CIVICA ESR
COURSE CATALOGUE

Seminar offered by Dondena Research Center (Fall 2023 seminar series) ------25 September 2023 12:45-14:00 (UTC+1)-----CIVICA ERS can attend ONLINE only. Zoom meetings link will be available upon registration. ------SEMINAR DESCRIPTION This paper explores differences in mortality dynamics between urban and rural areas of 2X European countries during the two pandemic years 2020 and 2021. The link between population density and the spread of communicable diseases is a well-established phenomenon, yet to what extent it holds after years of ongoing epidemics is a less explored question. We find pronounced and significant differences, with urban areas being harder hit by COVID-19 mortality in most countries.------BIO Ilya Kashnitsky is an Assistant Professor at CPop, University of Southern Denmark. His current research is focused on the sustainability of pension systems under the changing mortality and the analysis of excess deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He holds PhD in Demography from University of Groningen, where he defended a dissertations "Changing regional inequalities in ageing across Europe” in 2020.
Teachers:

• Ilya Kashnitsky ()

This course aims to assist writers in a variety of disciplines to revise a draft (often a classroom paper, conference paper, or dissertation chapter) into a peer-reviewed article and submit it for publication. To do this, the course concentrates on the following topics: 1) analyzing your own work strategies in order to help you develop a healthy, realistic schedule for writing; 2) identifying what is “publishable” among the texts you have written, and analyzing how to reshape the article so as to clarify your argument, strengthen your claims for significance, and improve your chances for publication; 3) identifying appropriate journals for submission, working with editors, writing query letters. The course will be held weekly, on Tuesdays (16:00-18:00 CET), starting on 26 September, and running until 5 December. For more information, visit the course webpage: https://www.hertie-school.org/en/phd/news-and-trainings/trainings/publishing-your-research-getting-an-article-ready
Entry requirements: Participants must have a rough draft of something prepared that they want to work on / get ready for publication.

No matter how much we accomplish in our careers, many of us have an inner critic that constantly questions our abilities and our worth. Ironically, the voice of the inner critic tends to get louder the more that we achieve. This workshop will teach you strategies for minimizing the volume of your inner critic and enable you to move towards greater self-confidence. Trainer: Dr Serena Sharma Serena has spent two decades in higher education as both a student and an academic. Since completing her PhD, she has held academic positions at the University of Oxford, King’s College London and, presently, the London School of Economics. Through her own personal experiences in academia—from study, research and publishing to teaching and supervising—Serena has observed a significant gap in the level of support offered to students in coping with the unique pressures that arise in academic environments. With this in mind Serena has created a series of workshops dedicated to promoting wellness in research students.

Course time: 17:40 - 19:20 on Mondays, 4 ECTS. The energy sector is undergoing profound technological, economic, and socio-political shifts in the transition towards a sustainable energy system by 2050. This course will delve into these latest developments by fostering discussions around breaking topics in the energy sector. This will include discussions on both recent journal and news articles. These readings will tie into guest speakers and panel discussions that the students are expected to organize based on their interests. The course will run in conjunction with the activities of the Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) and host both online and offline events where major issues affecting the energy sector are examined in detail. The expectation is that students will assist in organizing a speaker or a panel discussion. Students will be assessed on their ability to work in a group to organize an event, demonstrate knowledge of the assigned readings and reflect these in written assignments. Learning Outcomes: Ability to work in a group organizing an event Learn about most recent policy approaches and research on energy transitions Assess policy and innovation policies and efforts at national and international levels Cross-disciplinary approaches to education and policy More information: https://courses.ceu.edu/courses/2023-2024/society-and-energy-transition
Teachers:

• Michael LaBelle (Central European University)

