UNIVERSITÄT ZU KÖLN International

Course-Nr.: 14014.5004

Lecture with integrated exercises

Duration: 04 Nov 2020 - 16 Dec 2020

Scheduled Dates:

• Wed, 04 Nov, 09:00-12:00

• Wed, 18 Nov, 09:00-12:00

• Thu, 19 Nov, 09:00-11:15

• Wed, 25 Nov, 09:00-12:00

• Wed, 02 Dec, 09:00-12:00

• Thu, 03 Dec, 09:00-12:00

• Thu, 10 Dec, 09:00-11:15

• Wed, 16 Dec, 09:00-12:00

Credit Points: 6

In our daily life, we are constantly surrounded by messages that try and tell us how we ought to look in order to be socially valued and approved. Rather than encouraging people to accept the way they are, the majority of these messages produce unrealistic, often unattainable ideal images that aim to encourage individuals to actively manage, control and ultimately modify their appearance in order to meet these standards. This has led to a global spread of body image concerns and an (unhealthy) obsession with beauty and appearance. What consequences does this have with regard to people’s relationships to their bodies, their behaviour, and the way they interact with their environment?

Within this interdisciplinary seminar, we will look into the complexity and multidimensionality of body image. We will critically discuss factors that can influence a person’s relationship to their body; specific emphasis will thereby be put on the role of society, culture and the mass media.
The seminar will not only touch upon different disciplines such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, media and gender studies; it will also allow students to actively reflect, what role body confidence plays in their personal and professional lives. Alongside a discussion of the various consequences that body dissatisfaction may entail, we will also look at the body positivity and body neutrality movement, that have started to actively campaign for a greater diversity and acceptance of different body images on social media. Part of the examination will be that students work out their own creative body image campaign.

Previous knowledge expected: none.

Course-Nr.: 14387.0077

Credit Points: 2

Critical Pedagogy is an interdisciplinary approach from North America, which is fed by various discourses, among which the British Cultural Studies in particular were pioneering. One of the main representatives is Henry Giroux, whose work we are mainly interested in. According to him, pedagogy is political and, in addition to critical emancipation, should contribute in particular to a democratization of society.
The main topics will be: school and society, pedagogy as cultural policy as well as neoliberalism and (right-wing) populism, whereby we will primarily establish theoretical references to Cultural Studies and postcolonialism. Giroux also works with popular media, which we will also include.

Course-Nr.: 14014.5001

Course offer online via Zoom.

Requirements: Active participation, projects, final presentantion

Duration: 2 November 2020 - 14 December 2020

Credit Points: 6

This course is an introduction to Design Thinking and its principles. Design Thinking is a creative approach to discovering solutions for innovative products, processes and ideas. Design Thinking encourages organizations such as Apple, Google, Airbnb etc. to focus on the people which leads to better products, services, and internal processes.
Design thinking is a human-centered approach. Potential users are incorporated into the process and their reactions lead the further development of the process. This turns Design Thinking into a flexible, cross-topic method to solve problems in various aspects of life.
In this practice-orientated virtual workshop the goal is to experience the Design Thinking process and develop creative solutions for a design challenge. Part of the experience is to work in a multidisciplinary team.
Design thinking is divided into different Phases: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test and implement.
In every session, we will concentrate on one of these phases and introduce different creative methods.

An active participation is expected. At the end of this course you will present your results in a written paper and a group presentation.

Course-Nr.: 15304.0104

Credit Points: 3

The course provides an introduction to economic cooperation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and beyond. It concentrates on two main components. First, we will analyse the contemporary global architecture for economic cooperation and development and its main characteristics, including relevant actors, international organisations, treaties, and patterns in trade and development economics. Second, we will examine the European Union as an example of regional economic integration, its internal market, the framework for economic coordination and its external economic relations. The course will take up topical economic and political processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the EU’s trade and economic partnership agreements. In this way, the course seeks to contribute to the understanding how economic cooperation and development are interconnected with environmental and social questions.
 

