University Lecture Series

What are University lecture Courses?

Our University Lecture Course Programme gives participants the opportunity to attend regular lectures in a selection of courses, alongside enrolled students as an observer. Please note that you are not eligible to attend tutorials, take part in assessments, sit exams and will not have access to online course material. This is a no-stress learning opportunity. Find more information here. 

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University Lecture Course 2023:

 

Semester one 2023:

Semester One 2023 courses run from the Monday 27 February until Friday 2 June 2023 and include a two-week mid-semester break from Wednesday 12 April – Friday 21 April. There are no classes during the mid-semester break.

University Lecture Courses are full for Semester One 2023.

 

Semester Two 2023:

Semester Two 2023 courses run from Monday 17 July until Friday 20 October 2023 and include a two-week mid-semester break from Monday 28 August –  Friday 8 September. There are no classes during the mid-semester break.

Registration will open on Friday, 2 June 2023. See the available courses below:

Semester two 2023 course options: 

HISTORY 217/317 - Nazi Germany and its Legacies

An in-depth look into a period of history that has simultaneously fascinated and horrified generations of people around the world. Topics include: the origins of Nazism, Adolf Hitler and the rise of the NSDAP, life in Nazi Germany in peace and war, Hitler’s foreign policy, the Second World War, the Holocaust and its myriad legacies in history and popular culture.

Lecture’s: Prof. Maartje Abbenhuis, Dr Nicole Perry.

Tuesday 2-4pm, room 405-460 (Engineering building, room 460) 

ASTRO 200 / 200G - Astrobiology

Astrobiology examines the potential of the universe to harbour life and is interdisciplinary, combining Geology, Biology, Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics, Philosophy, Ethics. Course focus is on how these disciplines combine with technology, addressing questions of life in the universe. Key topics include origin and evolution of life, definitions and environmental limits of life, and how to search for life beyond Earth.

Lecturers: Kathleen Campbell, Jan Eldridge, Nick Rattenbury, Emily Parke, Matthew Egbert, Dan Hikuroa, Sarah Seabrook, Priyanka Dhopade, Haritina Mogosanu

Mondays, 11am – 1pm, room 405- 460, (Engineering building, room 460)

PHIL 104 - Ethics and Justice

How should we live? And how do we live well together? This course examines practical questions of ethics and justice at the personal, professional, social and global levels. The course reflects on these topics in the light of philosophical theories about justice, liberty, rights, and different approaches to ethics that emphasise roles, rules, virtues and consequences.

 Lecturer: Matheson Russell

Tues 10am, room ClockT039/105S-039 (building clock tower, room 039)

Thurs 10am room BLT100/106-100 (biology building, room 100) 

 

SOCIOLOGY 103: Aotearoa New Zealand Social Policy and Social Justice

Why do politicians promote certain policies and not others? How do these policy choices reflect their differing values and views on social justice? What policy alternatives emerge from less commonly known values and views?

This course helps to answer these questions. The first section of the course introduces key concepts and theoretical perspectives crucial to the study of social policy. This sets the scene for a series of case studies – growing inequality, children: our future and ethnic diversity – focusing on current social policy challenges in New Zealand and elsewhere. The course will conclude with a brief consideration of the current reality and future potential for social policy to facilitate social justice.

We hope the course will give you a better idea of not only how policy matters because it affects all of our lives but also of how we can influence policy to achieve social justice.

Lectuer: Dr Moeata Keil

Tues 5-6pm and Thurs 1-2pm,  Room B28, General Library. 

THEOREL 216 : Early Christianity

Examines the history of Christianity from its origins in Palestinian and diaspora Judaism through to its official endorsement by the Roman Empire at the end of the fourth century. Explores how various traditions about Jesus evolved, how Christians both accommodated and resisted the wider culture, and how norms for “orthodoxy” (correct teaching) gradually took shape.

Lecturer: AP Allan Badley

Tuesday 1 – 2pm, room 105-012 (Clock Tower building, Room 012)

Wednesday 2- 3pm, room 110-110 (Clock Tower building – East, Room 110)

MUS 144G - Turning Points in Western Music

A study of significant people, major discoveries and inventions, and key factors (artistic, intellectual, social, technical) that were important agents of change in Western music. No previous knowledge of music is assumed.

Lecturers: AP Allan Badley

Tuesdays. 9-11am, room 421W-201 (the Architecture and Planning Building, room 421W)

HISTORY 300

Focuses on the study of history and how historians have understood and explained the past as well as the challenges facing the discipline today. Topics include post-structuralism and history, gender and history, the nature of historical memory and the impact of non-Western perspectives on the discipline.

Lecturer: Kim M. Phillips

Thursdays 10am-11am, room 206-315 (arts building, room 315) 

ANCIENT 100 - Ancient Egyptian History

A broad overview of ancient Egyptian society and history. It encompasses the approximately 2000 years between the early period of formation of the state of Egypt and the end of the New Kingdom. A focus on political history forms the framework for discussions of the art, literature, and religion of the period.

Lectuer: Dr Jennifer Hellum

Monday 5-6pm, room 303-102 (science centre, room 102) 

Fridays 10-11am, room 105S-039 (the clocktower south wing, room 039) 

Law 121G: Law and Society

An introduction to theories of the nature, functions and origins of law and legal systems, including sources of law; comparative concepts of law; an overview of constitutional and legal arrangements in New Zealand, including the role of the courts; the operation of the legal system in historical and contemporary New Zealand with a focus on concepts of property rights, the Treaty of Waitangi, Treaty Settlements and proposals for constitutional change.

Lecturer: Dr Anna Hood

Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 12pm – 1pm, room 109-B15 (library building, room B15) 

ENVSCI 101 Environment, Science and Management

Explores the science behind key environmental issues to recognise the role environmental science plays in understanding the interaction between humans and the environment. The complexity of environmental problems and the difficult task of integrating science, knowledge and values are discussed.

Lecturers: Sonia Fonua; Melanie Kah; Emma Ryan; Sam Trowsdale

Monday 1pm – 2pm, room 401- 401 (Engineering building, room 401) 

Thursday 10am- 11am, room 401- 401 (Engineering building, room 401) 

Friday 12pm – 1pm, room 401- 401 (Engineering building, room 401)

GEOG 101 Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

Understanding of the functioning of natural systems at the Earth’s surface and human interactions with these systems. Examines the operation and interaction between Atmospheric, Hydrological, Ecological and Geomorphic systems. Environmental processes are an integrating theme. Topics include: climate and hydrological systems, ecological processes; surface sediment cycle; and processes governing development and dynamics of major landform types.

Lecturers: Joe Fagan; Gary Brierley; Jenny Salmond

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 4pm – 5pm, room 401-401, (Engineering building, room 401).

GEOG 102 Geography of the Human Environment

Examines the relationships among personal geographies and global geographies of uneven development, economic, environmental and socio-cultural change. Using a variety of examples from New Zealand and the world we illustrate the connection between local places and global issues.

Lecturers:  Salene Schloffel-Armstrong; Laurence Murphy; Larissa Naismith

Monday, Tuesday and Friday 9am- 10am, room 109-B15 (Library building, room B15) 

ANCIENT 216 - Sex and Power in Ancient Greece and Rome

Many Greek and Roman literary works and historical sources deal with sex and power. This course will explore a range of ancient literary representations of women, men, femininity, masculinity, sexual practices and sexual prejudices. Students will study how ancient authors were influenced by the socio-political context and the constraints of different literary genres. All texts will be read in translation.

Lectuer: Dr Maxine Lewis

Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 3-4pm, room 106-204 (biology building, room 204)