Study Abroad | Maynooth
Spring 2024: Academics

Course Code: AC 207

Instruction Language: English

This module is designed to provide students with an understanding of the theoretical and legal framework of taxation. It aims to give students a thorough understanding of the manner in which individuals and businesses are taxed in Ireland. It addresses the application of legislation, practices and procedures governing routine aspects of Income Tax, Local Property Tax, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax and VAT in Ireland.

Course Code: AN 241

Instruction Language: English

In the wake of the pandemic, various ‘progressive’ and ‘regressive’ movements gather pace to imagine and enact their desired futures. Extinction Rebellion, the Movement for Black Lives, movements for alternative economies and autonomous collectives, but also new right movements such as the Identitarian Generation in Europe or (neo-)fascism take collective action to reshape society according to their views and principles. The module introduces students to the concepts and theories that social sciences have developed to understand various forms of collective action for political goals. We will learn about social movements around the globe through ethnographic works aimed at understanding the worlds of the actors involved from their own perspective. We will examine strategies of collective action, as well as the ambivalences, paradoxes, and conundrums that activist collective action struggles with in various contexts.

Course Code: PD 201

Instruction Language: English

An overview of design history and culture from the turn of the 20th century to date. Gives students an introduction and deep understanding of the design of manmade artefacts and how this influences future design. It will show design as an evolving and cyclical concept. Topics include: the Industrial Revolution and arts and crafts movement in design and society; stylistic and decorative movements of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernism and Bauhaus, Post Modernism in design; the changing face of design in consumer society, design in popular and youth culture, and forecasting design for the future.

Course Code: BI 204

Instruction Language: English

Topics covered include: origin of life; origin of eukaryotes; origin of photosynthesis; origin of animals; the colonization of land; origin of amniotes (including mammals, birds, and reptiles); species concepts and modes of speciation; macroevolutionary patterns and key evolutionary transitions; evolutionary trends and emerging phylogenetic relationships in animals and plants; population genetics: the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium; evolutionary forces in natural populations – mutation, migration, natural selection and genetic drift.

Course Code: MN 312

Instruction Language: English

Addresses the core functions and process of global supply chain management. This module aims to ensure students understand the role of supply chain management function within an organization and the global impact supply chain management has on all aspects of the business.

Course Code: CS 261

Instruction Language: English

This module will focus on multimedia technologies for the generation, analysis, and production of multimedia content. The module will first introduce multimedia and its convergence within the media of television, the internet and mobile communications. The module will provide a thorough study of software processes for the generation of multimedia content. Topics will include: introduction to multimedia and multimedia systems and standards; multimedia representation and processing; multimedia storage and compression; software, user interfaces and authoring tools.

Course Code: EC 327

Instruction Language: English

Introduces students to the economic issues involved in the organization and undertaking of sporting and sports-related activities. Topics that may be analyzed include: demand for sport; pricing of sports events; Pareto efficiency; organization of clubs and leagues; competitive balance; labor markets in sport; broadcasting of sport; public finance and sport; cheating in sport; gambling and sport.

Course Code: MD 216

Instruction Language: English

Examines key historical developments and theoretical articulations of documentary as a form encompassing the first films through wartime propaganda, ethnographic film, city-symphonies, cinéma vérité/direct cinema and both more recent feature documentaries and a wide array of non-fiction television genres.

Course Code: FN 314

Instruction Language: English

The module covers keys aspects of the banking industry and its regulation. We analyse the role of banks in the financial system; risk management in banking; bank performance in a time of technological change and financial innovation; and the regulation of banks. We also look at macroeconomic perspectives in banking and international differences across the industry.

Course Code: HY 3005

Instruction Language: English

This course adopts a novel approach to Middle Eastern history by including the Persian Gulf and India. It commences with the Portuguese, who changed the course of world trade, and concludes with modern struggles over the Gulf. Framework and documents are provided for the discussion of key themes, offering students a wide range of recommended works (literary, journalistic or academic) from which to choose a presentation, and selected films.