Course-Nr.: 14014.5002

Lecture with integrated exercises

Duration: 3 Nov 2020 - 15 Dec 2020

Credit Points: 6

Content:

1. Financial Reporting (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Financial Ratios)
2. Time Value of Money (Future Values, Present Values, Multiple Cash Flows, Perpetuities and Annuities)
3. Capital Budgeting (Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Equivalent Annuities)
4. Cash Management (How to optimize cash balances)
5. Risk, Return and Cost of Equity (Risk Reward Trade-off, Portfolio Theory, Capital Asset Pricing Model)
6. Debt and the Cost of Capital (Leverage, Taxes, Theorems of Modigliani & Miller)
7. Equity valuation – DCF (The discounted cash flow model)

Previous knowledge expected: Basic understanding of mathematics and economics

Course-Nr.: 14335.5019

Pre-requisites: Students must be studying a major which is related to political science as this is an intermediate course, not an introductory course.

Duration: 4 Nov 2020 - 16 Dec 2020

Credit Points: 6

This is an introductory course to the study of politics from a gender perspective. The course aims to introduce students to the fields of gender and politics by presenting main contributions of feminist theories to the analysis of states, institutions, policymaking and politics. This includes the introduction of basic concepts of gender and politics scholarship and using these theoretical approaches to analyze how citizenship is gendered. The readings engage with feminist analysis of politics in relation to various policy fields of political representation, labor, care and migration. Furthermore, the readings focuson the role of civil society, international governance and European Union on mainstreaming the gender equality agenda. Finally, the course brings forth the contemporary debates of the gender and politics scholarship: the feminist backlash and theright-turn in gender politics, as well as intersectionality and intersectional politics

Syllabus: https://cccp.uni-koeln.de/sites/cccp/Lehre/2020-21_WS/Syllabus_Gender_and_Politics_-_Winter20-21_ECelebi.pdf

Course-Nr. 15304.0106

Credit Points: 3

Germany’s history in the second half of the 20th century was overshadowed by the disastrous outcome of World War II, both with regard to domestic policies and international affairs. The atrocities committed by Nazi-Germany left a monstrous legacy for generations of Germans to deal with. The aftermath of the defeat of the German Army by a discordant alliance set the scene for the division of Europe and the rise of the Cold War. Germany’s own trajectory from division to unification, with a history split into a Western and an Eastern narrative (still today difficult to merge into a common perspective), is as peculiar as it is emblematic for the history of Europe in this epoch. 

This introductory course, taught in English, attempts to approach German history from the outside. The course is based on a broad selection of original texts and sources as provided by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. (http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/home.cfm?language=english) and will rely predominantly on international studies (in English). German students are very welcome, if they are ready to take on an external point of view; international students are invited to bring in their own perspective on German history based on studies/monographs from their home countries.

Course-Nr.: 15304.0107

Credit Points: 3

Today´s world, in both, private as well as professional aspects, is characterized by fast changes, quick means of travel and instant communication. Physical distance has become less and less of an obstacle for interaction between people. COVID-19 was a push for digitalization and intensified digital communication across any kind of distance. Intercultural encounters, whether physical or digital, are very common, but the challenges that come along with that are often underestimated.  
Universities are aiming to become more international and intercultural competence is considered a key skill to be expected by university graduates. 
This course will not only provide knowledge, but more importantly help students to incorporate means to face intercultural challenges adequately in everyday life. A special focus will be put on academic challegenes. 

Topics dealt with are (selection):

What is culture and what is intercultural competence?
Intercultural theories and models
Working on real-life cases (critical intercultural incidents) 
Introduction to Communication
Performing in classes
- Support on how to deliver requested performances (e.g. how to do a presenation)
- Proper teacher-student-/student-student-interaction
- Comparing participants´ home Universities

Course-Nr.: 15304.0102

Credit Points: 3

In its first part, by outlining the relevant historical background, this course will introduce the genesis of the European legal tradition. In its second part, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies on milestone jurisprudence of the ECJ, the role of European Union Law for Member States will be explained.

• The genesis of modern European legal systems: historical and economic factors 
• The main elements of Roman Law, the Germanic legal tradition and English (common) law and their influence on the European legal tradition
• Overview on the system of European Union Law: history, structure, organs institutions and principles
• The sources and hierarchy of European Union Law
• The role of European Union law for the legal systems in Member States: case studies of milestone judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice
   

Course-Nr.: 14387.0005

Credit Points: 3

The seminar will offer an introduction to internationally influential debates in education in connection with John Dewey (1859-1952).