Course time: 4 October 13:30-15:10 / 9 October 13:30-15:10 / 11 October 13:30-15:10 / 13 October 13:30-15:10 / 16 October 13:30-15:10 / 18 October 13:30-15:10 / 23 October 13:30-15:10 / 25 October 17:40-19:20 / 30 October 13:30-15:10 / 6 November 13:30-15:10 / 8 November 13:30-15:10 / 13 November 13:30-15:10 / 20 November 13:30-15:10 / 22 November 13:30-15:10 / 27 November 13:30-15:10 / 29 November 13:30-15:10 / 1 December 13:30-15:10 / This is an intensive course in the comparative law of - increasingly known as - secured transactions or personal property security law. As Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (United States) has become the main internationally followed model, it (and the linked US law) will serve as the benchmark jurisdiction. As this model’s basic feature is that it extends to all (consensual) security devices that utilize personal property as collateral (i.e., the so-called unitary concept of security interests), title financing (e.g., leasing) and factoring (receivables financing) and a number of other such devices will be also covered even though they belong to distinct branches of law in other legal systems. As contrasts, two developed laws will be analyzed: compartmentalized English law and the German system of latent (i.e., non-registrable) securities. The related international developments and the related law reforms (Central and Eastern Europe, Africa) will also taken a look at; topics that are rarely, if ever, covered by the curricula of western law schools. It was also of utmost importance to make the course practical for counsel advising clients how to protect their clients’ rights through various security devices in the context of bankruptcy and outside of it – though focusing primarily on in rem (proprietary) one. Thus, besides secured transactions stricto sensu, the most frequently utilized security devices as known by developed contemporary legal systems, is given equal emphasis. This includes a discussion on suretyships and guarantees, covenants, comfort letters, performance bonds, subordination as well as the utilization of security interests in the context of project finance. More information: https://courses.ceu.edu/courses/2023-2024/comparative-secured-transactions-law-credit-securities-including-leasing-factoring
Teachers:

• Tibor Tajti (Central European University)

A media and communications workshop designed to ensure that, the next time you address a live mic, a rolling camera, an audience or an interview panel, you’re equipped to get your message across effectively. This session covers a range of communication and broadcast skills including: taking control of your interview, developing and amplifying your messages, building confidence and presence, and dealing with hostile media or curveball questions. We’ll break down some interview examples and we’ll also look at the media environment, exploring the different types of interview and how to best prepare for each one. By the end of the session, you will have the confidence and ability to take media requests - even at short notice. Trainer: Rachel Shabi An award-winning journalist, author and broadcaster, I've reported widely on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East region, from the war between Lebanon and Israel in 2006, the Gaza war of 2008 and the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. I've written for the Guardian, The New York Times, The London Times, The Independent, Al Jazeera English, Foreign Policy, The New Statesman and The National. Now based in the UK, I'm a regular commentator across broadcast media, including BBC News, Sky News, CNN and Al Jazeera English as well as BBC World Service radio. You can find me on news debates, papers reviews and programmes such as the Andrew Marr Show, BBC Newsnight, Dateline London, the Daily Politics and CNN Talk - bringing analysis and opinion on UK and world events.

Understanding the art of editing can be very helpful for strengthening one’s own writing. This seminar takes researchers through the entire editorial process of a law journal. What makes for an interesting article? What are the different characteristics of leading journals across the world? What works and what does not work for communicating an idea? Who gets cited, and who does not, and why? How can one write a constructive peer review report? How does one respond to a critical peer reviewer? What material is for an article, what for a blog and what for a tweet? Thanks to close collaboration with the European Journal of International Law (EJIL) researchers will be able to address these questions by gaining hands-on experience in a leading law journal, meanwhile shaping the production of international legal knowledge. Researchers will also be formally recognized by EJIL for their contributions to the editorial process. The seminar is open to all researchers interested in public international law and allied fields of enquiry. Structure Apart from the first meeting, all meetings will consist of two parts, one which repeats every session (screening and peer review), and the second in which we address a topic specific to that session, typically intended to contribute to the researchers’ own research and writing. All participants will write a screening or peer review report for each session, which they will receive written feedback on and be invited to discuss during the session. The relevant reading material will be distributed at least two weeks before the meeting.
Teachers:

• Gráinne De Búrca (European University Institute)
• Sarah Nouwen (European University Institute)

