Calculus I
This is a Standard Calculus course using an intuitive approach to the fundamental concepts in the calculus of one variable: limiting behaviors, difference quotients and the derivative, definite integrals, antiderivative and indefinite integrals and the fundamental theorem of calculus.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Classical Mythology
The course examines the principal myths of Classical Greece and Rome, with some reference to their evolution from earlier local and Mediterranean legends, deities and religions. The importance of these myths in the literature and art of the Western World will be discussed.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Comparative Politics
As both a subject and a method of study, comparative politics examines the nature, development, structure and functioning of the political systems of a selection of countries with very different cultures, social and economic profiles, political histories and geographic characteristics. Through case studies, students will learn to use the comparativist’s methods to collect and organize the information and develop general explanations.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Contemporary Italian Society
This course introduces students to the complexities of contemporary Italian society, taking a primarily ‘bottom-up’ social science approach by examining a wide variety of contexts and exploring the ways in which Italians express, negotiate and transform their cultural and social identities. By drawing on a growing body of anthropological and sociological research, it provides students with the tools to question rigid and dated assumptions about Italian social life and enables them to analyze its multifaceted, dynamic and often contradictory forms and practices, focusing primarily on the last two decades. Students are first introduced to key theoretical and methodological approaches in the sociological and anthropological study of contemporary Italy. We then examine local identities in urban contexts, how families and gender roles are transforming, and the pressures produced by the current economic crisis, as well as exploring why increasing numbers of Italians are returning to rural livelihoods. Next, we discuss life in the Italian work-place and the effects that de-industrialization, technological development and precarious work contracts are having on professional and class identities. We analyze the rising appeal of populist and ‘anti-political’ discourses and figures and then focus on how Italy’s strong civic movements are struggling to improve social life ‘from below’. Among the issues tackled are ones traditionally relegated to the private domain, such as disabilities and sexual identities. Lastly, we examine how migration is changing social and cultural life as the country becomes increasingly multiethnic, how religious (and secular) identities are expressed, and the effects that Italy’s dramatic brain-drain is having within the country.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Creative Writing Workshop: Creative Nonfiction
This creative writing workshop is designed to help students develop their writing and editorial skills, as well as the reading habits necessary for the production of works of creative nonfiction. The class will focus upon the creative process and the generation of several different forms within the nonfiction genre including the personal essay, the memoir, travel writing, and the journalistic or magazine profile. Through the examination of superior examples of creative nonfiction, discussions, and critiques, students will become acquainted with the techniques and tools used to build an excellent portfolio of literary and journalistic pieces within the creative nonfiction genre.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Creative Writing Workshop: Fiction
["The course aims to develop the creative, editorial, and reading habits needed for the production of literary fiction","to develop self-editing skills","and to foster an aesthetic sensibility for use in writing literary fiction. Students will read both contemporary literary fiction and materials related to analyzing and editing literary fiction and participate in a traditional creative writing workshop through in-class writing exercises, reading classmates' fiction, and producing and workshopping their own fiction. Students will compile a portfolio of the work they produce during the term. Students completing this workshop course will be familiar with the skills needed to produce literary fiction, to self-edit work in progress, and to discern the characteristics that make quality literary fiction."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Creative Writing Workshop: Mixed Genre
This course provides an introduction to the creative practice of writing fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and stage/screen writing, while probing major issues of literary aesthetics. This course does not satisfy the General Distribution requirement in English Literature.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Economics of Information
This course examines incentive mechanisms at work in a wide range of environments to see if and how coordination can be achieved by informing and motivating individual decision makers. It also examines the performance of agents hired to carry out specific tasks, from taxi drivers, employees, to CEOs. Students will be introduced to a range of economic tools used to study models that explicitly involve contracting in economics and finance under imperfect and asymmetric information. The methods developed can be employed to investigate the performance of various institutions (e.g., voting schemes) to see if they enhance general well-being. Techniques studied include agency theory and signaling models. In addition, some applications of the tools will be covered (e.g., labor market, credit market and insurance markets).
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Elementary Latin I
This course is a first introduction to the study of the Latin language. The course introduces all forms of nouns and pronouns in the five declensions and all tenses of the verb in the indicative and imperative. It emphasizes vocabulary development and the acquisition of reading skills in Latin prose. Assignments include considerable reading of continuous passages and translation from Latin to English and English to Latin. Attention is also given to Latin proverbs, abbreviations and cognates in English.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Finance
This course examines both the theoretical and applied foundations required to make decisions in financial management. The main areas covered include an overview of the financial system and the efficiency of capital markets, evaluation of financial performance, time value of money, analysis of risk and return, basic portfolio theory, valuation of stocks and bonds, capital budgeting, international financial management, capital structure management, and the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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General Psychology
Introduces the study of psychology, the study of the human mind, in some of its many facets: epistemological issues, the brain, perception, learning, language, intelligence, motivation, development, personality, emotion, social influences, pathology and therapy, and prevention. These will be seen from the scientific and scholarly point of view, but with emphasis on their relevance to everyday life. An important focus of the course will be the significance of theories and how they influence the gathering of data, as well as the difficulty of objectivity when the object of study is also its primary tool: the human mind. One of the goals of the course will also be to prepare the student to read psychological literature with a critical eye, keeping in mind the difficulties involved in attempting to study human subjectivity in an objective way.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery
After a brief, comparative overview of historical practices, this course will examine contemporary manifestations, focusing in particular on chattel slavery, religious slavery, domestic servitude, bonded labor/debt bondage, forced prostitution and sexual slavery, early and forced marriages, forced labor, and human trafficking. Less familiar forms of human trafficking, such as trafficking for the purpose of illegal adoptions and organ sales, and the difference between human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants will also be studied. Special attention will be given to understanding what should be done to fight against these contemporary exploitative practices.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Intensive Italian II
This course meets four times per week and covers the equivalent of a full year of intermediate language study (IT 201 and IT 202) in one semester. Designed for highly motivated students who wish to consolidate language skills in a short time.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intermediate French I
A continuation of French 102. This course focuses on consolidating the student’s ability to use French effectively. Emphasis is given to grammar review and vocabulary expansion. Selected readings and films acquaint students with French and francophone culture.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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International Economics
International economics is divided into two broad subfields: international trade and international money. International trade focuses on real transactions in the international economy, that is, on those transactions that involve a physical movement of goods. On the other hand, international money focuses on financial transactions and refers to the monetary side of the international economy. This course deals with the first aspect of international economics, i.e. the real transactions and focuses on two main aspects of it: international trade theory and evidence and international trade policy.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
International Economics
The aim of this course is for students to become familiar with the most relevant concepts and methods of analysis in the field of international economics. Students will be provided with the fundamental tools for analyzing the global economy and will delve deeper into the main features of the world economy.
Pre-requisite: Previous coursework in Macro and Microeconomics
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Upper Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Upper Division
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International Economics
The course introduces students to the main theories and methods of international economics.
The first half of the course deals with the basic models explaining international trade, such as the
theory of comparative advantages, the Hecksher-Ohlin model, and various alternative trade
theories. The effects and reasons of government intervention in international trade, a topic of
growing importance today, will be discussed, along with the pros and cons of protectionism.
During the second part of the semester the course will discuss other topics of international
economics, such as international factor flows, international finance and foreign exchange. The
course combines rigorous economic analysis with attention to issues of economic policy alive and important today. Special attention is given to analyzing current world economic events, as well as the relevance of empirical application of the theories and models discussed.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Lower Division
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International Finance
The objective of this course is to introduce the student to the complex world of international finance. Topics include the increasing globalization of financial markets, international and European monetary systems, foreign exchange markets, direct and indirect international investment.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Upper Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Upper Division
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International Finance
Given the current concept of a globalized world, this course is addressed to students keen on financial issues and, in particular, international finance. The main purpose of this course is to understand the financial system and to include an international perspective. In its duration of 45 hours, the course examines the determination of exchange rates and operation of exchange markets as well as firm’s management of foreign exchange exposure, cash management, and capital budgeting. The development of International banking and political risk management will also be studied. Emphasis is also placed on the effects of globalization on financial crashes, financial regulation & market efficiency. An updated look at the dynamics of international entrepreneurship is also provided, focusing especially on developed countries and the role of female entrepreneurship. Students will acquire knowledge on the former topics by means of dynamic and practical examples, work projects and group discussions (i.e., essays, role-playing, video, surveys, economic experiments; Financial Times press cuttings on selected controversial issues).
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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International Finance
In order to provide a global picture of financial interactions and increasing interdependence, this course delves into the macroeconomic aspects of international economics with special emphasis on monetary issues. As the tendency is for countries to become more open over time, doing so makes them subject or potentially vulnerable to external events that can substantially affect their performance and that of the firms within them. A good understanding of open-economy macroeconomics is therefore crucial. Specific cases of integration schemes and monetary experiences, such as the European integration, are also debated.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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International Finance
Given the current concept of a globalized world, this course was desiged specifically for students eager to understand financial issues and, in particular, international finance. The main objective is to understand the financial system from an international perspective, examining exchange rates and the operation of exchange markets as well as a firm’s management of foreign exchange exposure, cash management, and capital budgeting. Students will also study the development of international banking and political risk management with an emphasis on the effects of globalization on financial crashes, financial regulation & market efficiency. The course will also take an up-to-date look at the dynamics of international entrepreneurship,
focusing especially on developed countries and the role of female
entrepreneurship.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 2.5
Contact Hours: 5
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Internship: Digital Journalism Field
["The For Credit (FC) Internship course combines academic learning with a short-term (generally 3 to 6 months, full or part-time with a minimum of 120 hours) employment opportunity. Field experience allows participants to combine academic learning with hands-on work experience. For-Credit internships may be paid or unpaid. The organization or firm must be sponsored by the JCU Career Services Center (CSC). After being selected for an internship and having the CSC verify the course requirements are met, the intern may enroll in the Internship course corresponding to the academic discipline of interest. Course requirements include: attending the internship class which will is scheduled for 10 in-class hours over the semester, verification of the minimum number of hours worked in the internship by the CSC","completion of a daily internship log","in-depth interview with the internship sponsor or organization","and a 2500 to 3500 page \u201cWhite Paper\u201d presenting a position or solution to a problem encountered by their employer. This course is graded on a \u201cpass\/no pass\u201d basis. The course will begin the 4th week of each semester. Students will determine with the Registrar\u2019s Office or their Advisor which semester corresponds most closely with the timing of their internship. May be taken only once for academic credit."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Literature
This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing. Presupposing no previous knowledge in particular of literature, the course deals in an intensive manner with a very limited selection of works in the three genres of fiction, drama, and poetry. Students learn the basic literary terms that they need to know to approach literary texts. They are required to do close readings of the assigned texts, use various critical approaches, and write several critical essays on specified readings.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Political Theory
An introduction to the history of political thought, from Ancient Greece to the 19th century. Through a close reading of selected canonical texts, students will examine the evolution of ideas about democracy, liberty, equality, justice, political authority, the social contract, different conceptions of human nature and the role of the individual in society. The theorists examined may include Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introductory French I
This course is designed to give students basic communicative ability in French. Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introductory Italian II
A continuation of IT101. This course aims at developing and reinforcing the language skills acquired in Introductory Italian I, while placing special emphasis on oral communication. Note: This course carries 4 semester hours of credit during the Fall and Spring terms, 3 hours in Summer.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introductory Spanish I
This course is designed to give students basic communicative ability in Spanish. Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Italian Composition
In this course students will be guided through a variety of types of writing and styles (e.g., journalistic, business and professional, essay). Although mainly designed for advanced non-native speakers, the course may also be taken by native speakers who wish to improve their writing skills. Students will reinforce their knowledge of grammar and syntax, as well as develop vocabulary. In addition, students will learn fundamental writing techniques, such as organizing ideas, selecting examples, drawing conclusions, and using the appropriate style for the given genre or mode of discourse.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Legal Environment of Business
This course provides students with an overview of the law in general, beginning with the foundations of the legal and regulatory environment, the law-making processes, and the implementation of legal rules. Students examine some areas of substantive law, including bodies of law that are regulatory in nature. Particular attention is given to aspects of business transactions in an international context.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Long-Term History of Globalization
Contemporary discussions of globalization often suffer from a certain short-sightedness. It is all-too-frequently treated as a recent creation of twentieth- and twenty-first-century world economies and information networks. Both its advocates and its critics too often assume that the history of globalization has been the history of the “westernization” of economic and cultural practices. This course provides a deeper and longer term introduction to the complex forces and far-from-one-sided cross-cultural interactions that have been “globalizing” our planet since the development of settled agriculture. Among the aspects of globalization’s history that are covered are the development of market conventions, the spread of religious and cultural traditions, ecological exchanges, transport technologies and networks, migration, the role of violence, and industrialization and deindustrialization.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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New Product Management
This course investigates the process of new product management, starting from idea and concept generation through to project evaluation and development. The course is designed to be a workshop for new product development, allowing students to explore market opportunities and propose new concepts to the market.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Organizational Behavior
This course is about understanding how people and groups in organizations behave, react, and interpret events. It also describes the role of organizational systems, structures, and processes in shaping behavior, and explains how organizations really work. Drawing from fields including management, anthropology, sociology, and psychology, Organizational Behavior provides a foundation for the effective management of people in organizations.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Organizational Behavior
During the course important topics of organizational behaviour are discussed, such as the diversity of individuals, perceptions and communication, motivation, groups, teams and leadership. We analyse for example how young employees can understand their own motivation, assess corporate cultures and co-operate in teams. We also discuss managerial issues such as how business leaders and successful managers can transform individual and group behaviour into productive economic performance.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Upper Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Upper Division
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Organizational Behavior
This course will focus on the challenges faced by individuals in international corporations with respect to Interpersonal relationships, communication, diversity, individual decision making, motivating self and workforce, group behavior and leadership, corporate culture, and change and stress management.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 2.5
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Politics of Developing Countries
The definition of Third World has been applied to countries which, albeit located in different geographic areas of the globe, are affected by similar features and problems: recent independence from colonial rule, limited economic development, overpopulation, insufficient infrastructures and availability of public hygiene/health care/education, persisting dependency on developed countries and attempts at reducing or altogether eliminating it. The course will explore the various patterns with an emphasis on three aspects. The first will examine comparative theories of social backwardness and belated development, particularly those elaborated by Bairoch, Gerschenkron, Barrington Moore jr., Skocpol and others. The second will discuss geography and historical issues: colonialism, imperialism, decolonization and the impact of the Cold War being the main ones. The third will focus on the past couple of decades and the current situation. In examining country studies, particularly focused on the roots of democratic systems and of stability, the dichotomies of dictatorship and democracy, national sovereignty and human rights, globalization and autarchy will be analyzed and assessed
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Professional Skills for Career Development
["Grading: This course will be graded on a PASS\/FAIL scale. The main goal of this course is to prepare students for their career: the course provides students with an understanding of the mechanisms regulating the job market as well as uncertain, competitive and challenging work environments. The course is also a tool to learn the art of personal branding","students learn how to develop individual soft skills such as leadership style, communication skills, and organization skills. The course prepares students to successfully enter the job market","participants will learn about the different interviewing techniques and will learn how to apply for a position in an effective manner. In the end, attention is given to external relationships and professional network: the course explains how to build and maintain professional relationships, and how to handle conflict in the working environment."]
