Winter Semester 2019/2020
Please choose your courses so you will get the minimum of 10 ECTS/module. Elective courses have to be registered via email to anna.schneider@fau.de until second week of the semester, 01.11.2019.
Schedule changes cannot be excluded until the beginning of the semester.
Course Offering for Module 1 (10 ECTS)
The following classes are mandatory:
Time and Place: Monday, 02:00 – 04:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis:This lecture in comparative anthropology focuses on the influence of cultural factors in decision-making with a focus on Asia but also in a wider perspective. The first part of the course will expose the differences between anthropological and behavioral sciences’ approaches in assessing cultural factors in decision-making. We will then address how religious worldviews and notions of fate and agency shape individual decision-making in various cultural settings. Lastly, the lecture will focus on concrete cases of social institutions build to deal with uncertainty in collective decision-making (through the example of earthquake prediction in China and Japan) as well as on cultural and social tools available for individual and collective decision-making such as divination rituals and drawing lots rituals.
Additional Information: Mandatory class. No registration is required for this lecture.
Time and Place: Wednesday, 12:00 – 14:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 2,5 ECTS
Synopsis: This lecture in comparative anthropology focuses on the influence of cultural factors in decision-making with a focus on Asia but also in a wider perspective. The first part of the course will expose the differences between anthropological and behavioral sciences’ approaches in assessing cultural factors in decision-making. We will then address how religious worldviews and notions of fate and agency shape individual decision-making in various cultural settings. Lastly, the lecture will focus on concrete cases of social institutions build to deal with uncertainty in collective decision-making (through the example of earthquake prediction in China and Japan) as well as on cultural and social tools available for individual and collective decision-making such as divination rituals and drawing lots rituals.
Additional Information: Mandatory class. No registration is required for this lecture.
Lecturer: JProf. Dr. Stéphanie Homola, Dr. Martina Gottwald-Belinic, Sven Grundmann, Anna Schneider
Time and Place: Thursday, 10:00-12:00 later changing to Thursday, 14:00-16:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 2,5 ECTS
Synopsis: This course will focus on the topic of data within the context of interdisciplinary research. Students will work closely with specialists in multiple academic disciplines, who will address qualitative and quantitative approaches to data collection and analysis. In particular, students will be encouraged to engage with questions related to ‘meaning’. How, for example, is data treated differently across the Social Sciences? and how do different disciplines assess data in order to create meaning? “Interdisciplinary Methodologies” is intended to familiarize students with a variety of approaches to research in the humanities, including branches of Political Science, Economics, Sociology, and Social and Cultural Anthropology.
Additional Information: Mandatory class. No registration is required for this lecture.
Course Offering for Module 3 (10 ECTS)
The following classes are mandatory:
Time and Place: Individual Appointments
ECTS: 2,5 ECTS
Synopsis for Lecture Series: The Lectures- and Seminar Series goes beyond the classes taught in the framework of the Master’s program “Standards of Decision-Making Across Cultures” and provides the students with insights from practitioners and selected scholars. Some of the sessions will have the character of workshops, where students can develop and train new sets of skills. Other sessions will introduce the students to new fields of applied research and the frontier of scientific development. In the upcoming winter semester, we offer a diverse program which covers an introduction into behavioral economics, a workshop in Design Thinking and a seminar on artificial intelligence and decision-making in games. At the begin of the semester the topics of the Lecture Series and the times and venues are published online on the SDAC website and offline on posters in our facilities.
Additional Information: Schedule can be found here. Mandatory class. No registration is required for ( SDAC Students)to recieve ECTS points.
Synopsis for IKGF Project Work: The SDAC program maintains a strong partnership with the International Consortium for Research in the Humanities “Fate, Freedom and Prognostication” (IKGF) at FAU. Every semester, IKGF Visiting Fellows (http://www.ikgf.uni-erlangen.de/people.shtml) present their ongoing research during the regular IKGF Lecture Series (Tuesdays, 6-8 pm, schedule to be confirmed). Students are strongly encouraged to attend these lectures to get insight into the academic world and get into contact with international scholars. To foster exchanges with Visiting Fellows, students will work on an essay (3-5 pages) based either on the topic of one of the IKGF Lecture Series, or on a topic of expertise of one of the IKGF Visiting Fellows. Prof. Homola will introduce students to IKGF Fellows and help them choose a relevant topic.
Additional Information: Mandatory class. No registration is required for this lecture. Please discuss the details with your individual Mentor.
For information about IKGF activities and members, check the IKGF website.