Whether it’s conference presentations, academic papers or your thesis, doctoral students are constantly required to write. While the process of writing may be smooth and enjoyable for some, it is not uncommon for students to encounter challenges, such as procrastination, perfectionism and writer’s block. Participants will come away from the workshop with a better understanding of the underlying causes of their own stumbling blocks and specific tools to move forward. This session will cover• Common stumbling blocks in the writing process and why they occur• Factors which make academic writing unique• The cyclical nature of the writing process• Tools and strategies for overcoming writing challenges Trainer: Dr Serena Sharma Serena has spent two decades in higher education as both a student and an academic. Since completing her PhD, she has held academic positions at the University of Oxford, King’s College London and, presently, the London School of Economics. Through her own personal experiences in academia—from study, research and publishing to teaching and supervising—Serena has observed a significant gap in the level of support offered to students in coping with the unique pressures that arise in academic environments. With this in mind Serena has created a series of workshops dedicated to promoting wellness in research students.

We explore the broad principles underlying academic writing – what makes academic writing distinctive, how to situate your argument within a broader literature, and how to structure a coherent argument. In this 90-minute session, the trainer will walk you through the five steps to writing a killer introduction and how to think about - and write - literature reviews. Trainer: Delia Lloyd Delia Lloyd is a writer and communications expert based in London. She holds a PhD in political science from Stanford University and has taught public policy and international development at MIT and The University of Chicago. Most recently, Delia was the Head of Policy and Research Insight at BBC Media Action, the BBC's International development charity, where she was in charge of commissioning, editing and disseminating policy and research outputs.

This course is an opportunity to read and experiment with texts on the margins of “academic writing” in order to help you broaden your range as a writer. We will look at work that estranges its subject in order to see it differently, applies genre conventions to research enquiry, uses metaphor generatively, experiments with the first-person pronoun, departs from what is normally acceptable sentence syntax, and deploys counterfactual imaginaries. The selection of texts varies each year and will be distributed by email. This course is run in collaboration with the European Review of Books and the short piece of creative non-fiction writing that participants are asked to develop corresponds to the (open-ended) “Pearls” (guidelines here: https://europeanreviewofbooks.com/pitches-submissions). Participants receive feedback on your “Pearl” in development from peers on the course and the teacher. Editors from the ERB will read the final pieces and also feed back. Last year, two submissions were taken forward for publication. Please note that this course is for researchers on PhD or postdoctoral programmes. EUI researchers may attend this version of the course if they are on research missions.
Teachers:

• Ben Carver (European University Institute)

Entry requirements: C1 or higher English level.
Assessment: n/a

The idea of ‘the revolution’ plays an important role, both in the foreground and in the background, in contemporary radical political thought and activism. It expresses impatience with egalitarian reformism, hope for more radical change, and confidence in the possibility of a society without oppression, exclusion, and extraction. In this seminar we will centre the revolution, by addressing revolutionary thought in critical and normative discourses about law, society, and the state. We will discuss revolutionary socialist, anarchist, Black, and feminist thought, both classical and contemporary, including key texts from Karl Marx, Rosa Luxemburg, Frantz Fanon, Hannah Arendt, Angela Davis, and Chiara Bottici. Core themes will include: the aims of revolution (overcoming capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy, and structural racism); the means of revolution (the question of violence; the theory and practice of transformative change); what comes after the revolution (the place of law, the state, property, coercion, democracy, and community in a post-revolutionary society, in particular the idea of abolition); and what is already happening (transformative projects and communities inside and outside the law). For PhD researchers in law, the potential direct relevance for their own projects is threefold: questioning the naturalness, inevitability, and legitimacy of structural features of positive law; thinking radical, transformative change in law; and reflecting on the relationship between scholarship and activism.
Teachers:

• Martijn Hesselink (European University Institute)

