This module examines activities of people in ancient societies to understand, predict, and control the world around them. The main focus is ancient Greece. We...

This module examines activities of people in ancient societies to understand, predict, and control the world around them. The main focus is ancient Greece. We investigate how they studied of the heavens (including theories of how the world came into being and how the world operates), medicine, mathematics, and technology. We also investigate how the ancient Greeks thought about subjects such as astrology, alchemy, nature, and activities related to magic. In addition to the Greeks, we also investigate Babylonian, Egyptian, and Roman cultures. We also examine connections and comparisons with activities in southern Asia and China. No prerequisites.

The purpose of this course is to provide the foundations for one of the central ideas that motivates the UCL BA in Education Studies: the idea that education...

The purpose of this course is to provide the foundations for one of the central ideas that motivates the UCL BA in Education Studies: the idea that education is one of the most important lenses for understanding the world around us today. The close study of education is essential not just for understanding the nature and significance of teaching and learning in schools, colleges and universities, but also for developing our awareness of how education shapes (and is shaped by) the entire rest of society, outside of the formal education system itself. Some scholars speak of the rise of a schooled society, in which all social practices and institutions are increasingly influenced by and structured around ideas, values and discourses about education, learning, schooling, development, knowledge and skill. The goal of the course is to help students develop their own critical ability to recognise, reflect upon and analyse what it means to be living, as we all do today, in an ever more schooled society.

Global societal challenges such as climate change and the burden of chronic disease require different disciplines and professionals to work together towards a...