Course Code: HY 270

Instruction Language: English

This module provides an overview of the causes and course of a selected revolution in modern Irish history

Course Code: LW 322

Instruction Language: English

The module addresses the position of children in Irish law, with a particular emphasis on children in the context of family law. It addresses, in particular, current legal developments in the area of reproduction and assisted human reproduction (as well as surrogacy). The module examines the position of the child under the Constitution of Ireland 1937, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It interrogates the law as it relates to the care and upbringing of children, with particular emphasis on the concepts of adoption, guardianship, custody and access, and the provision of financial support for children. The module also examines legal responses to children and other family members identified as being at risk, with a particular focus on the Child Care Act 1991, as amended, and the responsibilities of the Child and Family Agency, as well as child abduction, and domestic violence. The module seeks throughout to highlight the increasingly international dimensions of child law, with particular emphasis on cross-border recognition of court orders, and the free movement of families. It also emphasises the importance, where appropriate and feasible, of seeking to resolve disputes by conciliation, mediation and collaborative practices, though being mindful throughout of the imperative of ensuring that the best interests of the child are always secured.

Course Code: EN 303

Instruction Language: English

This module examines how literary forms change rapidly and radically through experimentation and asks why this happens. It introduces students to the ways in which literary forms (in drama, fiction, prose, or poetry) undergo sudden alterations, explores the reasons behind such changes, and asks students to consider the aesthetic, political, historical and literary impact of such moments of formal experimentation. The module will discuss case studies in experimentation, concentrating on the formal and textual nature of that experimentation, while setting texts in their historical moments. Case studies might include texts which exemplify: the rise of the novel; Romantic poetry; magic realism; modernism; postmodernism.

Course Code: PO 305

Instruction Language: English

This course builds on the introduction to political institutions in first year to explore the complex of institutions described as the European Union. The course will explore the history of the EU and other European institutions, give an outline of the operations of the various EU bodies and explore the relationship between the EU, other locations of global power (such as the US, NATO or global financial institutions) and the “Third World”. Students will be introduced to a range of key political conflicts within the EU, such as those between states with different interests and different visions of the future of the EU, those between different political party “families” within the EU or those between different locations of power within the EU. The course will explore some important theoretical issues raised by the EU, such as location of political power in an age of supra-national institutions and the ways in which the increasing significance of such institutions can be explained. It will also tackle key normative issues associated with the EU, such as the “democratic deficit”, the definition of “Europe” and the conflict between social-democratic and neo-liberal versions of the “European project”.

Course Code: PS 254

Instruction Language: English

This module explores fundamental issues involved in the assessment and measurement of individual differences, some of the main theories in the field, and key questions and debates in both personality and intelligence/ability. Introduction to psychometric testings including the principles of psychological test design, administration and interpretation. Theories of personality and intelligence/ability. Applications of individual differences theory and research. The measurement of human abilities and associated questions/debates. The role of genetic and environmental factors in personality and intelligence.

Course Code: SO 214

Instruction Language: English

Introduces the ways in which contemporary Northern Irish society is organized, experienced and represented. The major social and political divisions within Northern Irish society are analyzed.

Course Code: SO 338

Instruction Language: English

In this course we move beyond common sense and ‘natural’ explanations of sexuality to show how it is a social construct of competing scientific, religious and legal discourses. We focus specifically on the state’s regulatory role in the field of sexuality and how it has contributed to the creation of sexual insiders and outsiders through the extension of sexual citizenship (e.g. marriage, civil partnerships, hate crime laws etc). We examine resistances to this regulatory code governing sexuality and how it has contributed to the construction of sexual identities and social movements. The course also focuses on contemporary debates around the political economy of sexuality exploring controversies around the criminalization/decriminalization of sex work and the sexualization of children.

Course Code: SO 311

Instruction Language: English

The Sociology of Development seeks to describe and explain the dramatic and growing inequalities in power and wealth. What it means to be a ”developed” society, the ways in which the west has conventionally constructed what is often described as the ”third world” and the recent radical transformations at work in the global economy, politics and culture as well as a number of contemporary issues in the field of development studies.

Course Code: SO 318A

Instruction Language: English

Theories of tourism will be introduced and the social experiences and transformation of tourism examined.