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Programming Concepts and Applications
This course introduces fundamental computer programming concepts using a high-level language and a modern development environment. Programming skills include sequential, selection, and repetition control structures, functions, input and output, primitive data types, basic data structures including arrays and pointers, objects, and classes. Software engineering skills include problem solving, program design, and debugging practices. The goal of this course is to advance students’ computational thinking, educate them to use programs as tools in their own field of study, and to provide them with fundamental knowledge of programming strategies.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Public International Law
The course Public International Law will provide the students with a thorough understanding of the nature and basic features of International Law, as well as its role in contemporary International Relations. Students will be able to understand the legal foundation of the international states system and to apply international rules and legal principles in the analysis of international problems and conflicts.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Senior Capstone Project
This senior capstone course culminates the coursework in communications by focusing on the study and application of ethical standards in a variety of communication environments. Classical and alternative ethical frameworks are explored in order to evaluate and respond to communication problems in the context of global media and cultural citizenship. Through the analysis of case studies, students explore how the structure of media organizations impact ethical decision making and learn to develop self-reflective media practices.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Statistics II
The main purpose of this course is to enable students to know the most important inferential statistical methods and being to identify and apply the adequate method to each specific real situation in business and institutional environments, with the help of statistical software.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Lower Division
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The Popes of Rome: History of the Catholic Church
The history of the Catholic church is essentially intertwined with the history of Western Civilization over the past 2,000 years. The aspirations and struggles of Christendom constitute the fabric of the Christian tradition as it unfolds throughout time. This course represents an historical survey of the Church from its primitive beginnings in Jerusalem (c. 33 A.D.) to the Pontificate of John Paul II (1920-2005). The development of the course will trace the major events, ideas and people that went into the shaping of the Western Church, without ignoring the fundamental importance and influence of the doctrine of Jesus Christ regarding the institution he founded.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Web Design II
The course provides students with the technical knowledge required to deal with the professional process of designing, developing, installing and maintaining a business web site.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Western European Politics
The course examines the political systems in Western Europe and major political developments affecting Western Europe since 1945 through a comparative lens. Looking at historical legacies, political cultures, types of government, and party systems shaping the major Western European powers, students will gain an understanding of the constitutive features, and transnational developments, challenges and changes in Western European states.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Advanced Intercultural Communication
This course examines theoretical and practical issues in intercultural communication, as an increased awareness of asymmetrical power relationships and their historical contexts can lead to improved communication between persons from differently situated cultural identities. Drawing on case studies, this course will provide students with the opportunity to investigate how mediated power influences intercultural communication. Through lectures, screenings, written assignments, exploring Rome’s’ environment, class discussion, and engaged methodology, students will explore some of the societal issues and conflicts that are often framed as cultural and attempt to uncover the relationships of power and inequality that may reside within them.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Advanced Photography
The aim of this course is to give advanced students the theoretical and practical skills necessary to invent and produce a creative photographic project. Projects may fall into traditional genres such as nature photography, architecture, portraiture, fashion, still life/objects/merchandise, photojournalism, landscape, etc., as well as more conceptual approaches. The course assumes the basic competence in black and white photography (including darkroom techniques), and/or expertise in digital photography. Instruction is both on an individual, tutorial level and in group visits, lessons and critiques. The course will help students acquire the technical and artistic competency expected in the professional workplace.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Business Ethics
This course discusses a range of topics in business ethics including normative theories, international business ethics, and corporate moral agency. Students will learn about stakeholder relationships and social responsibility along with corporate governance, employee rights and consumer protection. The class will also delve into the environmental responsibilities of businesses, as well as the globalization of ethical decision-making by reviewing specific case studies.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Business Ethics
This course explores the ethical challenges facing business today, and how individuals and firms can address those challenges. The course aims to enhance the skills and expertise of participants in through combining examination of ethical and managerial theory with discussion of common ethical problems in context. It aims also to sensitize students with ethical aspects of business decisions. The theory and the practice of business ethics will be discussed during the course. Course material includes individual moral theory, the development of ethical organizational culture, the development of ethical management systems designed to respond to ethical challenges, and wide-ranging discussion regarding major trends, challenges, and opportunities in the field of ethical business.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Upper Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Upper Division
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Classical Rhetoric and Oratory
An examination of the nature, purpose, and place of rhetoric in classical antiquity, as conceived and practiced by ancient Greeks and Romans. Readings (in translation) include the use and conceptualization of an art of persuasion by Gorgias, Plato, Isocrates, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Cicero, Quintilian, and Augustine. This course prepares students to evaluate the use (and abuse) of devices and techniques of classical rhetoric in contemporary politics, economics, marketing, media, and visual arts.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Cognitive Development
This course aims to provide students with an understating of the developmental changes that occur in children’s thinking from birth to adolescence. Students will learn about current topics and theories in cognitive development as well as the experimental methodologies adopted in this field. Central topics will include brain development, perception, language, memory, category and concepts, social cognition, and problem solving.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Contemporary Italian Narrative in Translation
This course is based on the analysis of excerpts from eight Italian novels that highlight the development of this genre in the twentieth century. Each student will also read one novel in its entirety. Through lectures and class discussions, emphasis will be placed on the author's social and political concerns and her or his role as writer and intellectual in Italian society. Students will also develop the ability to analyze literary texts according to language, style and content, and will be encouraged to participate in class discussions about the texts. In order to provide insight into the novels, as well as to stimulate classroom debate and discussion, the texts will be supplemented with selected background information, scholarly criticism, and visual media.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Creative Writing Workshop: Screenwriting
This creative writing workshop helps students to develop the creative, editorial and reading skills needed for the production of a screenplay, based on the following principles: focus on visual story telling using minimal dialogue, introduction to story analysis using published screenplays and clips, and the exploration of narrative development. Material will be presented in the form of lectures, discussions, handouts, writing exercises, as well as screenings. In the context of a creative writing workshop, students will complete in-class and at home writing exercises. Students will also be required to provide their fellow writers with thorough feedback. Finally, students will pitch ideas in preparation for a full script, to be presented and critiqued at the end of the term.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Curating Museums and Galleries
The course is designed to introduce students to the history of museums and to curating practices. Classes will discuss the cultural position of the museum, the evolution of its function, the different forms of display, the historical developments of the act of collecting, the position of the visitor and the role of the curator. The primary purpose of the course is to provide students with a critical vocabulary for understanding how museums produce knowledge and structure the ways in which history, geography, cultural difference, and social hierarchies are mapped. Through a series of richly detailed case studies related to ancient and contemporary Rome museums, collections and institutions, classes will investigate the differences between the roles, the missions, the objectives, and the policies of conservation and exhibition-making in spaces, relating to modalities of thought.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Early Italian Renaissance Art
The first half of a two-part study of art and architecture in central Italy (Rome, Florence, and Siena) covering the period from the 14th to the mid-15th century. While attention is given to the ambience from which Giotto developed in the Trecento, and to the International Gothic style at the turn of the Quattrocento, major consideration is given to the momentous changes brought about in the first half of the Quattrocento by Brunelleschi, Alberti, Donatello, Ghiberti, Masaccio, and others. Numerous on-site visits in Rome and a trip to Florence are an essential part of the course. Mandatory field trip may require fees.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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English Literature III: The Victorians to the Modernists
Considering major British and Irish writers since 1832, this course deals with, among other concerns, the various ways in which the Victorians and selected writers of the first half of the 20th century responded to the inheritance of Romanticism.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Expanded Cinema
Though often overlooked, the act of projection is at the heart of cinema (the act or process of causing a picture to appear on a surface). This studio course focuses on the creation of moving image-based work, exploring how time and space are used as materials to create form and inspire content within the contemporary film genre known as expanded cinema. The technical, historical and psychological aspects of the projected image will be studied in order to re-think cinema as a group and investigate how the projected image can find meaning outside the black box of theaters or the white cube of galleries. Two personal experimental video projects will lead to a final group video installation that will use the environment within the vicinity of John Cabot University’s campus (Trastevere neighborhood) to inspire site-specific works while also becoming the location of the final outdoor projection event.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Feature Writing
This course offers the student practical experience researching, writing and marketing feature articles for print and/or online magazines. The topics covered include how to develop a good idea, analyze a target audience, gather information, write a feature article, and sell the story. Ultimately this course will teach students how to successfully write longer feature stories and how to pitch them to the appropriate publication. The class time will include lectures where voice, style, use of language, and story structure techniques will be discussed. Class time will also include in-class writing and discussion.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Food and Agriculture
This is a survey course of agriculture, emphasizing the important food plants of the 21st century. The aim is to learn key processes which lead to the wide array of foods, which are available in developed countries. We start from the events of domestication, pass through the Green Revolution, and end with major plant crop commodities (such as bananas and coffee) being cultivated by “agribusiness” or also by “sustainable” farming methods. We also look at major issues related to agriculture today: for example, the development of biofuels which may use food stocks, and diseases and pests which threaten important monocultures. We look at the major achievements in agriculture of the 20th century, and try to anticipate the important uses and vulnerabilities of plant crops in the 21st century.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Game Theory - HONORS
Situations in which the outcome of your own decisions depends also upon what others do are pervasive in everyday life. Game Theory focuses on the study of strategic interactions, which occur if the payoff (e.g., utility or profit) to an agent depends not only on her own decisions but also on the decisions made by others. In the presence of strategic interactions, choosing an ‘optimal’ course of action requires taking other agents’ behavior and beliefs into account. This is an introductory course in Game Theory which develops the basic tools and concepts necessary to analyze such interactions and understand how rational agents should behave in strategic situations. In recent years, game theoretic methods have become central to the study of networks (e.g, financial networks) and social interactions. In this course they are used to analyze such economic and political issues as oligopoly, the problem of the commons, auctions, bank runs, collusion and cartels, the conduct of monetary policy, bargaining, global warming, competition among political parties, arms races, negotiations and conflict resolution (e.g., contested resources and territorial disputes). Emphasis is placed on applications, practical understanding and a tools-oriented approach. The topics will be presented through a combination of abstract theory and many applied examples.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Global Media
This course is an introduction to the current debate around the relationship between globalization and the media. By linking theoretical conceptions with hands-on empirical research and analysis, students will develop a richer and multi-layered perspective around the increasingly relevant yet contested notion of globalization, and specifically on the role that the media have in advancing, challenging and representing social, political and cultural change across multiple regions of the world.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Globalization and Crime
This course introduces students to debates surrounding the effects of globalization on the proliferation of crime across borders and the challenges of developing internationally effective policing and judicial mechanisms for combating this constantly mutating phenomenon. Areas of study include the trafficking of art and archaeology, fake fashion items, waste, narcotics, and arms, as well as the market in human beings for sex and organs, and the economic implications of criminal penetration in legal financial markets and the increasing connections between international crime groups and terrorism, the political and military influence of OCGs in failed states and the connections between criminal groups and various democratic governments.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Globalization and Crime - HONORS
This course introduces students to debates surrounding the effects of globalization on the proliferation of crime across borders and the challenges of developing internationally effective policing and judicial mechanisms for combating this constantly mutating phenomenon. Areas of study include the trafficking of art and archaeology, fake fashion items, waste, narcotics, and arms, as well as the market in human beings for sex and organs, and the economic implications of criminal penetration in legal financial markets and the increasing connections between international crime groups and terrorism, the political and military influence of OCGs in failed states and the connections between criminal groups and various democratic governments.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Graphic Design: Corporate Identity and Branding - HONORS
This course is meant for students who wish to deepen their knowledge in the field of corporate identity and branding. It will address how to respond to technical and communication requirements of a design brief, develop visual concepts, create a system of graphical elements that form the basis of an identity, and define a strategy for a brand. The course will also consider the professional standards of preparing artwork for print. The course requires good competence in visual communication and expertise in the major Graphic Design programs. This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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History and Politics of Modern Iran
This course will examine the history and the domestic and the foreign politics of modern Iran, highlighting its strategic role in the Middle East. It will analyse the institutional structure of the Islamic Republic, emphasizing how this political system can be classified as peculiar hybrid regime, and the role of Iranian civil society, particularly the youth and the women. Through critical analysis of the core texts and common explanatory theories (modernization theory, hybrid regimes theory, neoclassical realist theory), the course aims to examine Iran both before and after the 1979 Revolution to provide students with a multidisciplinary international relations perspective and a domestic political science approach.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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History of American Indian Resistance in the United States
Native American resistance has occurred throughout the centuries and continues at present. This seminar aims at analyzing historic and contemporary Native American strategies of survival and the various forms of interaction and relations they have had with the U.S Government. Starting with an examination of different processes of territorial colonization of Indigenous territories and resources, the seminar will then investigate the legal, political, social, and cultural significance of resistance and self-determination.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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History of Ancient Greece
["This course examines the history of Ancient Greece from the Archaic Age to the Age of Alexander, the seventh through fourth centuries B.C.E. Focus will be on the rise of Athens and Sparta as the most influential city states in Greece","the development of their respective political, military and social systems","and the causes of the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War that paved the way for the rise of Macedon and domination of the Greek world, first under Philip II, and then his son, Alexander the Great, until his death in 323 B.C.E. Readings in translation will include Herodotus, Aristophanes, Plato, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Plutarch."]
