We are so pleased to have you join us as we investigate this crucial topic. Violence is a leading cause of death, disability and health care use worldwide. Violence is a complex problem and can only be understood and reduced though a multidisciplinary approach. This course introduces you to experts who study different forms of violence and we will discuss the various causes of violence. You will also learn about efforts to reduce violence and engage in a day of compassion. We are very fortunate that PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER is participating in our course. He delivers a lecture on the efforts of the Carter Center to end violence around the world, and he engages in a discussion with us about his life and work in human rights. Do join us for short videos, readings and discussions. And also see our coffee chats, where we (Pamela and Deb) summarize and reflect on each module. And we want to hear from you! Feel free to reach out via Twitter or through the course, or through our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/understandingviolence01/.

This course is part of the SDG initiative addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically for the following SDGs [1, 8, 10 and 16]. We hope you will join in our efforts to reach the SDG’s in small but measurable and actionable ways, cooperating with Development Done Differently. Expand your impact. You can create a better world. In today’s world, politics and economics are interconnected, but what is the nature of this connectivity? What are the power relationships that shape the world economy today and create new challenges for international institutions facing globalization? What makes some countries wealthier than others? Do we face cultural diversity or fragmentation? Does the type of governance effect economic development and social change or is it the other way around? How do we measure it and how trustworthy is the data? These issues and many more will be examined in this course along with a wide library of sources and a biting criticism.

This is a course on social norms, the rules that glue societies together. It teaches how to diagnose social norms, and how to distinguish them from other social constructs, like customs or conventions. These distinctions are crucial for effective policy interventions aimed to create new, beneficial norms or eliminate harmful ones. The course teaches how to measure social norms and the expectations that support them, and how to decide whether they cause specific behaviors. The course is a joint Penn-UNICEF project, and it includes many examples of norms that sustain behaviors like child marriage, gender violence and sanitation practices. This is Part 1 of the Social Norms, Social Change series. In these lectures, I introduce all the basic concepts and definitions, such as social expectations and conditional preferences, that help us distinguish between different types of social practices like customs, descriptive norms and social norms. Expectations and preferences can be measured, and these lectures explain how to measure them. Measurement is crucial to understanding the nature of the practice you are facing, as well as whether an intervention was or was not successful, and why. In Part 2, we will put into practice all we have learned in Part 1. New! Please use this link for a 30% discount on the recommended book that accompanies this course! https://global.oup.com/academic/product/9780190622053/?cc=us&lang=en&promocode=AAFLYG6

Democracy can only thrive with the participation of well-informed citizens. The 2020 U.S. presidential election will be historic for many reasons and all parties are leveraging the power of technology to both influence and mobilize voters. More than ever, digital tools and platforms are shaping the opinions and behaviors of voters who will determine the future of the governance of the United States. This new course examines the unprecedented influence of technology and technology policy on America’s elections and democratic process and takes a close look at how a public sphere plagued by polarization, online filter bubbles, a lack of transparency in content moderation policies, and foreign and domestic misinformation and disinformation campaigns, impacts our ability to be well-informed citizens. In this short-form, community awareness course, you will: – Learn how U.S. elections work and about the challenges of implementing new technology – Explore the dynamics of driving voter registration and casting a vote during a pandemic – Examine the role social media platforms play in our ability to maintain a healthy public discourse – See how these digital tools and filters help shape our beliefs, preferences, and convictions as citizens and how they can grow and diminish the agency of individuals, movements, governments, and foreign entities – Understand complex technology policy questions that affect content moderation Be more than a voter. Register now and become an advocate for a healthier democracy.

The Global Diplomacy course is a unique offering to the MOOC environment. Bringing together cutting edge research in the broad fields of Diplomatic and International Studies, award winning distance learning delivery and the instructors previous experience of delivering a successful MOOC. Please see the volume Global Diplomacy: Theories, Types and Models authored with Dr Alison Holmes, (Westview, 2016), and the Understanding Research Methods MOOC from Coursera. The Global Diplomacy MOOC has a direct heritage in the University of London International Academy/SOAS Global Diplomacy MA Programme launched in April 2013 which have attracted hundreds of students from around the world. The Global Diplomacy MA Programme is provided by the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy which has been teaching postgraduate courses in Diplomacy for over twenty five years. After completing the 'Global Diplomacy' MOOC, learners will have: 1. The ability to demonstrate a critical understanding of the nature and development of global diplomacy, drawing on a variety of relevant contributing disciplines in the broad field of International Studies. 2. An understanding of changes in diplomatic practices and procedures and the relationship of those changes to contemporary politics. 3. A sound grounding in both theoretical and empirical approaches to debates in diplomacy so that students have been exposed to the and skills needed to analyse global diplomacy. 4. knowledge of issues in global diplomacy in historical and contemporary contexts.

