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This course will examine how writers and artists have imagined and represented British society in fiction and film from 1848 to the present. The "condition of England" novels of the mid-nineteenth-century famously advanced the idea that a work of literature could aim to capture the nature of society as a whole, and, in particular, to convey the relationship between different social classes within England. Is it possible for a single novel, or film, or painting to represent society as a whole, or to show a nation to itself? What are the opportunities, and the pitfalls, of this kind of artistic project? We'll look at how this kind of project develops across two hundred years of British culture, from Victorian realism to contemporary multicultural fiction and film. Possible authors include Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears, Zadie Smith.

Entrepreneurship is often understood as venture capital-backed, high-growth, Silicon Valley-style venture creation. However, entrepreneurship is a more diverse phenomenon with many forms and shapes in very different contexts. By including different motivations and goals for entrepreneurial activities, such as family entrepreneurship in small and medium enterprises or necessity entrepreneurship in micro-businesses and non-US contexts, we can broaden our understanding of what entrepreneurship is and the societal and economic role it plays in our world today.

Human rights concepts through their emergence in literary form(s), using creative writing, including nonfiction, fiction and poetry, to explore empathy and the most effective ways of inducing it in readers.

In this course we will study and discuss examples of the gothic, sensation, and detective fiction that flooded the literary market during the Victorian period. Like their eighteenth-century gothic predecessors, many of these texts lacked literary respectability, though they achieved best seller status. Far beyond simply providing a jaded reading public with scandalous and suspenseful narratives loaded with sex, crime, mystery and even the supernatural, these texts attempted to expose not only the secrets of their protagonists, but also the seamy underbelly of outwardly respectable Victorian society, epitomized by the family with its angel of the house. Topics for discussion will include the literary and moral value of these sub-genres of the novel and what they reveal about Victorian society's anxiety over transgressive - and therefore prohibited - elements in the domestic and public sphere.

The political system of the United Kingdom; contemporary scholarly debates about UK politics and the UK constitution; and critical analysis of these debates and of current issues in UK politics (including constitutional reform), using contemporary political science and political theory.

This course engages with the work of most prominent English feminist thinkers (including founders of British feminist thought who were pioneers of feminism in the English speaking world), and will stage 'conversations' between them and influential feminist thinkers in the U.S.

Rich history of Oxford, the place in which students are studying; skills to become aware of the profound influences the experience of living and studying abroad can have on self-conceptions. Appreciation of study in a town with such a marvelous tradition of scholarship through understanding of the history of learning in Oxford. How Oxford came to be the university town it is today.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform society in a way that has not been seen before. AI can bring many positive benefits, such as allowing ideas to more flexibly cross language barriers, improve medical outcomes, and enhance the safety and efficiency of our transportation systems. However, as with the introduction with other technologies, there is the potential of negative consequences, such as job insecurity and the introduction of vulnerabilities that come with greater levels of automation. We will delve deeply into the core issues at stake that comes with the greater integration of AI into society. The course will be composed of discussion and guest lectures from industry leaders and academics associated with Oxford. Assignments include readings, class presentations, individual research projects, and essays. Field trips will include visits to London and Edinburgh.

Introduction to contemporary analytic philosophy of language, examining some of its central concepts, including reference, meaning, and context. Students explore these concepts, by studying some of the major questions in the field, including: How do expressions esp. names secure their referents? What are the connections and differences between literal meaning and speaker meaning? What is the role of context in language? How philosophy of language impacts other areas in philosophy, by covering such topics as Meaning Externalism (metaphysics), Contextualism about 'know' (epistemology), and Propositional Attitudes (philosophy of mind).