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Hitler and Mussolini
This course will provide an advanced survey of the Fascist and National Socialist Movements and Regimes. The main emphasis will be on the breakdown of the Italian and German democracies, the emergence of Fascism and National Socialism, their ideology and goals, and the nature and structure of Mussolini’s New State and Hitler’s Third Reich. The major interpretations of Fascism will be examined in the last part of the course.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Human Rights
This course will provide students with the basic rules and framework in international human rights law and the different systems of enforcement
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Contact Hours: 45
Course Level: Lower Division
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Human Rights
This course covers the following topics:
- Theories of human rights
- Human rights and constitutional law
- United Nations system of human rights protection
- European system of human rights protection
- Human rights in South America, Africa, and Arabic states
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 2
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Innovation and Information Technology
["This course emphasizes the contextual and contingent nature of contemporary working-life and general social activities within the setting of business enterprises. Increasingly, highly skilled individuals, building and using information and communication technologies, can create new markets or take over existing ones by redefining the rules. The course aims to provide students with an understanding of how to use appropriate analytical tools in making decisions in respect to emerging business challenges and opportunities","to explore a series of contemporary business cases","to understand the main theories surrounding innovation, information systems, and new business models","to develop critical thinking in the area of business innovation through information systems and to learn how to research a topic in depth and develop a specialized understanding of a particular industry and\/or business phenomenon."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Integrated Marketing Communications
This course first examines the basic principles underlying consumer information processing and how marketing can influence this process. It then addresses the design, coordination, and management of marketing communications, focusing on the role of integrated marketing communications in the marketing process, particularly as it relates to branding. The second part of the course may take the form of an extended case study/IMC plan or may address special topics: for example, the relationship between public relations (PR) and marketing, the history and development of advertising and public relations, public opinion and its role in IMC planning, media relations, research for campaign design, global communication, and crisis management.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Intermediate Italian II
A continuation of IT 201. While continuing the review of grammar, the course emphasizes the development of reading and composition skills. Short stories, newspaper articles, and films supplement the textbook.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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International Affairs Senior Seminar
This course exposes students to major examples of current, ground-breaking and policy-relevant political research in the field of international affairs and world politics. The course is designed to help students to synthesize the skills and substantive knowledge of their major and apply it to current issues of the practice of world politics or to significant research problems. Students will learn to organize and produce work that could be presented to governments, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, research institutes, media outlets or global firms. Students will be required to make oral presentations, employing methods of international affairs, and display familiarity with the use of qualitative and quantitative data. Students will also engage in a research project of their own, write policy briefs, and present their work.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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International Business Negotiations
This course aims to provide students with a theoretical and practical background to develop their personal skills to manage negotiations in multicultural environment. The course will explore leadership and communication approaches to effective negotiation management, and will highlight the role of innovation in achieving integrative, successful results. Students will have an opportunity to explore the meaning and practice of managing negotiations. During the course, they will review theory, analyze strategies, engage in practical exercises and acquaint themselves with the language, thought, and praxis of negotiations in the multicultural setting in which we live, learn and work.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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International Business Negotiations - HONORS
This course aims to provide students with a theoretical and practical background to develop their personal skills to manage negotiations in multicultural environment. The course will explore leadership and communication approaches to effective negotiation management, and will highlight the role of innovation in achieving integrative, successful results. Students will have an opportunity to explore the meaning and practice of managing negotiations. During the course, they will review theory, analyze strategies, engage in practical exercises and acquaint themselves with the language, thought, and praxis of negotiations in the multicultural setting in which we live, learn and work.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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International Migration
Analyzing the various theories of migrations, this course will compare the migratory movements before and after 1945, and examine the present situation in various regions of the world. It will specifically study the impact of international migration on the economic and social development of sending and receiving countries, including the benefits of remittances on countries of origin, integration challenges in host states, the link between the brain drain and the brain gain and the phenomenon of circular migration. Special consideration will be given to irregular immigration, transnational human trafficking, and the condition of asylum seekers and refugees.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Internship: Art History Field
The For Credit Internship course combines academic learning with a short-term employment opportunity.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Internship: Political Science Field
["The For Credit (FC) Internship course combines academic learning with a short-term (generally 3 to 6 months, full or part-time with a minimum of 120 hours) employment opportunity. Field experience allows participants to combine academic learning with hands-on work experience. For-Credit internships may be paid or unpaid. The organization or firm must be sponsored by the JCU Career Services Center (CSC). After being selected for an internship and having the CSC verify the course requirements are met, the intern may enroll in the Internship course corresponding to the academic discipline of interest. Course requirements include: attending the internship class which will is scheduled for 10 in-class hours over the semester, verification of the minimum number of hours worked in the internship by the CSC","completion of a daily internship log","in-depth interview with the internship sponsor or organization","and a 2500 to 3500 page \u201cWhite Paper\u201d presenting a position or solution to a problem encountered by their employer. This course is graded on a \u201cpass\/no pass\u201d basis. The course will begin the 4th week of each semester. Students will determine with the Registrar\u2019s Office or their Advisor which semester corresponds most closely with the timing of their internship. May be taken only once for academic credit."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Art and Architecture. Rome, a Case Study
No city in the world can boast the wealth of art and architecture that Rome possesses, and the city provides an ideal framework for understanding international trends and changes between the 1st century BC and the present day. The course will consider the historical, political and international contexts that shapes the form and display of art and architecture, as well as provide a foundation for understanding major artistic works and directions.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Derivatives
Focusing on both theory and application, the course will cover forward, futures, swaps and options markets. Students will learn how derivatives markets operate, and how derivatives are priced and used, in order to understand the importance of derivative instruments in business and the economy. Special attention will be paid to the mechanics of derivative instruments and the markets in which they trade, using the Law of One Price and arbitrage forces to develop derivatives pricing models, applying derivatives pricing models using real world data, communicating derivative hedging strategies and applying speculative strategies using derivatives.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Infographics
This introductory course provides an overview for visual representation of data. It is designed to cover the differences between infographics and visualization. Through both theory and applied practice the course covers specifics related to basic graphic design, online publishing, and corporate communication as it relates to large amounts of data and visually representing data in creative and meaningful ways.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Narratives Studies: Interdisciplinary Applications
This course focuses on the core function of narrative across disciplines. Understanding how narratives work is essential to communicate effectively on any subject, through any medium. We use stories to understand and interpret our world and our place in it. Students will be introduced to the critical principles, terminology, and applications of narrative studies as they were first developed in literary and cultural theory. From there, the course considers how narratives are used in selected fields, from film to business, from politics to artificial intelligence. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Narratives Studies: Interdisciplinary Applications - HONORS
This course focuses on the core function of narrative across disciplines. Understanding how narratives work is essential to communicate effectively on any subject, through any medium. We use stories to understand and interpret our world and our place in it. Students will be introduced to the critical principles, terminology, and applications of narrative studies as they were first developed in literary and cultural theory. From there, the course considers how narratives are used in selected fields, from film to business, from politics to artificial intelligence. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Poetry and Poetics
Major theories concerning the nature and source of poetic talent and a consideration of the traditional aspects of prosody and poetic form. The course emphasis falls upon competence with poetry as an art form rather than upon the knowledge of particular poets or literary periods.This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Political Science
The course introduces students to basic concepts, methods, and theories of the scientific study of politics. In so doing, the class provides a systematic understanding of the foundations of government, political systems, and political behavior. The course familiarizes students with the functioning of political institutions and political power, constitutional frameworks and procedures to obtain public legitimacy, and approaches to different fields, problems and issues of—domestic, comparative, and global—politics in the 21st century.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Professional Translation
This course is designed to introduce students to the world of professional translation. Though it will cover some of the fundamental theoretical concepts of translation, the focus will be on teaching practical translation skills and processes. The course will concentrate mainly on translating from Italian to English, but also vice versa, depending on student enrollment. The aim of the course is to enable participants to produce translations that reflect grammatical accuracy, a command of idiomatic language, cultural sensitivity, and appropriate register and tone. Although mainly designed for advanced non-native speakers of Italian, the course may also be taken by native speakers who are interested in developing their translation skills.ned to introduce students to the world of professional translation. Though it will cover some of the fundamental theoretical concepts of translation, the focus will be on teaching practical translation skills and processes. The course will concentrate mainly on translating from Italian to English, but also vice versa, depending on student enrollment. The aim of the course is to enable participants to produce translations that reflect grammatical accuracy, a command of idiomatic language, cultural sensitivity, and appropriate register and tone. Although mainly designed for advanced non-native speakers of Italian, the course may also be taken by native speakers who are interested in developing their translation skills.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Professional Translation - HONORS
This course is designed to introduce students to the world of professional translation. Though it will cover some of the fundamental theoretical concepts of translation, the focus will be on teaching practical translation skills and processes. The course will concentrate mainly on translating from Italian to English, but also vice versa, depending on student enrollment. The aim of the course is to enable participants to produce translations that reflect grammatical accuracy, a command of idiomatic language, cultural sensitivity, and appropriate register and tone. Although mainly designed for advanced non-native speakers of Italian, the course may also be taken by native speakers who are interested in developing their translation skills.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Sociology
This course will introduce students to the basic concepts and practices of the study of society. Students will learn central ideas such as socialization, culture, stratification, institutions, work organization, gender, ethnicity, race and globalization. They will also learn about how sociologists practice their craft reading about studies of current social issues - inequality, changes in family life, social movements and others - and by carrying out small scale out-of-class research assignments. SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Western Civilization II
This course surveys European history from the Reformation to the present, concentrating on the intellectual, political, and economic transformations that marked the advent of Western modernity and on what these changes meant for the people living through them. An additional focus of the course is the evolving relationship between Europe and the rest of the world over the time period covered. Like HS 120, this course also provides an introduction to the practice of history, i.e., how historians go about reconstructing and interpreting the past.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introductory French II
A continuation of FR 101. This course aims at developing and reinforcing the language skills acquired in Introductory French I, while placing special emphasis on oral communication.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Italian for Business
This course, which is open to students who have completed the equivalent of two years of college Italian, is designed for those interested in doing business with or in Italy. It focuses on the Italian language of business, aiming at developing students’ written and oral skills while providing them with the technical vocabulary and professional expressions that are most often used in a variety of business situations. Topics are confronted in several ways: through readings from textbooks used in business schools, the analysis of letters, office documents, and newspaper articles about business, and targeted exercises and discussions. Attention is also given to culture, manners, and customs as they relate to business practices.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Italian Media and Popular Culture
This course will introduce students to contemporary Italian media and popular cultures. The course has a thematic approach and applies the analytical theories of critical cultural studies. Students will be exposed to development of various media forms as they have been shaped by and their impact on Italian culture and society. The press, film, radio, television, popular music, comics and graphic arts, sports and digital networks will be investigated from a variety of angles with particular attention on the media’s role in the construction of collective identities, the role of power and capital in shaping national identity, media use by social movements, the question of representation, popular protest and subcultural and subaltern expressions within the national space. Italy’s role within the global media economy will also be investigated.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Italian Opera