Terrorism has arguably been one of the defining factors of our age. It frequently makes headlines, threatening or attacking governments, private business and ordinary citizens. And in many parts of the world, it has been one of the most important threats to peace, security and stability. But what does this exactly mean? What is the nature of this threat? Who or what is threatened, how, by whom and why? What can be done about it or how can we at least limit the impact of terrorism and make sure that terrorists do not make headlines and manage to scare us? These are just a handful of questions that will be addressed in this course that consists of three parts. First it focuses on the essence of terrorism as an instrument to achieve certain goals, in addition to an exploration of this phenomenon and the difficulties in defining it. The second part provides an overview of the state of the art in (counter) terrorism studies. Since ‘9/11’ terrorism studies have grown exponentially, reflecting the rise in perceived threats. But what has academia come up with? What theories, assumptions and conventional wisdom has it produced that could be of help in understanding terrorism and dealing with it? The most interesting results are examined and compared with empirical evidence with the aim to either stress their importance or to debunk them as myths. The final part looks into the implications and possibilities for policy making. The course ends with a module specifically designed to address one of today's most topical issue: the foreign fighter phenomenon.

Sports play a giant role in contemporary society worldwide. But few of us pause to think about the larger questions of money, politics, race, sex, culture, and commercialization that surround sports everywhere. This course draws on the tools of anthropology, sociology, history, and other disciplines to give you new perspectives on the games we watch and play. It's the new and improved version of Professor Orin Starn's original "Sports and Society" for Coursera, which drew more than 40,000 students. We will focus on both popular sports like soccer (or “football,” as anyone outside America calls it), basketball, and baseball, and also lesser-known ones like mountain-climbing and fishing. You will never watch or think about sports in the same way again.

This course explores animals within the context of the functional relationships that sociologists call “institutions.” We first examine the use of animals in laboratory science. We then examine the controversial transformation of animals into “livestock” and "meat." We also explore the perspectives of people committed to rejecting the construction and use of animals as food. Next, we focus on some of the roles of animals in human entertainment with particular attention to dog fighting and zoos. Finally, we investigate animal health and welfare through the lens of dilemmas in veterinary medicine and decisions in animal shelters.

Course 5 discusses policies in four areas: housing, education, healthcare, and immigration, with an optional fifth module in child protection. This course addresses issues of power, oppression, and white supremacy. -First we’ll look at housing policy, with its contrasting supports for homeowners and renters. -Then we’ll interpret the structure that provides education and examine debates about its future. -The third module will differentiate the issues in the U.S. healthcare system and develop the structure of public healthcare programs. -Next, the course will lay out immigration policies and weigh the push and pull of the debate about immigration reform. -The optional fifth module traces the child protection system its beginnings to the present day and appraises the failures and strengths of the system. The course is part of a sequence in social policy that has an HONORS TRACK. This track will prepare the learner for masters-level work in policy, which involves reading the literature, writing concise summaries and probing critiques. Over the sequence the learner will develop a policy analysis that will create a foundation for professional policy analyst assignments.

Since Antiquity, scholars have appreciated the importance of communication: as social beings, we cannot exist without communication. We need to interact with people around us, to make sense of the world and to position ourselves in a wider social and cultural reality. In this course, we look at how and why communication evolved as a science and reflect on today’s dominant paradigms. The course also extends beyond the boundaries of communication science itself, exploring dimensions of history, sociology and psychology. Join our class, together with people all over the world. Introduction to Communication Science explores some of the basic theories, models and concepts from the fields of mass, interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. The course begins with a consideration of several basic models, subsequently progressing to the history of communication theory, linear effect-oriented theories, the reception approach and, finally, exploring theories on the production and reinforcement of culture through communication. Upon completion of this course, students should: • have knowledge of the history and development of communication science; • have knowledge of the dominant theoretical approaches within communication science; • have knowledge and understanding of the most important models and concepts in this field. Beginning the week of February 16, 2015, you will be able to join Signature Track, a system that verifies your identity when you take an exam. This option will allow you to earn a Verified Certificate, which provides formal recognition of your achievements in the course and includes the University of Amsterdam logo. Before then, you can complete a “test run” of the exam. You can then re-take the exam after the Verified Certificate becomes available. For information regarding Verified Certificates, see https://courserahelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201212399-Verified-Certificates"