Summer School 2018: Classes
Nine classes are on offer at OUMC Summer School 2018. A brief summary of the topics that will be discussed in each class is provided below.
Politics
Title: Political Theory- Freedom of Speech
Political theory involves the analysis of political concepts, such as rights, democracy, freedom and power. As a sub-branch of both philosophy and politics, some of the questions that it attempts to answer include: What is the right form of government? Are rights absolute? How should power be distributed in a society? In this session, we will use the tools of political theory to attempt to analyse one of the most cherished rights of modern liberal democracy—the freedom of speech. What is the freedom of speech? What counts as speech, and what does not? Is the freedom of speech always valuable?
Biological Sciences
Title: Evolutionary Scandals- Discussing Life Without Sex
We often say that in life, nothing is perfect, or at least to our expectations. Since Biology is considered as the ‘study of life’, then it is safe to assume that we can expect very strange and interesting things in the study of Biological Sciences. This, in my opinion, is what makes Biology so exciting.
The aim of this tutorial is to introduce you to the debate that surrounds one of the biological ‘inconsistencies’ that biologists are trying to pin down. Sexual reproduction has always been considered as a requirement for evolution, and yet, there exists such creatures that, despite being asexual, have persisted and diversified beyond expectations. An example of this are the bdelloid rotifers, which John Maynard Smith (1986) considered ‘evolutionary scandals’ for this feat. In this tutorial we will discuss the characteristics of bdelloid rotifers that make them unique, and, based on existing research, suggest hypotheses as to how they are able to speciate when, based on their lifestyle, they would be expected to be doomed to extinction.
History
Title: The Global Early Modern
The early modern, roughly said to span the years 1500-1800, is a hotly contested term in history. In this tutorial, we will discuss why, and in the process think about what historians do and what relevance their work has us on an individual and societal level. The aim is to give students a chance to experience what might be expected of them at an Oxford tutorial in History.
Philosophy
Title: Two wrongs do not make a right…or do they?
What makes our actions right and what makes them wrong? And why does it matter? Morality has occupied the thoughts of thinkers for ages. Today, it is still at the forefront of many philosophical discussions and debates, making it the perfect topic to introduce anyone to the world of philosophy.
The class will hope to impart:
- A greater understanding of what philosophy is about
- Knowledge of what philosophical thinking is
- How philosophy can be applied in the real world
Physics
Title: What hydrogen atoms tells us about cosmology
Hydrogen atom is one of the most studied models in quantum mechanics. While the physics of the hydrogen atom might sound simple (and is in fact one of the simplest models in quantum mechanics), much of the twentieth century observational astrophysics and cosmology owe their discoveries and breakthroughs from physicists’ understanding of the hydrogen atom. In this class, I will talk about classical and quantum mechanical model for the hydrogen atom, and then discuss how we can learn about the expansion of the universe using ideas from atomic spectroscopy. I will then end by briefly mentioning that dark energy is one of the candidates for explaining the expansion of the universe, although this is still an open problem for current physics research!
Economics
Title: “Who Wants To Be a Central Banker? Understanding How Monetary Policy Is Applied in Malaysia”
Ever wondered how do the macroeconomic theories taught in classrooms translate into actual real-life policies? In this class you will explore how central banks formulate monetary policy, learn to read BNM monetary policy statements, and get up to date with the latest developments in the exciting field of monetary economics.”
Law
Title: Contract Law: Offer and Acceptance
When I promise to show you the answers to my school assignment for free, is that promise enforceable as a contract in a court of law? What if that promise was made in exchange for you treating me to lunch? Does the medium through which this promise was made – mentally, verbally, in writing – matter? What if we made the agreement, but with different pieces of assignments in mind? Contract law is the quintessential private law topic in an LLB syllabus. It hones both skills of (1) systematic thinking, through the methodical application of legal rules to fact situations, and (2) inquisitive thinking, by questioning the (il)logicality of traditional contract law rules, and exploring possible alternatives in their place. In this tutorial, we will use the basic ‘offer-acceptance’ framework of contract law to explore two controversial themes: the display of goods and unilateral contracts. This will be done by discussing two illustrative cases, Pharmaceutical Society v Boots Cash Chemists (Southern) Ltd a nd Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. By the end of the session, you will have a sense of how an Oxford degree in law requires systematic thinking, encourages independent inquiry, and challenges you to interrogate the assumptions undergirding what otherwise seems like a self-evident truth.
Biochemistry
Title: DNA Packaging
We know DNA as the molecule that contains our genetic information, which is giant amount of material. However, each cell can fit a complete copy of our DNA in their nucleus, read specific regions of our DNA, transcribe it into RNA and proteins all while staying contained in the nucleus. In this session we will consider the challenges faced by the cell in accomplishing all this, and the solutions it has developed that allow cells to sustain life.
Requirements: SPM/GCSE understanding of DNA preferable
Earth Sciences
Title: Looking to the future through the windows of the past
3.8 Billion years. After all this time, life on earth has developed the ultimate tool to understand the world: Science. How does water cause volcanic eruptions? What caused the magnificent dinosaurs to die? Why is the flight to UK from Malaysia longer than the flight from UK to Malaysia? Most importantly, what… is life? If these questions create a deep curiosity that stirs your soul than maybe Earth Sciences could be an interesting course to look at. If this doesn’t convince you to check out Earth Sciences at Oxford, it also has the second highest average graduate salary in the UK. Geologists have one of the highest employability and is predicted to be the most in demand career in 4 years. (Take that lawyers, engineers and E&M students!) Geology/ Geophysics are also consistently in the top 10 highest paid jobs in Malaysia, UK, US and worldwide. With an uncertain future due to climate change and diminishing natural resources, Earth sciences becomes more relevant now than it has been before.