Course-Nr.:  14335.5000

Pre-requisites: Students must be studying a major which is related to political science as this is an intermediate course, not an introductory course.

Credit Points: 6

Parliaments are a fundamental component of democratic systems. Nevertheless, some of theseinstitutions differ considerably between countries and over time. These differences and theirconsequences for the political system in a country are the focus of this seminar.The aim of this course is to give the participants an insight into some basic features andfundamental questions of political science in the field of legislative politics. One focus is on thetheoretical foundations of legislative politics: In the first block of the seminar, we address relevantactors, namely parties, governments and the opposition. We then turn to relevant processes inand around parliament. In addition to party competition, we will discuss the process of policy-making and the analysis of speeches in parliaments. In a final part, we will then turn to morespecific fields of parliamentary research, looking at the representation of different groups inparliament, as well as the communication and use of social media by parliamentarians.A second focus is on getting to know relevant data sets in parliamentary research and sim-ple ways of analysing them. We would like to give you the opportunity to do your first ownanalyses with the help of the software R. This will enable us to check some of the questions andrelationships that we have discussed theoretically before. In addition, this should enable you tostart developing your own ideas and questions, which you can use in later papers and theses.

Course-Nr.: 14335.5001

Pre-requisites: Students must be studying a major which is related to political science as this is an intermediate course, not an introductory course.

Credit Points: 9

This course offers a view into the development and the major topics of modern Chinese political thought. It covers the period from the late 19th to the end of the 20th century, commencing with the confrontation of Chinese intellectuals with Western thought and concepts in the final phase of the Qing dynasty. Influential debates during the Republican period will be explored as well as the political thinking in the People's Republic of China up to the unfolding of the reform policy.
The political ideas of selected Chinese thinkers of different political orientations will be introduced – with particular attention to the motives and intellectual interests of these thinkers, their reception and modification of Western political concepts as well as their vision for a future China.
Confucianism, democratic thought, Marxism and Nationalism constitute the Chinese schools of political thought covered in the course.
A reader comprising the texts to be analysed and discussed in the individual sessions will be available for purchase at the chair's office. Reading and discussing these texts constitutes a major part of each session.

Participants will prepare both an oral presentation and a term paper (Hausarbeit), comprising 10-12 pages. The deadline for the paper is March 15, 2021.

Course-Nr.: 15304.0101

Credit Points: 3

This course is designed as an introduction to the institutional architecture of the European Union. It will critically assess the democratic legitimacy of the EU system with a focus on its major decision-making bodies: The European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

This course will start out by briefly discussing the historical beginnings of the integration processes before we turn to EU institutional architecture. The key question is: where do EU institutions derive their democratic legitimacy from? The democratic quality of the EU decision-making process will thus guide our analysis: What powers does the European Parliament have in the EU decision-making process? How can it contribute to EU legitimacy? Where do the member states safeguard their national interests and how do they answer to their national voters? Where are the limits of EU competences and who controls this?

At the end of the class, you shall be familiar with the general functioning of all major EU institutions. You shall also be able to critically assess the democratic legitimacy of decision-making processes at the EU level. 
 

Course-Nr.: 15304.0105

Credit Points: 3

The course deals with the person and biography of Sugihara Chiune, also called „Sempo“. Sempo’s life and biography include an almost global perspective: a Japanese diplomat, in service in Lithuania during WWII, and Righteous Among the Nations. In this course the focus will therefore be on the following: an introduction to European history before and during WWII (macro perspective), illustrated by exemplary biographical stations of Sempo (micro perspective). The connecting link is Lithuania: besides Lithuania, Eastern and Central Europe as an important region is taken into consideration, and within in the case of Lithuania, one of the decisive starting points for the Shoa/ Holocaust (cf. C. Dieckmann), the course will concretely ask about places, people and memories. Sempo’s biography functions at the same time as a „view from outside“ as well as a bridge into a global perspective. The overall aim of the course is to gain basic knowledge about key developments of the European history by using digitally prepared materials, which are then deepened in teamwork in video conferences and finally enable the participants to perform an independent transfer of learning.