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. La Fleur
Time and Place: Wednesday, 16:00 – 18:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 2,5 ECTS
Synopsis:
This seminar begins with an examination of the management and leadership themes at the heart of the Chinese historical tradition, with relevance to decision-making today. Running the world’s largest empire was a practical and theoretical challenge for generations of Chinese leaders, and the tradition contains some of the world’s finest works ever to deal with organizational structure, hierarchy, and social interaction. In particular, we will examine the manner in which one of China’s most influential historians, Sima Guang (1019-1086), articulated the relationship between case studies and decision-making (and managing oneself, one’s family organization, and “all under heaven”—the largest structures of business, politics, and society). We will also study themes that will help us to understand the connection between the classic Chinese texts and decision-making in today’s world. The core management texts of the Chinese tradition will be windows onto ways of understanding complex historical, social, and even cognitive issues in today’s social, political, and economic life.
Students are required to choose one of the offered classes. Since some of the classes are offered through cooperations with other departments additional registration via studon/meinCampus might be required. Please check ahead of time.
Time and Place: Monday, 16:00-18:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: While globalization mainly is a standardizing program, the comparison issue in cross-cultural aspects has become more and more important. But to compare cultural values or attitudes, we have to assume that defined values representing the particular culture exist and that attitudes are based on reasonable conceptions. The Lecture will focus on different cultural key values from distinct cultural perspectives as well as key problems related to comparing. Besides, suggestions to solve the comparing problem will be discussed too.
Additional Information: Elective course. Final registration is required until the end of the second week of the semester.
Time and Place: Wednesday, 10:00-12:00 am, room A 401, Bismarckstraße 1, 91054 Erlangen
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: Human rights are rights held by all human beings equally. They claim universal validity across national, regional and cultural boundaries. Without the aspiration of universalism, the very concept of human rights would cease to make much sense. In retrospect, however, it seems obvious that the historical human rights declarations, starting from the Virginia Bill of Rights (1776), have always displayed aspects of particularism. While headlines, such as “rights of man” or “droits de l’homme” betray an androcentric bias, experiences of people from lower social strata, persons with disabilities, religious and ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples and others may have had merely limited, if any, impact on the formulation of human rights declarations. Moreover, the very idea of human rights has attracted objections that it one-sidedly reflects a European worldview or a Western way of life, which allegedly fail to meet the demands of people from other parts of the world. Do we have to conclude that the aspiration of universal human rights is but an empty illusion? Before tackling that central question, we have to define the claims of human rights and their inherent limitations. Subsequently, we will deal with the “textbook version” of the genesis of human rights in comparison to more critical, innovative readings of their historical development. We will analyse the relationship between individual rights and communitarian solidarity and explore the specific “secularity” of human rights claims as opposed to notions of divine rights. Another subject of investigation will be the interrelatedness of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. A question that has found increasing attention is how freedom of religion or belief can be reconciled with claims of gender-equality or the emancipation of sexual minorities. The lecture will furthermore explore possible tensions between human rights and democracy. If there is any time left towards the end, we might also deal with controversial ideas of an evolutionary self-transcendence of humanity towards a “post-humanist” stadium and possible dangers arising from such futuristic visions. The lecture series belongs to the mandatory module “human rights” within the Masters programme “Political Science”. It is also part of the “Human Rights Master” syllabus. Students will have access to background material through “StudOn”.
Additional Information: Elective course. Additional registration via studon is required.
Time and Place:
Tuesday, 13:00 – 15:00 in Nuremberg
ECTS: 5 ECTS (Lecture 4 ECTS and Seminar 1 ECTS)
Synopsis:The participants understand and analyze typical management problems of international firms. The participants will get to know modern theories and methods of international management and will be able to apply these to practical problems. They get a detailed overview of the current state of international management research and are able to evaluate theoretical and empirical studies in this area critically.
Additional Information: Elective course. Additional registration via studon is required.
Lecturer: Dr. Martina Gottwald-Belinic
Time and Place: Wednesday, 10:00-12:00 pm, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: Recent changes in economic environment imposed by the new industrial revolution and challenges and economic difficulties confronted by the limitation of globalisation development path pioneered by Euro/American societies since the origins of capitalist is changing view on the world order. Most of the economic scholars and observes turn their focus to transition development in East Asia, especially on remarkably successful development of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and so called “Chinese Model” of economic transition.
This course will give a systematic and insightful view of China’s transformation road on becoming an important player for the global economy. This includes the challenges in labour transformation and readiness of Chinese economy, firms and society in general for economic absorption of new technology trends and catch up with the changes the world economy is facing up to date. The aim of the course is to provide the students the framework for understanding of China’s economy, structural and institutional changes in China and readiness for the new challenges ahead in sustaining past accomplishments and moving towards the modern Chinese economy. Special focus will be given onto soft power and cultural integration into the world economy as well as economic, diplomatic and investment activities of China recent increased expansion abroad.