Opera is perhaps one of Italy's most important cultural innovations, continuing to fascinate the world since its birth over four hundred years ago. The aim of the course is to examine the birth and development of opera in Italy from the late Renaissance to contemporary Italian opera. The inherent problems in the union of music, text, and drama in this complex music form are explored in the solutions that the most important operatic composers have provided. The aim of the course is then not only to understand and appreciate a story set to music, but the different and varied aspects of opera, its creation, and production. The course explores the history of Italian opera from its birth in the late Renaissance, its development in the 17th century, Italian opera abroad with G.F. Handel and W.A. Mozart, the Belcanto operas, G. Verdi, the Verismo movement, 20th century and contemporary opera. Form and structure in opera, relations between text and music, the world of singers and the characters they portray, historic study of the operatic orchestra, notions of opera production: staging, sets, costumes and the Italian opera house.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Italian Politics and Society
This course examines the evolution of Italian political culture from 1945 to the present. Highlighting the problems of developing a national identity and the legacies of Fascism and the Resistance in influencing the 1948 Constitution, the course will look at Italy’s position during the Cold War, the economic miracle of the 1950s, the political conflicts of the 1960s and 1970s, the end of the First Republic and the political scene since 1992, as well as the political influence of such actors as the Vatican and the Mafia. This course examines the major features of the political and social systems of the Italian Republic. Topics of analysis include the Constitution, the Italian economy, the role of the State, unions, the relationship between North and South, NATO, the U.S.-Italian partnership, and the European Union. Special attention will be given to the political developments leading to the establishment of the Second Republic.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Italian Visions: Perceptions of Italy in Literature
The course considers the importance of Italy for non-Italian writers, particularly European, British and American writers from the eighteenth century onward. Topics considered include: a critique of the perception and construction of Italy and Italians, the development of genres like the gothic or novels of national identity, the gendering of nationality, imperialism, the use of art and history in literature. Consideration is given to the ways in which these works are in dialogue with each other in terms of cultural assumptions and influence. This course is an alternate course to EN 278. If taken in addition to EN 278, it may count as a major elective.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Literary Beginnings to Milton
The course deals with works by major writers in the English language over a period of nearly one thousand years. Beginning with Anglo-Saxon poetry, this survey continues through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concludes with Milton. In the context of the course, students should develop both their general background knowledge of literary history as well as their ability to appreciate and criticize particular texts. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Managerial Economics
["This course applies microeconomic theory and statistics to management problems of a firm. It bridges the gap between purely theoretical economic models and the day-to-day decisions that managers face under conditions of uncertainty and scarcity. The focus is on the optimal utilization of resources within organizations, and the material covered offers a powerful tool for managerial decision-making. A sample of topics to be examined are demand theory and estimation of demand functions","business and economic forecasting techniques","production theory","cost analysis","market structure","strategic behavior and pricing","risk analysis and capital budgeting","government-business relations and the global economy. SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:"]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Masterpieces of World Literature
The course is a study of representative works of world literature that can be selected from antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 19th century and modern ages. The course emphasizes the study and consideration of the literary, cultural, and human significance of selected great works of the western and non-western literary traditions. An important goal of the course is to promote an understanding of the works in their cultural/historical contexts and of the enduring human values which unite the different literary traditions. The course's pedagogy gives special attention to critical thinking and writing within a framework of cultural diversity. Readings may include works of poetry, epics, drama and novels. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Mathematical Statistics
This is a calculus-based introduction to mathematical statistics. While the material covered is similar to that which might be found in an undergraduate course of statistics, the technical level is much more advanced, the quantity of material much larger, and the pace of delivery correspondingly faster. The course covers basic probability, random variables (continuous and discrete), the central limit theorem and statistical inference, including parameter estimation and hypothesis testing. It also provides a basic introduction to stochastic processes.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Media and Cultural Analysis: Close Readings/Interpretations of Cultural Artifacts
From Andre Bazin’s analysis of de Sica’s Bicycle Thieves to Roland Barthes’ interpretation of a photo of a black soldier on the cover of Paris Match magazine, close readings of media texts have long been a valued aspect of the field of communications. This course offers students the unique opportunity to critically analyze a single, notable media text—be it an album, a TV series, a graphic novel, etc.—and explore in detail the expressive significance, the artistic merit, the social impact and influence, the cultural embeddedness, and associated historical, technological and aesthetic considerations. The course will focus on some of the dominant critical perspectives that have contributed to our understanding of these media texts and their role in society, and investigate this media through a variety of theories and methods.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Media and the Environment
As we transition from an industrial model of media distribution to networked communications, corporations and grassroots environmental activists are vying to define environmental opinion in an evolving media landscape. By applying media literacy tools to examine paradigms of communication and ecology we’ll seek to understand how media impact environmental concepts, and explore media strategies for addressing issues such as global climate change. The course covers three core concepts: 1) comparing media and environmental ethics and paradigms, 2) environmental messaging, and 3) the interrelationship between the form of media systems and sustainable business practices.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Media and the Environment - HONORS
As we transition from an industrial model of media distribution to networked communications, corporations and grassroots environmental activists are vying to define environmental opinion in an evolving media landscape. By applying media literacy tools to examine paradigms of communication and ecology we’ll seek to understand how media impact environmental concepts, and explore media strategies for addressing issues such as global climate change. The course covers three core concepts: 1) comparing media and environmental ethics and paradigms, 2) environmental messaging, and 3) the interrelationship between the form of media systems and sustainable business practices. This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Mergers and Acquisitions
Despite the frequency and magnitude of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity, M&As have a poor track record of success. Building on the premise that what happens after the deal is signed is as critical as the deal-making itself, in this course the student will research general literature, case studies, and practitioner experiences to build the knowledge necessary to address the financial, strategic and organizational challenges of acquisitions, with a view to realizing the promise of value creation. Specifically, the course explores the role of M&As in corporate strategy, domestically, overseas and across borders. It also reviews the fundamental building blocks: identification, valuation, negotiation, due diligence, deal structuring, financing, and integration.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Modern Rome and Its Monuments
Rome City Series - This on-site course focuses on the vast transformations in the architecture and urban development of Rome 1870-1945, when the status of the city changed from papal capital to capital of Italy as a nation-state. The course offers a view of the city that includes both grand public buildings – like the huge Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II at Piazza Venezia, and the Fascist-era buildings of the EUR district – and investigation of particular urban characteristics. It will consider aspects like Rome’s experiments in social housing, the development of elite residential districts, the revelation of ancient monuments along wide new avenues of the Fascist era, as well as contemporary architectural additions to the city’s monuments.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Motion Graphics and Visual Effects
Animation is everywhere in contemporary media: from the miniature Westeros landscape of the Game of Thrones title sequence and the Southern Gothic styling of the True Detective opener to the lower third graphics of a local news show or the dancing text of a late-night 1-800-LAWYERS ad. The work of creating even the most humble animation used to be the preserve of teams of specialists with access to expensive and esoteric equipment. Increasingly, however, tight schedules and constrained budgets have placed the responsibility for producing them squarely on the editor’s shoulders. DMA 325 aims to help editors and filmmakers meet the heightened expectations of modern audiences with motion graphics that captivate and communicate in equal measure.The course is a project-based exploration of the history, theory, tools, and techniques used to produce motion graphics and visual effects for film, television, and web video. The presentation of all topics includes historical background as well as a consideration of contemporary practices and likely avenues of future development. Each class involves both hands-on walkthroughs as well as ample opportunity for individual experimentation. For the midterm and final exams students will be required to produce a piece of work involving a broad spectrum of the techniques discussed using provided assets and a sample composite. The final project will be an individually developed portfolio piece making use of a 3D compositing workflow.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Multimedia Strategic Communications
This course introduces students to the art and craft of multimedia storytelling for strategic business communications in the profit and not for profit sector. It provides background and analysis for how storytelling has evolved in the digital landscape, requiring communicators to rethink concepts of audience, engagement, use of trusted sources, and dynamic updating. In this context, students will take part in the hands-on, beginning-to-end creation of multimedia projects. Depending on each project’s concept, content, and goals, various off-the-shelf software platforms will be explored and utilized for content management and creative presentation in the form of basic apps, interactive storytelling, blogs, bots, and more. A key challenge to strategic communications—dissemination, making stories stand out in today’s sea of content—will be incorporated from the start into decision making and production.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Pagans, Jews and Christians - Art and Religion in Late Antique Rome
In the 3rd- and 4th-century Rome continued to be a stronghold of traditional paganism, but it was also a hub of exotic pagan cults imported from the East, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Diaspora and to one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in the Empire. The goal of the course is to allow students to become familiar with the iconography and meaning of the art of Late Antique Rome in the context of this new age of spirituality. In-class lectures will be complemented by site and museum visits to take advantage of the many monuments and artworks still extant in Rome and its environs.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Pagans, Jews and Christians - Art and Religion in Late Antique Rome - HONORS
In the 3rd- and 4th-century Rome continued to be a stronghold of traditional paganism, but it was also a hub of exotic pagan cults imported from the East, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Diaspora and to one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in the Empire. The goal of the course is to allow students to become familiar with the iconography and meaning of the art of Late Antique Rome in the context of this new age of spirituality. In-class lectures will be complemented by site and museum visits to take advantage of the many monuments and artworks still extant in Rome and its environs.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Painting with Water-based Media
This course introduces the use of inks, watercolor, and other transparent water-based paints on paper. Elementary drawing and painting principles will be reviewed, including basic color theory and the rendering of form through modulations of light and dark. Technical practice focuses on understanding the watery nature of these media, the interactions between pigments, water, and paper, and the expressive potential of spontaneous gestures. Emphasis is placed on planning, composition, and the use of preparatory pencil drawings. The subject matter is generally drawn from direct observation, and may include any of the traditional genres of still-life, portraiture, landscape, interiors, figure studies, etc. The spontaneous nature of water-based media assists in significant ways in the development of a personal vision with method and intention.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Philosophy of Art and Beauty - HONORS
On this course we will examine philosophers’ fascinating attempts to understand art and explore the multiple roles that it can play in our lives. We will consider such issues as what ‘art’, ‘beauty’, ‘creativity’, ‘expression’, and ‘imagination’ can mean, whether our judgments about them can ever be objective, how art relates to our feelings and to our understanding of the external world, how it reflects society, religion, and politics, and the radical differences between contemporary, modern, and classical kinds of art.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Popular Music and Mass Culture
From the cylinders to MP3s, from Tin Pan Alley to death metal, this is a general survey course exploring and analyzing the history and meaning of popular recorded music within mass culture and society. It focuses on the historical, aesthetic, social, political-economic and technological developments that have shaped the very definition of the popular in the musical field. The course covers various aspects of recorded music from the history of the recording industry to the concept of the recorded, from rock and other nationally specific styles to the rise of MTV and beyond.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Positive Psychology
This course aims to provide a general introduction to the area of Positive Psychology, “the scientific study of what makes life most worth living”, and to scientific findings related to happiness, well-being, and the positive aspects of the human experience. We will review the history of Positive Psychology, and its contribution to more “traditional” areas of psychology. The course also incorporates experiential learning and exercises aimed at increasing personal well-being and at facilitating students’ understanding of the fundamental questions in the field.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Promotional Videos
This course introduces students to the strategic, conceptual, creative, and technical aspects of promotional videos (teasers, promos, trailers, campaigns, sales reels, and spots). It provides a basic understanding of the various short formats produced in TV and Web communication. The aim is to study common procedures and to get hands-on experience making promos, including how to hook a viewer, how to reach a target, how to engage an audience, and most of all, how to sell a story. This course offers an intensive overview of the entire production process in promo production, including activities like researching, creating a concept pitch/brief, editing, and post-production. The class will feature screenings, exercises, in-class assignments, editing sessions, voiceover recording sessions, and group projects. In order to participate, students will be expected to have a basic understanding of the skills and concepts involved with video editing, audio recording, and mixing.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Public Relations
We will study the definitions, functions, and evolution of public relations, including the application of PR theory and ways to plan a PR campaign (planning process, issue analysis, research methods and strategies). The different fields in which public relations practitioners operate will be presented through case studies and exercises: media relations, event management, crisis management, corporate identity, internal/external communications, community relations, international PR and marketing support, and effectiveness evaluation. Finally, future perspectives and new technological opportunities will be taken into account, trying to define new boundaries for a discipline too often underrated or misunderstood.