Course time: each Monday and Wednesday 10:50-12:30 from 30 October 2023 Content The course introduces Markov processes and dynamic programming, two tools for forecasting dynamic processes and solving dynamic optimization problems. After introducing the key concepts and theoretical results, the tools will be immediately applied in quantitative computing using the Julia programming language. Relevance Markov processes and dynamic programming are key tools to solve dynamic economic problems and can be applied for stochastic growth models, industrial organization and structural labor economics. Julia is an efficient, fast and open source language for scientific computing, used widely in academia and policy analysis. 2. Learning Outcomes Key outcomes By the end of the course, students will be able to Use difference equations to characterize 2-dimensional dynamic systems. Solve for the steady-state of 2-dimensional linear dynamic systems. Characterize the stability of 2-dimensional linear dynamic systems. Create plots in Julia. Understand the definition of Markov processes. Create functions in Julia. Simulate Markov processes in Julia. Understand the definition of Markov chains. Solve for ergodic distributions of Markov chains. Forecast Markov chains analytically. Apply arrays and matrix algebra in Julia. Simulate Markov chains in Julia. Understand the principle of dynamic programming. Derive the Bellman equation for several simple recursive problems. Solve for the value function using the guess and verify method. Solve the Bellman equation using value function and policy function iteration. Understand contraction mappings. Use while loops in Julia numerical iteration. Solve the Ramsey growth model using dynamic programming. Solve the Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides search model using dynamic programming. More information: https://github.com/CEU-Economics-and-Business/ECBS-6001-Advanced-Macroeconomics/blob/master/ECBS-6001-Advanced-Macroeconomics.md
Teachers:

• Miklos Koren (Central European University)

Entry requirements: Master's level Macroeconomics

Thursdays from 3:40pm - 5:10 pm CET, 1 US credit (2 ECTS). Introduces participants to use educational games and gamification principles to enhance student engagement and support student learning. This six-week seminar introduces participants to the basics of game-based learning (GBL) and gamification. Lecturers often struggle to make learning and assessments (especially low-stakes, formative assessment) both engaging and didactically sound. Learning is serious business, and elements of "fun" are oft-perceived (and many times are) extraneous to the process of learning. However, an increasing body of scholarship in the field of ludic pedagogy demonstrates how the incorporation of fun and game-based principles cannot only facilitate student engagement, but when properly designed, can enable students to develop and apply the knowledge and skills we seek to teach. Accordingly, this seminar introduces participants to use educational games and gamification principles to enhance student engagement and support student learning. As a participant, you will experience GBL from various stances. You will actively participate in basic educational games to gain experiences you may wish to create for your students. Then as a group, we will cover some of the theoretical principles of GBL and debate the uses, value and appropriateness of games in teaching, learning and assessment. Then, the "serious fun" will begin where you – either as an individual or (preferably) as a group – will apply these principles by creating drafts or a series of low-stakes educational games for your students. This seminar is open to participants who are novices to GBL but passionate about learning and who want to learn the basics of how to introduce GBL into their teaching learning and assessment.
Teachers:

• Irene Lubbe (Central European University)

"Grant Proposal Writing" is a course that focuses on how to develop an idea for a project, as well as how to match the project with the requirements of a particular funding program and facilitate communication with the reviewer. The course will take place online, over several days (7, 8, 16, 17 November 2023; 14:00 - 17:30 CET). For more information: https://www.hertie-school.org/en/phd/phd-research/doctoral-course-offerings/grant-proposal-writing
Entry requirements: little or no experience in grant proposal writing.

In this seminar we will explore the idea of digital fairness. We will discuss: - The European Commission’s 2022 Fitness Check of EU consumer law on digital fairness and its (expected) legislative proposals; - The place of fairness as a legal concept in EU consumer law acquis, in particular the Unfair Contract Terms Directive 1993, and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005, 2019) and the CJEU’s interpretation; - The difference between online and offline fairness (digital as opposed to what, analogue?); - Fairness and personalisation: can and should fairness be personalised, and is algorithmic personalisation fair? - Digital fairness as a legal standard (or open-textured legal concept) and related about legal certainty, judicial arbitrariness, and judicial (over)empowerment; - Whether digital fairness should be understood as procedural or substantive fairness (or both); - The link (if any) between digital fairness and (historical and contemporary) fair price theories; - The relationship between digital fairness in EU consumer and fairness discourses in other fields of EU law and market regulation, in particular the DSA; - How digital fairness as a value or normative objective relates to personal and political morality.
Teachers:

• Martijn Hesselink (European University Institute)
• Candida Leone ()

The ambition of this course is to broadly discuss the evaluation and regulation of technology. The course explores the field of “law and technology” in legal scholarship, its history, epistemology, ontology, and axiology. The course discusses issues such as when there is a “need for law” (Tranter, 2011), the “regulability” of technology, regulatory pacing, “compartimentalization” of legal approaches, cyberlaw, lawmaking by courts v legislatures, and moral objections to technology. The course encompasses technology in a wide sense that is digital, mechanical, material and chemical technology. Legal history will also be looked at to discuss innovations like the printing press, radio broadcasting and automation. The course is relevant to many specific fields of law, like constitutional and administrative law, free speech, liability law, intellectual property, privacy protection, competition law, and the law of warfare. There are no prerequisites to take the course. Guest lecturers will be invited to give papers and presentations. The course will be substantially different to the seminar given in 2023, and build on a monograph in progress.
Teachers:

• Nicolas Petit (European University Institute)

Tuesdays from 1:30pm - 3:10 pm CET, 2 US credits (4 ECTS). Second in a two-part sequence providing a systematic approach to teaching fundamentals, focusing on course design and assessments. Participants must previously take Foundations or contact elkanacenter@ceu.edu for exemption. “Learning by Design” is a semester-long, intermediate-level course focused on how students learn and how instructors can facilitate student learning. Building on Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (which is a prerequisite), it shifts the focus even more firmly from the teacher to the student. In their roles as designer, facilitator (and assessor) of learning, course participants explore how they can guide students in their learning and how to make that learning longer lasting and more significant. During our sessions we will unpack assumptions that surround student learning, delve into theories of how students learn, and explore corresponding principles and approaches to teaching that seek to align learning, teaching, and asessment. We will discuss how to better understand your students, recognize several implications of student diversity for student learning, and explore how to support different types of learners and different types of learning. We will explore, at some length, how to assess student learning, including assessment design, grading, and feedback. Throughout all of this, we will constantly reflect on our own growth as scholars in the process of becoming facilitators of learning.
Teachers:

• Mátyás Szabó (Central European University)
• Tamara Kamatovic (Central European University)

Entry requirements: Participants must previously take Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education or contact elkanacenter@ceu.edu for exemption.

Wednesdays from 1:30pm - 3:10 pm CET, 2 US credits (4 ECTS). Concepts, examples, and classroom-focused strategies for greater inclusion, as well as how education can both model and prepare students for democratic participation. Pedagogy and democracy have a long and storied history of interaction. From Socrates' dialogues about citizenship to the role of citizen intellectuals as dissidents in the Eastern Bloc, philosophers, educators, and policymakers have, for centuries, treated teaching as a means through which to impart values related to civic engagement, democratic practices, and broad notions of citizenship. But what would it mean to not just teach democracy, but create democratic classrooms? What would it mean to include all students, rather than only some? This semester-long, seminar-style course introduces participants to the theories and practices of inclusive teaching and of democratic classrooms. Often discussed separately, these two topics often feature similar concerns, classic texts, and teaching methods. This course puts democratic and inclusive teaching in dialogue with each, in addition to exploring the debates and methods within these sub-fields. The course enables participants to explore and apply concepts of inclusion, freedom, equality, self-realization, co-participation, and more, in relation to pedagogical theories, their own teaching philosophies, and their own teaching practices. It considers democracy and its constitutive practices as (potentially) active forces shaping learning environments. Because it is centered on classrooms, rather than on broader higher education institutions, it acknowledges but does not focus on policies beyond the competence of lecturers, such as universities' relationship to the state, funding, or student access. Rather, it provides participants knowledge and tools to create democratic classrooms, including in relation to themes of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Teachers:

• Tamara Kamatovic (Central European University)
• Michael Kozakowski (Central European University)

