What links shortening World War II by two years, landing a man on the moon and knowing if it will rain tomorrow? Computer modelling played a key role in cracking the Enigma code, preparing for the Apollo landings and providing the first accurate weather forecasts.
As computing permeates everyday life at an increasingly rapid pace, it is becoming critical for students of ALL disciplines to appreciate the capabilities and consequences of describing real-world phenomena on a computer. STEM students should take this module to expose themselves to challenges arising in seemingly unrelated fields of enquiry and how mathematics and computing can help tackle those challenges. Non STEM students (e.g. those located in the Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences) should take this module to expose themselves to the possibilities afforded by describing and analysing real-world phenomena (e.g. food security, population growth, conflict) in a technical computing language. Employers are increasingly demanding graduates who can collaborate and work across the disciplines to tackle the big problems and upcoming challenges for society.
"It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong” - Richard Feynman
"We have no idea about the 'real' nature of things … The function of modelling is to arrive at descriptions which are useful.” - Richard Bandler and John Grinder, 1979
This module is an interdisciplinary module teaching problem solving on a computer in a variety of disciplines, including not only the natural and mathematical sciences but in particular also social sciences, humanities and the arts. The module will focus specifically on problem solving as opposed to the fine details of computer programming. This module will provide training in practical computing skills using the state-of-the-art high-level scripting language Julia and general transferrable skills training. In addition, the module will provide a stepping-stone towards further study of scientific computing.
The aim of this module is to develop an understanding of the ways in which contemporary Britain has been and is actively being shaped by its Empire, focussing on South Asia. To do so this, the module
- focuses upon the way in which historically Britain's relationship with South Asia has shaped its contemporary economic, social and political life.
- uses inter-disciplinary perspectives from the fields of History, Sociology, Gender studies, law and literature to highlight the various ways in which the Britain’s Empire continues to shape its contemporary socio-political and cultural landscape.
- will bring to together South-Asia focussed teaching expertise within the University of Warwick to highlight multiple themes around 'South Asia in Britain'- mobilities and migrant flows, cultural and material lives of migrants, encounters with the legal system, gender and race regimes, workers’ rights, resistance movements and so on.
- engage students with innovative and active learning to not only broaden their understanding of the British Empire, but also to historcise and problematise taken for granted assumptions about it.
- embed a variety of innovative pedagogic practices and engage with a variety of academic and non-academic material to enhance their learning experience