Study Abroad | Maynooth
Fall 2023: Academics

Course Code: AC 151

Instruction Language: English

This module will introduce students to the fundamentals of accounting. Topics covered include: principles of accounting, double entry book-keeping, extraction of a trial balance, calculation of depreciation, bad debts, bad debt provisions, accruals and prepayments, journal entries and bank reconciliations, preparation of the financial statements for a sole trader .

Course Code: AN 212

Instruction Language: English

This module investigates the ways that human thought, social action, and culture are mediated by language and related semiotic systems. We will investigate a few of the ways that social organisation, social relationships, and identity are mediated through talk, then explore the ways that social relationships and talk itself are transformed via mass media and large-scale publics.

Course Code: BI 201

This module will have a strong emphasis on proteins, the regulation of their activity and their participation to cellular processes. There will also be a focus on essential metabolic pathways, which will be described in detail, but also presented within a physiological context. An effort will be made to present simple experimental evidence for essential concepts. Tutorials will focus on developing problem-solving and analytical skills.

Course Code: EQ 202

Instruction Language: English

Topics addressed include the economic and social importance of tourism generally and in particular the Irish equine leisure and tourism industry. The Irish equine leisure and tourism sector will also be looked at in the context of the international leisure and tourism industry. Students will learn about and have the opportunity to discuss current and/or topical issues of concern with staff and industry experts.

Course Code: MN 215

Instruction Language: English

Focuses on international aspects in management theory and literature, which are relevant across international cultures and borders. There is a particular focus on comparing the institutional context and cultures of countries. This serves as the basis for analyzing managing in international environments, considering approaches to ethics, negotiation, motivation, and management and leadership across countries.

Course Code: CS 416

Instruction Language: English

Classical ciphers; symmetric ciphers; hash functions; authentication; asymmetric ciphers; factorization; DLP and attacking asymmetric ciphers; security protocols; emerging concepts; selected topics from biometrics; elliptic curve cryptography; smart card security; identity based encryption; computer forensics. Practical work: Competitive cryptanalysis

Course Code: LW 631

Instruction Language: English

Provides an introduction to key theories underlying the field of criminology against the backdrop of criminal justice policies and processes. It investigates the nature and origins of the discipline of criminology, and provides an insight into the complex trends and theoretical paradigms which shape the study of crime. A broad overview of the operation of the criminal justice system is provided, and its functioning considered in the context of criminological theory.

Course Code: LW 272

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces students to key questions of gender in the study of crime, punishment and the criminal justice system. Adopting a critical criminological perspective, the role of gender in offending behaviour, crime victimisation and criminal justice responses are examined. These topics are also explored using the concept of intersectionality, which looks at how other factors such as race and class are felt alongside gender. The module examines women as victims and women as offenders. The gendered nature of victimisation is investigated. The module also outlines the literature on women as offenders, looking to the historical constructions of offending women and the influence this history continues to exert on public and criminal justice thinking. The responses to offending women are investigated, particularly the idea of gendered punishment regimes and differences in the way men and women are punished. The module also examines contemporary issues related to men’s offending. The gender differential in criminal offending has been one of the most persistent findings in criminology and recent work has tackled the question of why men commit disproportionately more crime than women. The module presents the findings from these studies, outlining the role of masculinity identities in men’s offending. Finally, the cultural and media representations of gender and crime are outlined, and the module overviews particularly the representations of women as victims and offenders. Throughout, the module uses Irish and international case studies to illustrate the implications of a gendered criminal justice system, drawing on statistics, policy documents and academic literature.

Course Code: BI 303

Instruction Language: English

Topics covered include: Soil ecology and the role of microbes in nutrient cycling; The interaction of climate and soil in the formation of the 10 principal global biomes; vegetation change through succession: patterns, mechanisms and examples from bogs and sand dunes; Lotka-Volterra modeling of organism and population interactions; intra-specific competition within species; inter-specific competition between species; predatory-prey relationships; density-dependent and density-independent selection mechanisms; gradients and patterns of global species diversity. Along with a lab-based practical component there will be a weekend field course to introduce field observation of ecological processes.

Course Code: EC 317

Instruction Language: English

This course examines the economics of the European Union. Topics covered may include the structure of the European Union; basic trade theory; the single market; the theory of optimal currency areas and monetary union; European labour markets; the Common Agricultural Policy; competition policy; EU trade policy; and Brexit.

Course Code: EN 202

Instruction Language: English

This module examines literary texts in their historical contexts. The module discusses the relationship between literature and history and how this can be understood in a variety of ways (through, for example, materialist, gendered, political, philosophical and other critical perspectives). The module concentrates on examples of historical moments when the literary interacts with historical events and phenomenona.

Course Code: EN 204

Instruction Language: English

Examines the geographies of literature and looks at how literary culture reflects on and shapes the places which it inhabits.

Course Code: MD 240

Instruction Language: English

Provides an introduction to film as an aesthetic, economic, and cultural phenomenon. Mastering the vocabulary associated with narrative, editing, cinematography and sound, which are the fundamental tools required for the close analysis of film texts, lays the groundwork for the interpretive analysis of film texts.

Course Code: FN 205

Instruction Language: English

This introductory course deals with investment decisions. The topics include financial statement analysis, investment appraisal, cash management, risk measurement and the returns on risky assets.