Mondays from 8:50-10:30 am CET, 1 US credit (2 ECTS). Learn, reflect, and apply effective strategies for undergraduate research supervision. Academic Supervision involves a relationship between attentive supervisor(s) and active engagement and contribution from student(s). The role of the supervisor in helping students to improve their performance is clear, but the way in which such discussions are held is more elusive. Given that supervision is an essential and integral part of the undergraduate research experience, students must gain advice and feedback from their supervisors at each stage of their work. Supervisors are very aware of the need for excellence and efficiency in supervising each individual student. This course is designed to provide opportunities for reflection on supervision strategies to improve your practice. Participants will be encouraged to think more deeply about supervision at undergraduate level and offered opportunities to try out a range of supervision strategies. Small group work will allow participants to reflect on their own practice, share their thoughts within a smaller group of colleagues and then consolidate these ideas and strategies with the whole group. Interactive exercises will be used to create a friendly atmosphere that is conducive to sharing perspectives. Role playing will capture the immediacy of experiential learning, surfacing not only implicit thinking and assumptions about supervision but also hidden feelings and emotions during the supervision process.
Teachers:

• Yurgos Politis (Central European University)

Mondays from 10:50 am - 12:30 pm CET, 1 US credit (2 ECTS). Learn how to design and facilitate structured debates, project-based learning, simulations/role playing, and experiential learning. A constant challenge that teachers/educators face is keeping their students’ interest in a given topic and getting them actively engaged in the learning process. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) empowers students to take control of their learning by allowing them to actively engage with the teaching materials. Students’ ideas, opinions, questions, and observations are central to the learning experience. IBL encourages students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. Knowledge is constructed through experience, experimentation, and exploration. This six-week course will allow participants to explore IBL in some depth, starting with what it is, the benefits of adopting this active learning approach, the activities associated with it and reflections on situations it might be appropriate for participants to adopt. We will then discuss the model of four levels of inquiry (confirmation, structured, guided, open), and discuss examples from each one of them. This will be followed by an in-depth examination of four approaches through which IBL is commonly applied, providing participants the opportunity to learn how to design and facilitate structured debates, project-based learning, simulations/role playing, and experiential learning.
Teachers:

• Yurgos Politis (Central European University)

Entry requirements: Prerequisites: the current version of Foundations of Teaching in Higher Education (YELC 6101 and 6103) and Learning by Design (YELC 6105) or the older version of Foundations (CATL 6007)

Tuesdays from 1:30-3:10, 1 US credit (2 ECTS). Guided creation of a teaching portfolio, primarily using materials from previous CEU teaching courses. (Foundations and Learning by Design are generally prerequisites).
Teachers:

• Michael Kozakowski (Central European University)

Entry requirements: Foundations and Learning by Design are generally prerequisites.

Antitrust law is an undertheorized field. The absence of a theory of what antitrust laws are about, and how, why, and when they do what they do is problematic. Broad claims for and against antitrust law reform are aired every time a legitimacy crisis hits the field. There is no testable way to validate or invalidate the claims made about antitrust law reform. This intensive course seeks to lay the ground for the development of a more explicit theory of antitrust law. It studies antitrust laws’ principles of action (firm size, economic concentration, market power, etc.), function (rivalry, uncertainty), limits (error costs and division of labor), methods (facts and principles), metaphysics (a priori knowledge), epistemology (economics schools of thoughts), ontology (firm, market, coordinated and unilateral conduct, etc.), mobilization (private and public), legitimacy (expert and popular), norms (welfare, choice, justice), and remediation (prevention and restoration). The course’s ambition is mostly descriptive. The point is to describe the anatomy, biology and behavior of our antitrust laws. The course assumes that it is intellectually useful to break down antitrust laws in ways that describe their structure and parts, mechanics and chemistry, and actual operation. In so doing, this intensive course seeks to show many versions of antitrust laws are possible, in ways far more diversified than the binary policy reform options often vindicated in the public conversation. The focus is on US and EU antitrust laws.
Teachers:

• Nicolas Petit (European University Institute)