Religion and Global Politics
["\u201cReligion\u201d is driving contemporary political events in multiple, multifaceted, and mysterious ways. This course is designed to help students to make sense of this phenomenon and to begin to understand why, and in what ways, religion influences global politics today. In order to do so, the course will address normative concerns about the proper relationship between religion and states in contemporary political societies","theoretical concerns about how various religious institutions and religion-state arrangements influence and are influenced by political processes","and empirical concerns about how, why and where individuals are religious across the globe, and in what ways their religious ideas and identities might influence their political decisions and behaviors. Throughout the course students will be introduced to a set of concepts used by scholars to understand the theory and practice of religion and politics today. They will then have an opportunity to employ and critique these concepts by researching and writing a term paper on a case of religion intersecting with international affairs today. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, the Iraq war debate","the EU vs. the Crucifix debate","the Islam and Democracy debate","and the US foreign policy debate over the engagement of the \u201cglobal Muslim community.\u201d"]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Religious Freedom in a Comparative Perspective
This course explores the major questions posed by religious freedom rights. Students will enter into the debate over what is religious freedom in general and what is the proper place of religion in democratic societies, and then focus on conflicts over the formal relationship between religious and state authorities, the allocation of public wealth to religious communities, the place of religious symbols in the public sphere, religious education in public and private schools, exemptions from general legal requirements for religious claims, tensions between religious communities’ identity and expressive rights and liberal views of sexual morality and gender equality.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Research Practicum
["This upper level seminar\/practicum provides rigorous, practical preparation for the writing of professional art-historical research papers, including the Senior Thesis, through four discrete units: an individual portfolio review","a research tools and methods seminar","intensive, directed bibliographic research","and the formulation of a presentation to the class on the thesis topic, together with a new 'foundation' portfolio demonstrating mastery of the research skills, competencies, and bibliography necessary for advanced art-historical research writing. The course is intended for JCU Degree Seeking students, but advanced visiting students studying Art History are welcome."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Retailing Applied to Fashion Industry - HONORS
This course focuses on issues related to Retail Management in the Fashion industry and requires both an understanding of marketing principles as well as channel management concepts. The course reviews basic concepts related to retail business such as operations, logistics, retail channels management, retail controlling and strategic location development, which develop the student’s ability to understand performance indicators and measure store performance. Students are encouraged to focus on retail buying and stock planning, in order to fully understand how to manage in-store product life cycles. Teaching methodology is project based and team work is emphasized. Teams will be required to apply fashion retailing concepts to companies’ decision making through a proposed retail project, which will require a written strategic retail plan that is adapted to the Italian fashion market.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Rome in the Age of Augustus
["The course examines the dynamic and culturally vibrant period linked to the reign of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. It examines how the change from a Republic to a Principate was articulated in contemporary visual culture: from public works, to luxury goods, to funerary\/domestic imagery. Fundamental is the examination of the change and radical redefinition of Roman political, cultural and artistic expression that characterizes this period. The course will provide a contextualized appreciation of the visual and artistic culture of the Augustan period. It will furnish students with an in-depth knowledge of key monuments and artworks, and their multifaceted connotations","an awareness of the refashioning and imaging of the city of Rome","and a nuanced appreciation of the particular relationship between politics and representation."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Rome in the Age of Augustus - HONORS
["The course examines the dynamic and culturally vibrant period linked to the reign of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. It examines how the change from a Republic to a Principate was articulated in contemporary visual culture: from public works, to luxury goods, to funerary\/domestic imagery. Fundamental is the examination of the change and radical redefinition of Roman political, cultural and artistic expression that characterizes this period. The course will provide a contextualized appreciation of the visual and artistic culture of the Augustan period. It will furnish students with an in-depth knowledge of key monuments and artworks, and their multifaceted connotations","an awareness of the refashioning and imaging of the city of Rome","and a nuanced appreciation of the particular relationship between politics and representation. This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Science and Urban Ecology
This course provides the liberal arts student with an introduction to the scientific issues which underpin human health in the urban environment. We study components of the urban environment by using basic concepts from ecology, biology, chemistry, and geology. We then learn about “linkages” (or interactions) between humans and their physical, chemical, and biological environment in order to understand human health in the urban environment. The interactions examined will relate to actual conditions found in major cities in the 21st century: we look at water supply and quality, air quality standards, energy supplies, and common diseases.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Selected Topics in American Literature: American Drama after 1945
4
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Selected Topics in American Literature: American Drama after 1945 - HONORS
This course explores in some depth a particular period, theme(s), or genre in American Literature. Students study the major historical and cultural contexts out of which the works grew. An important aim of the course is to deepen students' knowledge of a certain topic through a choice of representative writers and works. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing. This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Selected Topics in World Literature: The Dystopian Novel
This course is an upper-level course designed to provide a thorough investigation of a limited number of texts or of a specific central unifying theme that can be chosen either from Western or non-Western literature. The course invites students to take a closer look both at the text or theme in question and at the world out of which the focal subject developed. Through the comparative analysis of literary texts from diverse cultures, students will come to see how cultural differences can influence such elements as narrative, structure, literary style, plot conventions, point of view, or the construction of character and voice. They will also be able to see how similar literary themes may be handled with different emphases by different cultures, or how cultural biases can result in different or even completely opposite moral conclusions. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Selected Topics in World Literature: The Dystopian Novels - HONORS
This course is an upper-level course designed to provide a thorough investigation of a limited number of texts or of a specific central unifying theme that can be chosen either from Western or non-Western literature. The course invites students to take a closer look both at the text or theme in question and at the world out of which the focal subject developed. Through the comparative analysis of literary texts from diverse cultures, students will come to see how cultural differences can influence such elements as narrative, structure, literary style, plot conventions, point of view, or the construction of character and voice. They will also be able to see how similar literary themes may be handled with different emphases by different cultures, or how cultural biases can result in different or even completely opposite moral conclusions. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing. This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Selfies and Beyond: Exploring Networked Identities
This course explores the state of the online self—the multiple ways in which identities and subjectivities are constructed in the networked environment—with an emphasis on social networking platforms (Instagram, Tinder, Facebook, etc.). The course ties networked identity’s impact on a number of current topics, including celebrity, consumer culture, dating, gender, violence, emotion, affect, big data, surveillance, collective action, and privacy. The central question explored throughout the course is how identities and subjectivities are shaped in a networked environment, and how they, in their turn, shape culture, social dynamics and politics in everyday life.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Service Marketing
["This course offers key insights into the rapidly growing service sector industry. The course is challenging and requires students to apply their knowledge and skills for the effective management of service design and delivery. Central issues addressed in the course include identifying differences between service and product marketing","understanding how customers assess service quality\/ satisfaction","applying the GAPS model to assess service failure","understanding of the theory of relationship marketing and using related tools and techniques for keeping customers and encouraging loyalty."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Social Marketing and Fundraising
This course introduces students to the conceptual frameworks, ethics, and practice associated with social marketing. This course explores how classic marketing techniques can be effectively applied beyond traditional corporate settings, in not-for-profit organizations. Students will gain an understanding of the basic principles of social marketing, and then will address fundraising and resource development as well as social communication campaigns. Fundraising is the application of marketing principles to generate funds that enable not-for-profit organizations to achieve their objectives and cover their expenses. Social communication campaigns deal with creating awareness of the not-for-profit organization’s mission and services and influencing specific target audiences to behave differently for a social purpose. At the end of the course, students will gain an understanding of the financial analysis needed for program management and performance review. The course offers students a valuable opportunity to implement the marketing concepts in an original and growing sector, where the objectives are broader than simple profit maximization, and social, ethical, and political factors play a major role.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Social Media, Social Movements, Social Change
This course examines the technological capabilities, organizational structures, social effects, and ethical implications behind the use of social media platforms –Twitter, Facebook and others-- in recent social movement organizing. The course will investigate how social media have been utilized and rendered effective by a variety of social movements and in a diversity of contexts and interests, from the Arab Spring, to Black Lives Matter, to It Gets Better. Students will be offered a broad overview of the affordances of social media for mobilizing for social change or political action. Students will consistently engage with critical concepts from both classic social theory and new media studies put forward both by scholars and organizers.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Social Networks and Media Management
This course explores the significance of social networks in business and social life. The focus of the course is to critically appreciate social media platforms across a variety of contexts. The course investigates issues related to the management of social media in terms of the strategies and tactics related to successful deployment and cultivation of business/social initiatives and the redefinition of the customer/user as a central element in value creation. Issues related to participatory culture, communication power, collaborative work and production, privacy and surveillance, and political economy of social media are explored in depth through the use of contemporary cases
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Social Networks and Media Management: Practices and Representations
This course explores the significance of social networks in business and social life. The focus of the course is to critically appreciate social media platforms across a variety of contexts. The course investigates issues related to the management of social media in terms of the strategies and tactics related to successful deployment and cultivation of business/social initiatives and the redefinition of the customer/user as a central element in value creation. Issues related to participatory culture, communication power, collaborative work and production, privacy and surveillance, and political economy of social media are explored in depth through the use of contemporary cases.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Sociology of Southern Italy
This course will examine the Italian Mezzogiorno starting with this paradox – the reality of a society often engaged in rapid social change but one where change itself often appears impossible. We will look at the modern history of the region briefly, moving on to major themes and questions concerning how the Italian South has developed since the Unification of Italy and especially in recent decades. Issues to be studied include underdevelopment, modernization, social capital and civic spirit or the lack of it, the argument that the South is characterized by “amoral community”, the whys and hows of the great emigration of the last century, the land reforms after World War II, the attempt to overcome the region’s underdevelopment with the Fund for the Mezzogiorno, the issue of clientelist and corrupt politics, organized crime including the Sicilian Mafia, the Neapolitan Camorra, and the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, the anti-Mafia movement, the current crisis of waste removal in Naples and its causes, the changing role of women in Southern society and others.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Sound Design in Media Arts
["This course provides an overview of sound culture and nonlinear audio production with an emphasis on theoretical, historical and practical approaches. In this introductory-level course, students will gain familiarity with the historical trajectory of sound technology and sound art, and get an overview of the theoretical reflections that have accompanied sound artistic creation as well as the basic tools and techniques for nonlinear audio production. The projects devised for the class are aimed at improving listening skills, raise awareness of aural and sonic experience and integrate sound with narrative visual media, so as to allow students to communicate and conceptualize with sound. During the course of the session three fundamental aspects of sound will be addressed: 1)Sound as Sound\/Listening\/ Field Recordings\/ Soundscapes","2) Sonic Narratives","3) Sound & Image Relations."]
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Special Topics in Art History and Law: Art Crime
Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of concern in the field of Art History and Law. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Special Topics in Art History and Law: Art Crime - HONORS
Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of concern in the field of Art History and Law. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Special Topics in Art History: Classicism
Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of concern in the field of Art History. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Special Topics in Art History: Understanding Architecture
Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of concern in the field of Art History. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Special Topics in English Literature: Literature and Radicalism
An in-depth treatment of a current area of special concern within the field of English Literature. Topics may vary. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Special Topics in History: Walls, Separation and Integration
An in-depth treatment of a current area of special concern within the field of History. Topics may vary. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Special Topics in History: Walls, Separation and Integration - HONORS
An in-depth treatment of a current area of special concern within the field of History. Topics may vary. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Special Topics in Law and Political Science
N/A
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Special Topics in Modern and Contemporary Art: The Influence of Poetry and Prose on XXI Century Art
Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the modern and contemporary world. Courses are normally research- led topics on an area of current academic concern.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Stereotyping, Prejudice and Discrimination
This course is designed to familiarize students with basic psychological theory and research on intergroup relations, prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination, so that they can: (1) evaluate and analyze the scientific merit of this research, and (2) apply this research to real world. The goals of this course are to expose students to the core issues, phenomena, and concepts that researchers in this field are attempting to understand and to promote critical thinking about research in this area.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Study of the Works of a Single Modern Writer: Jane Austen - In Her Own World and Ours - HONORS
This course focuses on the work of one writer from the nineteenth century to the present. This course may be taken more than once for credit when different writers are studied.This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing. This course carries 4 semester hours of credits. A minimum CUM GPA of 3.5 is required.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Study of the Works of a Single Modern Writer: Jane Austen - In Her World and Ours
This course focuses on the work of one writer from the nineteenth century to the present. This course may be taken more than once for credit when different writers are studied. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 300-level literature classes are required to produce 5-6,000 words of critical writing
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Surveillance, Privacy and Social Identities: Practices and Representations
The course provides an in-depth analysis of the technical, social, cultural and political contexts and the implications of increasingly ubiquitous surveillance practices. The focus of the course will be in analyzing the deployment and implementation of specific surveillance practices within mediated digital environments and the other spaces of everyday life. Concepts such as privacy and secrecy will be analyzed as they relate to the general field of surveillance. The course will focus on the ways in which these practices circulate within the spaces of culture, cut through specific social formations and are disseminated in the global mediascape. Particular attention will be placed on the ways in which the concept and procedures of surveillance are imagined, represented and contained in popular culture.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Terrorism and Counterterrorism
["This course will provide the student with an understanding and basic foundation to: explain and compare the varying definitions of terrorism","distinguish the different types of terrorist motivations including left-wing, right-wing, ethnonationalist, separatists, and religious","differentiate terrorism from other forms of violence including political violence, guerilla warfare, insurgency, civil war, unconventional warfare, and crime","understand and describe the historical foundations of terrorism and apply them to modern terrorist events and methods being used to combat them."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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The Music Video: From Popular Music to Film, Video and Digital Media
Since its emergence in the late 1970s, the music video has become the dominant means of advertising popular music and musicians, as well as one of the most influential hybrid media genres in history. This course will investigate the ways in which popular (recorded) music and visual cultures have reciprocally influenced one another. Music videos will be examined alongside various other media forms including videogames, live concert films, film and television music placement and curation, television title sequences and end credits, user generated content on YouTube, remixes, and mashups. The course will take a particular look at experimental, avant-garde film and video traditions and how they inform music video. Ultimately, the course will specifically treat music videos as a distinct multimedia artistic genre, different from film, television and the popular recorded music they illuminate and help sell.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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The Other America: History of the Counterculture in the US
History Research Seminar: 300-level history courses designated by the prefix HS-RS indicate courses being offered as Research Seminars. These courses are writing-intensive and help to train students to carry out original research by guiding them through the preparation of a significant research paper. History majors are encouraged to take these before their senior year, and especially before the semester in which they prepare their thesis. The seminar analyzes the history of Counterculture in the United States and examines the impact that Counterculture had during the Sixties and early Seventies (and the legacy and influence that certain particular experiences and ideas have had on later generations). The Other America also aims through the words of Whitman, Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, Kerouac, Dylan, Springsteen, and many other writers, poets, activists, and musicians to observe the inequities encountered by different American minorities in the 20th Century and to disclose their strategies of survival as they have sought justice and dignity.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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The Philosopher in the Garden: Epicureans and Great Gardens in Lazio and Rome
This course originates from the contemporary concern for ecological issues and, therefore, addresses how the hand of man has creatively, productively and artistically managed the natural environment under the inspiration of philosophical principles. It will first consider the philosophical ideas of Epicurus (the “philosopher in the garden”) and then how these ideas further inspired the creation of great Renaissance gardens, many of which are in and near Rome. There will be two extended visits to these gardens in Lazio: the Papal gardens in Castel Gondolfo and the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, or the Villa Lante near Viterbo. Garden layout, botany, design and themes will be all examined in the course.