Course Code: GY 313

Instruction Language: English

Within the lifespan of the present generation, global climate is expected to change more radically than at any time over the past several thousand years. The primary cause of this is increasingly recognised as being due to human activities in altering the composition of the atmosphere, particularly as a consequence of interfering with long wave radiative transfers as a result of increasing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. How big and how rapid the climatic changes resulting from this are likely to be are of acute concern for the entire global community and are the subjects of major research efforts world-wide. This module addresses the causes and consequences of climate change. It examines how various techniques enable a longer term perspective on climate to be obtained. It examines how past and present climatic fluctuations can be seen to have social, economic and political consequences which technological advances have not eliminated and may even have exacerbated. The implications of modelling-based projections of the enhanced greenhouse effect for Ireland and other parts of the world will be analysed, as will options to mitigate future global warming.

Course Code: GY 326

Instruction Language: English

Explores issues relating to the biological and social causes of human disease and considers the importance of geography in the context of medical/health data and the uses of and challenges involved with using such data. Considers the various ways that environment influences health, including the relationship between early life exposures and disease in later life. The module also explores ‘popular epidemiology’ and real versus perceived disease patterns. It reflects on the relationship between poverty, inequality and health and examines the role of social capital.

Course Code: GY 339

Instruction Language: English

Films reflect the remarkable changes in urban life that have occurred since the turn of the 20th century and represent the promises and failures of globalization, urban development, and living with strangers. Students will gain an understanding of such themes as: urban aesthetics, design, and planning; urban form and technology; social and cultural conflict in cities; political and economic processes tied to urbanization (including colonialism, globalization, real estate development, deindustrialization); changing racial and gender relationships; and utopian and dystopian views of urban futures.

Course Code: HY 293

Instruction Language: English

This module, which begins with the Italian aggression against the Ottoman Empire in 1911, covers a period often referred to as the ‘European Civil War’. It examines the links between the two World Wars and covers the two decades that separated them, noting the retreat of liberal democracy in the face of fascism and communism. The module closes with an examination of Europe’s prospects in 1945.

Course Code: HY 273

Instruction Language: English

This module examines the processes of modernisation in Irish history.

Course Code: PO 203

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces students to the main theoretical approaches to and contemporary issues in the study of International Relations (IR). Focusing on the inter-relationships between states, international organizations and non-state actors, the module begins by outlining the key theoretical frameworks which inform IR debates. These include Realism, Liberal Internationalism, Marxism and Social Constructivism. Building on these conceptual foundations the module then introduces the key debates within the world of contemporary international politics, including Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History, Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations, the relationship between Islam and the West and the US “war on terror”, and the nature and significance of global economic structures. The mixture of theoretical and empirical analysis will allow students to develop ideas about the international political system, what it is made up of, how states interact with each other and with wider structural forces. Particular attention will be paid to the intellectual history of the discipline and to contemporary IR theory.

Course Code: LW 397

Instruction Language: English

This module introduces students to the field of international criminal law. It provides a discussion and analysis of the history of international criminal responsibility and its development over time. In particular, it focuses on how the international community has reacted to atrocity crimes in terms of prosecution and sentencing. The module will, in particular focus on international prosecutions since the Nuremberg Trials in 1945, the development of ad hoc and hybrid tribunals and courts and the creation and practice of the International Criminal Court. The scope and nature of specific international crimes will be analysed in depth, i.e. genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. The module will also discuss modes of liability and sentencing in respect of international crimes. The legal frameworks of atrocity crimes will be analysed in depth, in addition to jurisprudence of international tribunals. Academic commentary on the operation and challenges of the legal framework will also be analysed. The ultimate aim of this module is to provide students will a grounding in the legal framework of atrocity crimes with reference to academic commentary and tribunal practice.

Course Code: KD 303

Instruction Language: English

Looks at the root causes of food and nutrition insecurity, how climate change is contributing to increased vulnerability of the poor, particularly in the Global South, and how ‘adaptation to climate change’ is essential for any efforts to promote sustainable food systems and food, nutrition and livelihood security. This module will also introduce the ‘Sustainable Livelihoods approach’ (SLA) to poverty reduction and how SL thinking can inform community based climate change adaptation strategies and food security planning.

Course Code: MU 265

Instruction Language: English

Examines the history of Irish traditional music in the 20th and 21st centuries, in particular focusing on the transformations associated with different revivals in this period. No prior knowledge of Irish traditional music is required, but you must be able to read and write music notation.

Course Code: KD 353

Instruction Language: English

Current events around the world, including conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, South Sudan and Yemen, highlight once more the devastating effect that conflict can have on the lives and prospects of millions of people globally. This course will explore the relationship between development and conflict. Drawing from a diverse range of disciplines, it will examine different perspectives in conflict and conflict resolution processes, tying this literature to issues of development and security, with a particular focus on human security.

Course Code: PS 251

Instruction Language: English

This course provides a foundation on the underpinnings of human cognition. Topics may include: perception, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning and decision making.

Course Code: SO 209

Instruction Language: English

In many countries medical sociologists are among the largest speciality groups in sociology. Sociology frequently forms parts of the curriculum of health care disciplines but among sociologists there has also been a concern to maintain a critical distance from the subject they study and to ensure that lay, as well as professional, perspectives are explored. This course lays emphasis on policy relevance in its exploration of this sub-field of sociology.

Course Code: SO 312

Instruction Language: English

Contemporary trends in Irish family life, placing them in comparative historical perspective. Sociological explanations of those trends, the consequences for individuals, groups and society as a whole. Changing patterns of family formation, changing gender roles, reconciliation of family and work life, family violence.