir
17.486 Japan and East Asian Security (MIT)
This subject is designed for graduate students interested in international politics, national security and comparative political economy in East Asia. It examines the political, military, and economic challenges facing Japan, its neighbors, and the international system under conditions of great uncertainty. Topics range from the history of once "new" world orders to theories that inform our understanding of international affairs and foreign policy decision-making, as each is related to Japan. We
The Role of Football in Development - Africa Day - Oneyachi Wambo
Oneyachi Wambo runs Score4Africa, celebrating the power of football to transform lives for the better. The Score4Africa awards ceremony is to celebrate African footballers and was staged at the House of Lords in 2008.
In this Coventry Conversation, Oneyachi talks specifically about the role of football in development.
SP.414 Gender and Media Studies: Women and the Media (MIT)
This course examines representations of race, class, gender, and sexual identity in the media. We will be considering issues of authorship, spectatorship, (audience) and the ways in which various media content (film, television, print journalism, advertising) enables, facilitates, and challenges these social constructions in society. In addition, we will examine how gender and race affects the production of media, and discuss the impact of new media and digital media and how it has transformed a
21L.016 Learning from the Past: Drama, Science, Performance (MIT)
This class explores the creation (and creativity) of the modern scientific and cultural world through study of western Europe in the 17th century, the age of Descartes and Newton, Shakespeare, Milton and Ford. It compares period thinking to present-day debates about the scientific method, art, religion, and society. This team-taught, interdisciplinary subject draws on a wide range of literary, dramatic, historical, and scientific texts and images, and involves theatrical experimentation as well
17.537 Politics and Policy in Contemporary Japan (MIT)
This subject is designed for upper level undergraduates and graduate students as an introduction to politics and the policy process in modern Japan. The semester is divided into two parts. After a two-week general introduction to Japan and to the dominant approaches to the study of Japanese history, politics and society, we will begin exploring five aspects of Japanese politics: party politics, electoral politics, interest group politics, bureaucratic politics, and policy, which will be broken u
17.951 Nuclear Weapons in International Politics: Past, Present and Future (MIT)
This course will expose students to tools and methods of analysis for use in assessing the challenges and dangers associated with nuclear weapons in international politics. The first two weeks of the course will look at the technology and design of nuclear weapons and their means of production. The next five weeks will look at the role they played in the Cold War, the organizations that managed them, the technologies that were developed to deliver them, and the methods used to analyze nuclear fo
21A.226 Ethnic and National Identity (MIT)
An introduction to the cross-cultural study of ethnic and national identity. We examine the concept of social identity, and consider the ways in which gendered, linguistic, religious, and ethno-racial identity components interact. We explore the history of nationalism, including the emergence of the idea of the nation-state, as well as ethnic conflict, globalization, identity politics, and human rights.
21A.348 Photography and Truth (MIT)
Still photography, a practice and form of expression that has worked its way into every facet of social life and every culture in the world, is considered here from the perspectives of history and social science. We will discuss the uses and functions of pictures; how they are to be understood and interpreted; whether they have clear-cut content and meanings; how they shape and are shaped by politics, economics, and social life.
17.202 Graduate Seminar in American Politics II (MIT)
This is the second in a sequence of two field seminars in American politics intended for graduate students in political science, in preparation for taking the general examination in American politics. The material covered in this semester focuses on American political institutions. The readings covered here are not comprehensive, but it is sufficiently broad to give students an introduction to major empirical questions and theoretical approaches that guide the study of American political institu
SP.721 D-Lab: Development, Dialogue and Delivery (MIT)
D-Lab is a year-long series of courses and field trips. The fall class provides a basic background in international development and appropriate technology through guest speakers, case studies and hands-on exercises. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in an IAP field trip to Haiti, India, Brazil, Honduras, Zambia, Samoa, or Lesotho and continue their work in a spring term design class. As part of the fall class, students will partner with community organizations in these count
17.523 Ethnicity and Race in World Politics (MIT)
Discerning the ethnic and racial dimensions of politics is considered by some indispensable to understanding contemporary world politics. This course seeks to answer fundamental questions about racial and ethnic politics. To begin, what are the bases of ethnic and racial identities? What accounts for political mobilization based upon such identities? What are the political claims and goals of such mobilization and is conflict between groups and/or with government forces inevitable? How do ethnic
17.405 Seminar on Politics and Conflict in the Middle East (MIT)
This course focuses on evolution of contemporary politics and economics. The subject is divided into four parts:
Context: historical and strategic perspectives, theoretical issues, and sources and forms of conflict;
Continuity: detailed analysis conflicts systems and their persistence, as well as regional competition and recent wars – focusing on specific countries and cases;
Complexity: highlighting situation specific strategic gains and losses; and
Convergence: focusing future co