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The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture
This intellectual history course examines one of the most profound paradoxes in the history of Western culture, i.e., the fact that the development of freedom as one of its most celebrated ideals has been intimately tied to the practice of slavery. Aristotle and Cicero owned slaves, as did Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The eighteenth-century Atlantic World saw not only the Enlightenment, the American Revolution and the French Revolution, but also the high point of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In exploring the longer term history of this paradox, students will also investigate the place of slavery as an institution and an idea in the development of Western cultural, religious, intellectual, and political traditions.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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TV After TV
What is television’s fate in the global digital cultures of convergence? The course examines new programming and advertising strategies in the medium of television, the reconfiguration of traditional and the emergence of new roles within the industry, the development of new global production and distribution strategies and models as well as how these transformations shape actual program content.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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TV Production Practicum I
DMA 434 is a hands-on workshop-style course that is ideal for students who have successfully completed TV Studio Lab and and who want to continue working on program development and asset management as well as gaining experience working video switchers, audio mixers, cameras, and lights in demanding live production scenarios. DMA 434 concentrates on producing series and event programming for JCUTV. The course will convene each week for production meetings but students will also be expected to work extensively in the studio and on location outside of class hours.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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TV Production Practicum II
DMA 435 is a hands-on workshop-style course that builds on the experience students gained during DMA 434. Students who enroll in 435 will take a leading role in the studio as showrunners for JCUTV. They will develop at least one format, producing a show bible for the semester as well for the use of future sections of DMA 434. They will develop their series’ identity and oversee the creation of assets required for principal photography/post before producing a minimum of three episodes for the semester. Students will also be responsible for promoting the show. The course will convene each week for production meetings, but students will also be expected to work extensively in the studio and on location outside of class hours.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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TV Studio Lab
Many contemporary television sitcoms, news programs, variety shows, and events are shot with a multitude of cameras and are often cut and mixed live for instantaneous broadcast. This course prepares students for work as part of a multi-cam production team by giving them hands-on experience developing content for multi-cam production, prepping broadcast-ready assets, coordinating and executing live shoots, and live-streaming content on a variety of online platforms.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Twentieth Century Art
Twentieth century art consists of well-known Modernist and Postmodernist styles and movements such as Cubism, Futurism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, installations and earthworks, to name a few. It also encompasses lesser-known movements such as the American urban realists, the Regionalists, Soviet Socialist Realism. But what does Modernism mean and how does it relate to the century’s dramatic modernization of daily life, social organization, commercial development, political and cultural nationalism, and two World Wars? Through an analysis of the art, artists, and critical discourses in question, the course will consider the fundamental questions: what is art’s relationship to the larger culture? What is the artist’s role in society? What do aesthetic concerns have to do with life? While these questions are always pertinent, they demand particular attention in the century largely defined by the ideology of art’s autonomy, pure creativity, and individual expression.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Video Art
In the digital era, independent, experimental, self-produced video art has become a widespread, even dominant, phenomenon that is visible in art galleries, museums, and other venues throughout the world. This course in video and video art will greatly increase students' awareness of the possibilities offered by new inexpensive technologies not only to create simple clips to post on various social network sites, but also to make true, creative, artistic works. The course includes in-depth study of the basic aspects of both video shooting and subsequent elaboration at the computer using software such as Final Cut.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Advanced Composition
The main goal of this course is to enable students to create different basic descriptive, narrative and argumentative texts in Spanish (narrative, descriptive, argumentative...) by means of exercises involving exposition, reflection, and practice. Students will learn techniques to organize the written speech, as well as style resources that will let them progress within the area of writing in Spanish.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Course Level: Upper Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Upper Division
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Advanced Grammar and Conversation
This course is designed to help students gain fluency and confidence in speaking while reviewing the advanced structures of Italian grammar. Contemporary literary and journalistic texts offer an introduction to Italian culture and provide the basis for class discussions geared toward expanding vocabulary and reinforcing the idiomatic use of the language.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Advanced Media Theory
This course is designed as an advanced level exploration of major theories and schools of thought in media studies and communications. It surveys foundational theories about media and communication, ranging from mass media in the 19th century to contemporary digital media and cultures. Schools of thought and concepts covered in the course include the study of ideology, hegemony, political economy, culture industries, medium theory, cultural studies, mass media and society, spectacle and spectatorship, race, gender, post-colonialism, semiotics, and postmodernism. Students will apply theories through practical written research projects and analysis of current media practices.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Ancient Rome and Its Monuments
Rome City Series - This on-site course considers the art and architecture of ancient Rome through visits to museums and archaeological sites. The course covers the visual culture and architecture of Rome beginning with the Iron Age and ending with the time of Constantine. A broad variety of issues are raised, including patronage, style and iconography, artistic and architectural techniques, Roman religion, business and entertainment. DO NOT TAKE with AH 190.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Applied Data Analytics
This course will examine current trends in data science, including those in big data analytics, and how it can be used to improve decision-making across different fields, such as business, economics, social and political sciences. We will investigate real-world examples and cases to place data science techniques in context and to develop data-analytic thinking. Students will be provided with a practical toolkit that will enable them to design and realize a data science project using statistical software.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Business Communications
This course deals with the definition and analysis of problems and the production of written and oral business reports. Use of appropriate computer software (e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, graphics) is an integral part of the course
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Calculus II
This course builds on the fundamentals of the calculus of one variable, and includes infinite series, power series, differential equations of first and second order, numerical integration, and an analysis of improper integrals. It also covers the calculus of several variables: limits, partial derivatives, and multiple integrals.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Child Development
Follows the development of the child through adolescence, with emphasis on the complexity and continuity of psychological development. The course will emphasize the interaction and interdependence of the various systems: biological, genetic, and environmental, as well as the interaction and the interdependence of cognitive and social factors in the various stages of development, from the prenatal period through adolescence. Particular attention will be placed on attachment theory, the development of the self, and possible pathological outcomes of faulty development.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Cities, Towns & Villas: Rome, Ostia, Pompeii
Rome, Ostia and Pompeii are three of the best- preserved archaeological sites in the world. Through their study, we are able to comprehend the physical and social nature of Roman cities and how they transformed over the course of centuries. We explore the subjects of urban development, public and private buildings, economic and social history, and art incorporated into urban features (houses, triumphal monuments, etc.).
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Cognitive Psychology
This course will examine the structure and function of mental processes, which account for human behavior. Topics include attention, perception, memory, problem solving, decision making, cognitive development, language, and human intelligence. Individual, situational, gender, and cultural differences in cognition will also be explored. An individual research project or research paper is required.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Community Inclusion through Art and Movement
Grading: This course will be graded on a PASS/FAIL basis. The course provides students with theoretical and practical knowledge of techniques and methodologies for teaching and learning through non-verbal communication and bodily movement. While such skills are necessary for all human communication, they are particularly important in socio-humanitarian and helping relationships. The course is therefore geared towards students who intend to pursue a career working with facilitating the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups such as migrants, prison inmates and people with various disabilities.
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Computer Office Applications
This course helps students develop the advanced skills that are necessary in personal productivity office applications, such as word processing, data management and analysis, and presentation/slide design. The course follows best practices and reviews available internet tools for data storage.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Consumer Behavior
This course is designed to explore consumer behavior across a number of domains -- from the cognitive biases that impact daily decisions, to the ways in which consumers are influenced by the environment. This course draws from research in behavioral economics, psychology, and marketing and is intended to broadly survey concepts and case analyses in the study and practice of consumer behavior.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Consumer Behavior
The objective of this course is to enable students to understand the essential theories of consumer behavior in an international perspective. The course will provide students with the basics of the consumer behavior, as a group of people as much as a single individual. In an international perspective, an emphasis is given in regards to cultural, lingual, and environment factors related to the consumer process.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 2.5
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Consumer Behavior
Students in this course will gain an understanding of the key concepts of consumer behavior, and how through marketing research, this behavior, once understood, impacts marketing decision making, helping organizations become more customer-focused, and marketing oriented.
NOTE: This course is offered as part of the fall CBS certificate program.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 2.5
Contact Hours: 5
Creative Writing Workshop: Travel Writing
This creative nonfiction workshop explores the long tradition of travel writing, fostered by the keen observation and thoughtful documentation of landscape and culture that travel inspires. Students will gain exposure to several subgenres encompassed by the term travel writing including, but not limited to, the travel memoir, the travel essay, guidebooks, and food and humor pieces that tandem as travel writing. The course offers instruction in the research and mechanics of travel writing aimed at the generation of articles and essays for newspapers, magazines, guidebooks, the Internet, as well as how to begin drafting ideas for longer-form works.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Digital Media Culture
This course provides students with a number of theoretical approaches to critically assess how digital media function and their expanding and expansive role in contemporary culture. The course further investigates digital media convergence in order to develop a critical lexicon that can both chart its development and engage in intellectual interventions in its use within the transformations occuring in more traditional cultural forms such as television, film, popular music, print, and radio. Special emphasis will be placed on the specific cultural, political, economic, and social issues raised by digital media forms.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Digital Photography
This course is meant for students who wish to deepen their knowledge of digital photography. It will review basic camera functions, lighting, principles of composition and pictorial dynamics, color interactions, and introduce methods of the elaboration of photos on the computer. The course will consider the historical and formal knowledge of photography, as well as including picture-taking in a variety of genres and the preparation of a photo exhibition. Each student must be equipped with a digital camera with a wide lens or a 3x or greater optical zoom, and camera functions selector which includes M,A,S,P. A tripod and modern single-lens reflex (SLR) digital cameras with interchangeable lenses are highly recommended.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Drawing - Rome Sketchbook
This course makes use of the unparalleled resource that is the city of Rome itself; each class meets at a different site around the city. Students work in sketchbook form, creating over the course of the term a diary of visual encounters. Instruction, apart from brief discussions of the sites themselves, focuses on efficient visual note taking: the quick description of form, awareness of light and the development of volume in space. With practice and growing experience, students become capable of producing drawings governed by conscious intention.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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E-Marketing
This course approaches Internet marketing from a marketing management perspective. The course looks at the Internet both as a tool to be used in the marketing planning process and as an element of a company’s marketing mix. The course explores how traditional marketing concepts such as market segmentation, research, the 4Ps, and relationship marketing are applied using the Internet and other electronic marketing techniques. Website design is not covered.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Econometrics
Econometrics is the use of statistical tools to test economic models. This course will introduce students to the basic principles of econometrics and will provide them with hands-on practical experience in the field. The course starts with a review of statistical tools and continues with the analysis of simple and multiple regression, heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, and multicollinearity. Some of the teaching time will be spent in the computer lab, where students will learn how to work with software.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Economics of Development
The course focuses on the economics of development, with specific reference to developing countries. While drawing extensively on the tools of standard economic theory, it deals with development issues for which economic theories at best provide only partial answers. It offers a problem-oriented approach, with a historical and institutional perspective, to issues such as poverty, population, income distribution, international trade, investment, aid, and the debt problem.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Elementary Greek II
After a brief review of key grammar and morphology from Greek 101, the course will complete the process of providing students with a sufficient grasp of Greek vocabulary, morphology and syntax to enable them to read unadapted passages from ancient Greek authors (with the aid of a lexicon) by the end of the course. There will be short readings of selections from Aesop, Lucian and Greek epigrams.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Elementary Latin II
This course provides continued study of accidences and syntax, treating all tenses of the verb in the subjunctive, indirect discourse, paraphrastic constructions and deponents. Vocabulary development is continued through intensive reading of selections of Latin prose. Students are also introduced to verse forms and the study of inscriptions. Assignments focus on translation from English to Latin and Latin to English.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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English Composition
This course concentrates on the development of effective paragraph writing in essays while introducing students to the various rhetorical modes. Elements covered include outlining, the introduction-body-conclusion structure, thesis statements, topic sentences, supporting arguments, and transition signals. Students will also become familiar with the fundamentals of MLA style, research and sourcing, as well as information literacy. To develop these skills, students will write in- and out-of-class essays. Critical reading is also integral to the course, and students will analyze peer writing as well as good expository models. Students must receive a grade of C or above in this course to be eligible to take EN 110. Individual students in EN 105 may be required to complete additional hours in the English Writing Center as part of their course requirements.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Figure Drawing
Figure drawing is the traditional basis for training the artist’s eye and hand. Through specific exercises, students learn to control line and gesture, to model form in light and dark, and to depict accurately the forms and proportions of the human body.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Financial Institutions and Capital Markets
This course covers the structure and role of financial markets and institutions such as commercial banking, investment banking, and major equity, debt, and derivative markets and includes discussion of management, performance, and regulatory aspects. The course also examines the functions of central banks and monetary policy for these financial markets and institutions. Case studies and real life examples are also disseminated throughout the course to allow students the additional exploration of national and international implications of financial markets, including those concerning credit crisis, their causes, and the likely reverberations and regulatory reforms.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Financial Management
This course builds on FIN 301 Finance and completes the overview of theoretical and applied foundations required to make decisions in financial management. The course focuses on the interpretation of financial data ratios, cost of capital and long-term financial policy, short-term financial planning and management, issues in international finance, and mergers and acquisitions.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Finite Mathematics
This course develops the quantitative skills which a liberal-arts educated student should acquire. It is intended to give the student an appreciation for the use of mathematics as a tool in business and science, as well as developing problem solving and critical thinking abilities. The course introduces the student to important topics of applied linear mathematics and probability. Topics include sets, counting, probability, the mathematics of finance, linear equations and applications, linear inequalities, an introduction to matrices and basic linear programming.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Foundations of Digital Video Production
This course introduces students to the technical, conceptual, and aesthetic skills involved in video production through the single camera mode of production. Still the most dominant mode of film and video production, the single camera mode places an emphasis on using the camera to fullest capacity of artistic expression. In addition to the multiple skills and concepts involved with the camera, the course also introduces students to the principles and technologies of lighting, audio recording and mixing, and non-linear digital video editing. Special focus is given to producing content for successful web distribution.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Fresco Painting
This course will provide students with the material techniques and art-historical context to understand Italian fresco painting. The art of fresco is particularly varied, and includes drawing, painting, color theory and plaster preparation. Students will leave the course with knowledge of these techniques and become familiar with the history of fresco painting and in particular certain masters and their work in Rome. While the course aims to provide an introduction to the history of fresco painting in Italy from 1300 to 1600, we will also study the traditional techniques of fresco painting and engage in the production of fresco work. Students will learn all phases of fresco making, from mortar mixing and surface preparation, drawing studies and transfer, to dry pigment preparation and application.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Game Theory