Additional Information: Elective course. Final registration is required until the end of the second week of the semester.
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Philipp Balsiger
Time and Place: Thursday, 16:00-18:00 , Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: Following soon.
Additional Information: Elective course. Final registration is required until the end of the second week of the semester.
Course Offering for Module 5 (10 ECTS)
Please choose two from the following classes:
Time and Place: Monday, 10:00-12:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: Decision Making in Managerial Economics is one of the fastest growing scientific fields and field of practice in Economics. This interdisciplinary field is a combination of concepts derived from microeconomics, social & cognitive psychology, behavioural decision research, consumer research, experimental economics etc. Its focus is on the question “How do people make decisions”. How do they cope with risk and uncertainty? How do they weight the present against the future? How do people perceive money and use it? Do people know what made us happy in the past and what will make us happy in the future? …
Besides theoretical insight in this discipline, students will be presented with practical knowledge on how to manage the choice architecture, generate successful business strategies and to improve their own decision-making. Students will be expected to get familiar with the literature presented in class, to think critically and analytically and to present and defend ideas clearly and rigorously.
Additional Information: Mandatory class. No registration is required for this lecture.
Time and Place: Thursday, 12:00-14:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: In the early 1970s, design theorist Horst Rittel and urban planner Melvin M. Webber published their treaty “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning” in which they discuss why the planning of policies and social, cultural or environmental problem solving cannot succeed. Problems faced by policy-makers are entirely different from problems natural scientists or engineers have to deal with. Many policy problems are wicked problems, which are principally undecidable and for which no scientifically “right” or “wrong” solution exists. Decision-making processes in public policy often follow the course of normative judgments where distinctions between “good” and “bad” dominate the debate. In this course, we discuss approaches of reasoning which could supplement evidence-based decision-making concepts. This form of argumentation enables decision-makers to consider cultural and normative values in their assessment of policy alternatives. Policy advising is more an art and craft rather than a scientifically rigorous technique. Therefore, we will practice ethical reasoning by discussing some specific cases of wicked policy problems.
Additional Information: Mandatory class. No registration is required for this lecture.
Time and Place: Monday, 12:00-14:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: This course offers an introduction into Cultural Sociology and Cultural Studies, generally concentrating on understanding the concept of culture and how it is formed. Key concepts and approaches to culture in Sociology will be introduced starting with the works of classical sociological theorists like Norbert Elias, Alfred Schütz or Theodor Adorno.
To get a better understanding of a socially constructed culture the course will analyze the example of the United States focusing on their myth based process of nation building. By investigating the foundational role of myths in this context students will get an understanding of a nation as an imagined community and the influence of symbolism in creating social societies.
By the end of the class students will be able to explain cultural concepts, have become sensitive to open and hidden symbolism and have developed techniques to critically assess existing cultures and nations.
Additional Information: Mandatory class. No registration is required for this lecture.
Time and Place: Tuesday, 18:00-20:00, Henkestraße 91, House 8, Room 02.276
ECTS: 5 ECTS
Synopsis: Following the end of the Cold War new possibilities of comparing distinct cultures around the world came up. At the same time the possibilities turned to become a need of comparison due to the dramatic development of the global markets. These challenges became the starting point for complete different reflections on cultures. In addition to these contextual constraints postmodern thinking and in its consequence the reappraisal of European colonialism were further notions laying the ground for an intensive discussion on several cultural aspects.
The seminar will mainly focus on three areas that are in discussion for the moment; (a) substantial knowledge of Cultures as e.g. terminological regulations concerning cultural expressions, representations of cultural expressions [rituals, aesthetics, politics], functions of cultures, etc., (b) different models of Cultural Evolution, and (c) such speculations about the further development of cultures (one single, uniform culture? culture of western civilization?)
Additional Information: Elective course. Final registration is required until the end of the second week of the semester.
Additional Offers
The following classes are not included in the SDAC modules and therefore the ECTS cannot be used for a SDAC module. If students participate and take the examination the class will be shown on the transcript.
Time and Place:
Please check in Univis.
ECTS: 5 ECTS (Lecture 4 ECTS and Seminar 1 ECTS)
Synopsis:The participants understand and analyze typical management problems of international firms. The participants will get to know modern theories and methods of international management and will be able to apply these to practical problems. They get a detailed overview of the current state of international management research and are able to evaluate theoretical and empirical studies in this area critically.
Additional Information: Please register via Studon.