Situations in which the outcome of your own decisions depends also upon what others do are pervasive in everyday life. Game Theory focuses on the study of strategic interactions, which occur if the payoff (e.g., utility or profit) to an agent depends not only on her own decisions but also on the decisions made by others. In the presence of strategic interactions, choosing an ‘optimal’ course of action requires taking other agents’ behavior and beliefs into account. This is an introductory course in Game Theory which develops the basic tools and concepts necessary to analyze such interactions and understand how rational agents should behave in strategic situations. In recent years, game theoretic methods have become central to the study of networks (e.g, financial networks) and social interactions. In this course they are used to analyze such economic and political issues as oligopoly, the problem of the commons, auctions, bank runs, collusion and cartels, the conduct of monetary policy, bargaining, global warming, competition among political parties, arms races, negotiations and conflict resolution (e.g., contested resources and territorial disputes). Emphasis is placed on applications, practical understanding and a tools-oriented approach. The topics will be presented through a combination of abstract theory and many applied examples.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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History of Ancient Rome and Italy
This course surveys the history of ancient Rome and Italy, focusing on the origins and metamorphoses of Rome from its archaic foundations as an Italic-Latinate kingship to an imperial city. The course examines the establishment, expansion, and conflicts of the Republican period; the political and cultural revolution of the Augustan ‘Principate’; the innovations of the High Empire; and the transition into Late Antiquity. Course materials include the writings of ancient authors in translation (these may include Polybius, Sallust, Cicero, Livy, Augustus, Suetonius, and/or Tacitus) as well as modern historians and archaeologists, along with considerations of Roman art, architecture, and archaeology.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intensive English Composition
This intensive course has two components. One concentrates on developing the ability to write grammatically and idiomatically correct English prose, and includes an in-depth grammar review and examination of academic register. The other focuses on the elements of academic writing, from sentence structure through effective paragraph writing in essays, and introduces students to the various rhetorical modes. Elements covered include outlining, the introduction-body-conclusion structure, thesis statements, topic sentences, supporting arguments, and transition signals. Students will also become familiar with the fundamentals of MLA style, research and sourcing, as well as information literacy. To develop these skills, students will write in- and out-of-class essays. Critical reading is also integral to the course, and students will analyze peer writing as well as good expository models. Individual students in EN 103 may be required to complete additional hours in the English Writing Center as part of their course requirements. Students must receive a grade of C or above in this course to be eligible to take EN110. Students who receive a grade ranging from C- to D- can take EN105 or repeat EN103. Students who receive an F must repeat EN103.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intensive Italian I
This course meets four times per week and covers the equivalent of a full year of elementary language study (Introductory Italian I and II) in one semester. Designed for highly motivated students who wish to develop communicative ability in Italian in a relatively short time.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intercultural Communications
An exploration of some of the historical and political conditions that make intercultural communication possible, the barriers that exist to effective intercultural communication, and possible solutions to the problem of intercultural misunderstanding. The course examines examples of differences in communication styles not only between cultures but also within. As a result, issues of race, nation, class, gender, religion, immigration, and sexual orientation will be of significant concern. The course stresses the notion that knowledge of human beings is always knowledge produced from a particular location and for a particular purpose. As a result it encourages students to think carefully about the discipline of Intercultural Communication—its conditions of possibility, its assumptions, and its blind spots—as well the need to be mindful of the limitations and interests of our positioning as investigating subjects.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intermediate Algebra
This course provides a review of elementary algebra for students who need further preparation for pre-calculus. Students enroll in this course on the basis of a placement examination. The course covers the basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division involving algebraic expressions; factoring of polynomial expressions; exponents and radicals; solving linear equations, quadratic equations and systems of linear equations; and applications involving these concepts. This course does not satisfy the General Distribution Requirement in Mathematics and Science.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intermediate French II
A continuation of French 201. While continuing the review of grammar, the course emphasizes the development of reading and composition skills in the context of the French and francophone culture. Literary readings, newspaper articles, and films, are an essential component of this course.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intermediate Italian I
A continuation of IT 102. This course focuses on consolidating the student’s ability to use Italian effectively. Emphasis is given to grammar review and vocabulary expansion. Selected readings and films acquaint students with contemporary Italy.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Intermediate Microeconomics
This course delves deeper into the foundations of microeconomic theory, and analyzes the subject from a theoretical rather than practical point of view. Students will become familiar with the tools used by microeconomists in the analysis of consumer and producer behavior. The first part of the course reviews consumer theory and discusses budget constraints, preferences, choice, demand, consumer’s surplus, equilibrium, externalities, and public goods. The second part of the course reviews producer theory: technology, profit maximization, cost minimization, cost curves, firm and industry supply, and monopoly.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Intermediate Spanish I
Learn how to communicate well in various situations as well as comprehend and write various texts.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 4
Course Level: Lower Division
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Intermediate Spanish I
Students in this course should have a good command of communicative skills for everyday situations and a structural command of the present tense. The objective of this course is to develop the student’s oral and written skills and emphasizes more complex grammatical structures. Students should develop a good command of all past indicative tenses.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
Recommended US semester credits: 5
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Intermediate Spanish I
These courses require that students already understand basic grammatical concepts so they can be introduced to a more advanced stage of the study of the language, so as to reach an overall dominance of the Spanish language system in its diverse contexts.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
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Intermediate Spanish I
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Contact Hours: 45
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Intermediate Spanish I
This course is intended for students who already have basic communication skills. The general aim of the course is to extend students’ ability to communicate on a wider range of topics. Classes emphasize the active acquisition of grammatical structures and vocabulary. Upon completing the course, students will be able to follow or give a short talk on familiar topics, keep up a conversation on a fairly wide range of topics and write short letters and other texts on predictable subjects. Special attention is paid to classic difficulties such as ser vs. estar, para vs. por, pretérito indefinido vs pretérito imperfecto as well as the use of the subjective for expressing possibility, doubt, suggestions, and advice.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
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Intermediate Spanish II
This course emphasizes discourse enrichment, specifically related to description and simple narrations. The content of the course includes vocabulary building and detailed wok with the subjunctive mode and other complex grammatical structures. Students also learn idiomatic expressions used in Costa Rica.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
Recommended US semester credits: 5
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Intermediate Spanish II
These courses require that students already understand basic grammatical concepts so they can be introduced to a more advanced stage of the study of the language, so as to reach an overall dominance of the Spanish language system in its diverse contexts.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
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Intermediate Spanish II
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Contact Hours: 45
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Intermediate Spanish II
Improve comprehension of texts with both concrete and abstratct themes, learn to communicate with native speakers more fluently, and produce texts with various themes.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Language Level Required: Intermediate
Course Level: Upper Division
Course Level: Upper Division
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International Business
In this course, students will apply theories, tools, and insights found in the field of international management to common real world scenarios mainly through the use of case studies (specially from the Harvard Business Publishing). Students will demonstrate an understanding of the similarities and differences among the peoples of the world and how they affect business management. The course will discuss how various legal, political, economic, and cultural systems affect business
attitudes and behavior, exploring the managerial issues related to strategic planning, human resource management, motivation, and leadership that may arise in an international context.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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International Business
The increasing globalization of the marketplace affects all who are involved with business or who must make business decisions. Even those who are not directly involved in international business are affected in their domestic operations by international events and by the business activities of foreign entities. Therefore, it is imperative to be knowledgeable about the international business systems. This decade will pose many challenges and opportunities, particularly for newly industrialized countries (NIC). Three primary causes of these challenges are: first, these countries have become fierce competitors for the manufacture of high tech goods. Second, integration of the European Community has now created the largest trade block. Third, the acute international debt crisis keeps threatening the world financial structure and economic growth. This crisis has redirected the trade pattern away from the poor countries to the richest and likewise has concentrated capital flows among the rich countries. However, in recent times we have been observing a shift back to LCD’s, particularly in industries that are labor intensive
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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International Business
This course is mainly targeted to help students understand the strategic issues and tradeoffs in a global context and assess the strategic performance of global companies. The course draws on a number of different academic disciplines including economics, political science, international finance, trade and relations, cultural dimensions, etc. With regard to this approach, the goal is always to understand globalization and its implications for firms from a trans-disciplinary focus, all integrated into and understood from a systemic perspective of reality.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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International Business
This course develops international and European knowledge about the cultures of the different European countries. Business relationships, economics and business environment, protocol rules, European politics, negotiation strategies and export procedures are evaluated. Countries such as Spain, France, Germany, UK, and Italy are analyzed in great depth.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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International Business Seminar
["This heavily case-based capstone course will enable students to integrate and consolidate previous learning and examine in-depth real-life issues of policy, competitive advantage and barriers to trade","regional and global strategy","the challenges and benefits of operating and managing internationally and cross-culturally","and the major ways in which international business is currently changing, with a consideration of the implications for future business graduates."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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International Organizations
The Course will explore the historical idea of International Organization that emerged in Europe in the 18th century its development in the 19th century, and finally its rise in the 20th century, to become the major factor in international life of states.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Internship: Communications Field
["The For Credit (FC) Internship course combines academic learning with a short-term (generally 3 to 6 months, full or part-time with a minimum of 120 hours) employment opportunity. Field experience allows participants to combine academic learning with hands-on work experience. For-Credit internships may be paid or unpaid. The organization or firm must be sponsored by the JCU Career Services Center (CSC). After being selected for an internship and having the CSC verify the course requirements are met, the intern may enroll in the Internship course corresponding to the academic discipline of interest. Course requirements include: attending the internship class which will is scheduled for 10 in-class hours over the semester, verification of the minimum number of hours worked in the internship by the CSC","completion of a daily internship log","in-depth interview with the internship sponsor or organization","and a 2500 to 3500 word \u201cWhite Paper\u201d presenting a position or solution to a problem encountered by their employer. This course is graded on a \u201cpass\/no pass\u201d basis. The course will begin the 4th week of each semester. Students will determine with the Registrar\u2019s Office or their Advisor which semester corresponds most closely with the timing of their internship."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Cinema
This course is designed as an introduction to the art, history, and business of film. It presents an introduction to film aesthetics and the formal properties of film, locating specific styles and narrative forms within specific classical and alternative film movements. Film theories and critical strategies for the analysis of film will be investigated. The course will be divided into weekly screenings and lectures.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Classical Archaeology
This is an introduction to the major cultures of the classical world, ca. 2000 BC to AD 400, with archaeology as the primary body of evidence. Following an introduction to the history of classical archaeology and current archaeological theory and methods, the course traces the development of society in the Mediterranean basin from the Minoans and Mycenaeans to the complex system of the Roman Empire. The course involves lectures and museum visits and integrates information from current archaeological projects.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Entrepreneurship
This course examines the entrepreneurial process, from recognizing opportunity to planning, organizing and growing a new venture. We will highlight innovation and its methods and applications on business opportunity analysis. Topics covered also include significance, status, problems, and requirements of entrepreneurial businesses. Students will have the opportunity to identify a business opportunity and develop the idea to the point of being start-up ready.This course will serve as a foundation for students who might want to own a business, and it is meant to be accessible also for non-business majors.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Graphic Design
The aim of this course is to give students a comprehensive introduction to visual communication and to demonstrate how Graphic Design can be an effective and powerful tool for business. It covers a broad spectrum of different design disciplines, ranging from corporate identity, branding, brochure design, poster design, to packaging and illustration, and provides precious insight into the world of Graphic Design. The course is open to all students, particularly those who do not have a background in design, and complements other courses including Business, Management, Marketing and Communication.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Italian Renaissance Art
A survey of art and architecture in Italy from the 14th to the early 16th century, this course gives primary emphasis to Florence as an artistic center while including exploration of the contributions of Siena, Rome, and Venice. The course is intended for students with little or no background in art history and will cover the principal artists and trends of the Italian Renaissance, from Giotto to Michelangelo. Lectures and on-site visits, including a trip to Florence, will help build a visual vocabulary of monuments in a general historical overview. Mandatory field trip may require a fee.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theories
Designed as an introduction to the theoretical approaches to literature, the course will stimulate students to think and write critically through the study of the principal topics of literary theory. The course will adopt both a historical approach, covering each theory in the chronological order of its appearance on the scene, and a critical approach - putting the theories to the test by applying them to a literary text. The course will also help students to move on to an advanced study of literature by introducing them to the research methods and tools for the identification, retrieval, and documentation of secondary sources.This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to News Reporting and Writing
This course introduces writing and reporting techniques for the mass media. It focuses on the essential elements of writing for the print, online and broadcast media. The course also covers media criticism, ethics in media, and the formats and styles of public relations.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Philosophical Thinking
We all have opinions about what is true and false, right and wrong, what is just, divine, and beautiful, what the self, mind, and soul are, or what makes us free. But can we justify our opinions about such things? Have we given rational and open-minded consideration to criticisms and alternatives, or are our opinions perhaps based only on prejudices and assumptions? In this course you will learn to use philosophical thinking to test and improve your opinions and your ability to evaluate the claims of important philosophers. Through the study and discussion of philosophical texts, classic or contemporary, you will grapple with issues of fundamental human importance and develop your capacities for careful reading, clear writing and speaking, and logical argumentation.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Photography
This course creates a foundation of knowledge of photographic history, theory, and practice, and is recommended as preparation for further study in photography. Students will encounter technical issues concerning both film and digital photography, including basic issues of camera functions and controls, darkroom procedures, and digital techniques and software. The course examines a broad range of subjects such as: the early history of photography, photographic genres, use of artificial and of natural light, and various modes of presentation and archival management. Shooting pictures is balanced with classroom work. The course will help students develop a formal and critical vocabulary, an understanding of the uses of photography, and inspiration for more advanced photo courses.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to the Novel
The course traces various developments in the genre of the novel from the 17th to the 20th centuries through a reading of selected representative texts. In addition, students are required to consider these works alongside of the development of theories about the novel. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introduction to Visual Communication
["From photojournalism to Instagram, 21st century communication is primarily image-based. Whether its mass media, individual expression, social media or alternative media, images are used for promoting ideas, products, information and political discourses. In this course students investigate the role of visual culture in daily life, exploring fine art, popular culture, film, television, advertising, business communications, propaganda, viral social media and information graphics. As a critical introduction to visual communication, this course mixes theory, analysis and practical activities for an applied understanding of key issues, including the relationship between images, power and politics","the historical practice of looking","visual media analysis","spectatorship","historic evolution of visual codes","impact of visual technologies","media literacy","information graphics literacy","and global visual culture."]
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introductory German I
This course is designed to give students basic communicative ability in German. By presenting the language in a variety of authentic contexts, the course also seeks to provide an introduction to German culture and society. Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introductory German II
A continuation of GER 101. This course aims at developing and reinforcing the language skills acquired in Introductory German I, while placing special emphasis on oral communication.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Introductory Italian I
This course is designed to give students basic communicative ability in Italian. By presenting the language in a variety of authentic contexts, the course also seeks to provide an introduction to Italian culture and society. Students work on all four language skills: speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing. Note: This course carries 4 semester hours of credit during the Fall and Spring terms, 3 hours in Summer.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Italian Cinema
This course surveys films, directors, and film movements and styles in Italy from 1945 to the present. The films are examined as complex aesthetic and signifying systems with wider social and cultural relationships to post-war Italy. The role of Italian cinema as participating in the reconstitution and maintenance of post-War Italian culture and as a tool of historiographic inquiry is also investigated. Realism, modernism and post-modernism are discussed in relation to Italian cinema in particular and Italian society in general. Films are shown in the original Italian version with English subtitles.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Linear Algebra
This course introduces students to the techniques of linear algebra and to the concepts upon which the techniques are based. Topics include: vectors, matrix algebra, systems of linear equations, and related geometry in Euclidean spaces. Fundamentals of vector spaces, linear transformations, eigenvalues and associated eigenvectors.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Literature and Society in Ancient Rome
This course focuses on the literature of Ancient Rome and its role in shaping modern notions about the customs, social practices, and ideas of its citizens. Emphasis will be placed on using Roman literature as a means of studying Roman civilization, while simultaneously examining stylistics and literary techniques particular to the genres of comedy, rhetoric, epic and lyric poetry, satire and history. Texts, which vary, are chosen from Terence, Plautus, Cicero, Catullus, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Tacitus, and Juvenal. All texts are studied in translation.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Living the Good Life: Religious and Philosophical Ethics
What is right and wrong, good and bad? Where do ethical ideas and standards come from? How do we make ethical decisions? And why should we be ethical at all? This course introduces students to ethical thinking by studying both concrete issues and more abstract moral theories, including religious ideas. Philosophers studied may include Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine, Hume, Kant, and Mill, and religious ideas those of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. These will be considered in relation to concrete issues such as abortion, climate change, punishment, and free speech.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Made in Italy: The Italian Business Environment
The course analyzes the Italian Business environment, the characteristics of its culture and its inner workings. Students will be able to understand the different types of Italian corporate cultures and the role of family businesses in Italy. The course allows students to assess some of the most popular Italian brands and learn why made in Italy is a leading brand in the world, despite recent influences and threats from foreign investors. Company cases and special guests will be an important part of this course and will allow students to relate theory to practice.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Market and Marketing Research
This course covers the basic methods and techniques of marketing research. Discusses the tools and techniques for gathering, analyzing, and using information to aid marketing decision- making. Covers topics such as problem definition, research design formulation, measurement, research instrument development, sampling techniques, data collection, data interpretation and analysis, and presentation of research findings. Students choose a marketing research project, formulate research hypotheses, collect primary and secondary data, develop a database, analyze data, write a report, and present results and recommendations.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Media, Culture and Society
This course examines the mass media as complex social institutions that exercise multiple roles in society—none more crucial than the circulation and validation of social discourses. Introducing students to a variety of theoretical approaches, the course focuses on media operations and textual analysis.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Mystics, Saints, and Sinners: Studies in Medieval Catholic Culture
Through a close study of both primary and secondary materials in theology, spirituality, aesthetics, and social history, this course will introduce students to the major forms and institutions of religious thought and practice in medieval, Christian Europe (from Saint Augustine to the rise of humanism). The course will begin by studying the theological foundations of self and world in the work of Augustine and Pseudo-Dionysius, before turning to an elucidation of central religious institutions such as the papacy (and its relationship to imperial Rome), the monastery (we will study the rule of Saint Benedict and visit a Benedictine monastery), the cathedral (we will visit San Giovanni in Laterano and Saint Peter’s), and the university (and the scholastic philosophy to which it gave rise). We will then turn to alternative expressions of medieval religious faith in the work of several mystics, notably Meister Eckhart and Angela of Foligno. Finally we will study the reactions of the Church to the rise of science in the fifteenth century (we will look at the trial of Giordano Bruno) and will end with an appraisal of the continuity and renewal of Renaissance Humanism and its influence on the humanities as studied in a Liberal Arts Curriculum today.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Nineteenth-Century Europe and the World
This course explores the history of Europe and its relations with the larger world from the French Revolution to the outbreak of World War I. In it, students investigate the cultural, diplomatic, economic, political, and social developments that shaped the lives of nineteenth-century Europeans. Significant attention will be given to the relationship between Europeans and peoples in other parts of the world, the development of new political ideologies and systems, and the ways in which everyday life and culture changed during this period.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Operations Management
This course focuses on topics common to both production and service operations are emphasized. These include quantitative decision-making techniques; forecasting; various planning techniques involved in capacity, location, and process; resource and materials planning; and the design of job and work measurement systems. Also included are inventory systems and models, materials management, and quality-control methods.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Upper Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Upper Division
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Painting
This course introduces the basic issues of oil painting through a series of classic problems: the still life, figure study, portrait and others. Emphasis is on control of color and light and dark value, while building form in a coherent pictorial space. Oil is the preferred medium, and students buy their own materials. The course introduces connections between studio work and the history of painting
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Philosophy of Art and Beauty
On this course we will examine philosophers’ fascinating attempts to understand art and explore the multiple roles that it can play in our lives. We will consider such issues as what ‘art’, ‘beauty’, ‘creativity’, ‘expression’, and ‘imagination’ can mean, whether our judgments about them can ever be objective, how art relates to our feelings and to our understanding of the external world, how it reflects society, religion, and politics, and the radical differences between contemporary, modern, and classical kinds of art.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Pre-Calculus
This course provides an introduction to Calculus that focuses on functions and graphs. The properties of absolute value, polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions will be studied, along with the techniques for solving equations and inequalities involving those functions.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Principles of Macroeconomics
Economics is the study of choice under conditions of scarcity: The resources needed to produce goods and services are limited compared to human desires. Economics is divided into two major areas. Microeconomics studies the choices of consumers, firms, and governments, and describes the working of markets. Macroeconomics studies the behavior of the entire economy. It explains phenomena such as growth, business cycle, inflation, and unemployment. This course is an introduction to economics. The basic principles of economics will be presented and applied in order to explain some features of the modern economy.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 4
Course Level: Lower Division
Principles of Management
The objective of this course is to develop students’ understanding of modern management practices and to provide the background for further studies of management related subjects. Through the lectures, case studies and brainstorming exercises the students will improve their critical thinking and decision-making skills.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 2.5
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Principles of Marketing
Marketing is a dynamic and exciting field, a key tool in confronting the challenges that enterprises are facing every day. The purpose of this course is to introduce marketing principles and concepts. In this course students will learn about the "real" nature and scope of marketing management. They will be introduced to aspects of marketing, such as: Marketing Strategy, the 4 Ps, Market Planning, Retailing and Wholesaling, Target Marketing, Market Segmentation, Services Marketing. Students will also learn about the strategic importance of marketing to an enterprise, whether it be a profit-oriented business firm or a not-for-profit organization.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Principles of Marketing
Initially students will learn why financial accounting is essential to the running of corporations. This will be followed up with a discussion about the basic principles of accounting and the major elements of financial statements. Other elements will include journal entry and practical book keeping, showing the students how the accounts of companies are actually prepared working up to producing short financial statements. This will also include stock valuation methods and analysis of financial statements.
Language of Instruction: English
Recommended US semester credits: 2.5
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Principles of Microeconomics
Economic analysis is one of the most useful tools for understanding social phenomena. Principles of Microeconomics introduces students to the basics of economic ways of thinking. Economic theory is explained through the study of methods of analysis, assumptions and theories about how firms and individuals behave and how markets work. The course is useful for students in the applied social sciences, and is a necessary foundation for students wishing to continue the study of economics and business in their academic careers. The course is divided into four parts: The first is an introduction to languages, methods, and modeling used in microeconomics;","the second part focuses on the firm production process and market strategy;","the third analyses consumer theory and the way in which individual behavior is modeled by economists;","and the fourth and last part studies how the competitive and non-competitive market works. We will make extensive use of case studies and policy issues. which will be discussed in class.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 4
Course Level: Lower Division
Professional Skills for the Italian Job Market
["This course is taught in Italian and is designed for those interested in doing business with or in Italy. It focuses on Italian business language, with the aim of developing students\u2019 written and oral skills while providing them with technical vocabulary and professional expressions that are most often used in business situations. The course prepares students to successfully enter the job market","participants will learn about different interviewing techniques and will learn how to apply for a position in an effective manner."]
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Psychology and Law
The course focuses on applications of concepts and theories from cognitive, social, developmental and clinical psychology, to the administration of justice. Topics include the psychological processes involved in jury selection, jury deliberation and decision making, police interrogation, false confessions, eyewitness testimony, memory for traumatic events, child witnesses, juvenile offenders, and the role of psychologists as trial consultant and expert witnesses.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Public Speaking: Oral Rhetoric and Persuasion
This course provides students with an introduction to the fundamentals of rhetoric and how they are applied in oral communication, and how these principles and concepts lead to effective public speaking. Students will learn how to prepare and organize persuasive speeches by learning the fundamental structures of the persuasive speech. In addition, students will begin to acquire basic skills in critical reasoning, including how to structure a thesis statement and support it through a specific line of reasoning using idea subordination, coordination, and parallel structure.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Renaissance Rome and Its Monuments
Rome City Series - This on-site course will study the monuments of Renaissance Rome: painting, sculpture and architecture produced by such masters as Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo, all attracted to the lucrative service of popes, cardinals and nobles of the Roman court. On-site classes will investigate examples of palace and villa architecture, chapel decoration that encompasses altarpieces and funerary sculpture, as well as urbanistic projects where the city itself was considered as a work of art.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Retailing Applied to Fashion Industry
This course focuses on issues related to Retail Management in the Fashion industry and requires both an understanding of marketing principles as well as channel management concepts. The course reviews basic concepts related to retail business such as operations, logistics, retail channels management, retail controlling and strategic location development, which develop the student’s ability to understand performance indicators and measure store performance. Students are encouraged to focus on retail buying and stock planning, in order to fully understand how to manage in-store product life cycles. Teaching methodology is project based and team work is emphasized. Teams will be required to apply fashion retailing concepts to companies’ decision making through a proposed retail project, which will require a written strategic retail plan that is adapted to the Italian fashion market.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Rome: Modern City (On-site)
This on-site course, which will be conducted in English, aims to introduce students to a sociological analysis of contemporary Rome. It focuses on the changes which are occurring in the city’s populations, its neighborhoods and patterns of daily life and commerce, and challenges conventional images of what it is to be a Roman today. On-site classes will be held in a variety of neighborhoods in the city in order to analyze the area’s role as a social entity and its relationship with the wider urban context. We will examine the issues and problems facing Rome today, such as housing, degradation and renewal, environmental questions, transportation, multiculturalism, wealth and poverty, social conflict and political identities. These issues will be contextualized within theories of urban sociology and also within an explanation of Rome’s urban development over the centuries and, in particular, since it became the national capital in 1870. Through readings, film clips, interviews and guest speakers, students will also analyze the way the city is narrated by some of its residents.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Senior Seminar in Economics and Finance
Designed to be a capstone course, emphasis is placed on both theoretical and quantitative methods in the fields of economics and finance. Basic tools of economics and statistics are used to analyze a variety of contemporary economic problems and policy issues. Students read through major papers and may undertake research on specific topics so as to develop their understanding of economics and finance. Papers and topics cover the current issues of interest in the areas of microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, and finance to include the CFA Professional Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Students may be expected to present and write about their research topics as well as demonstrate an ability to work with quantitative information. The course is structured into modules/sections taught by a group of faculty members.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Shakespeare
This course is a general introduction to Shakespeare’s plays and an in-depth study of a selection of representative plays including a comedy, a history, a tragedy, and a romance. Through the close reading of the plays selected for the course, students will learn how to analyze a theatrical text, will study the Elizabethan stage in its day, and consider Shakespeare’s cultural inheritance. This is a reading and writing intensive course. Students in 200-level literature classes are required to produce 4-5,000 words of critical writing.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Social Entrepreneurship
Nowadays, significant social problems dramatically affect both the most developed and developing countries in many fields like education, health care, the environment. Most people think that these serious issues should be solved by either the governments or the third sector, which includes voluntary and community organizations like charities and NGOs. Conversely, the mission of a corporate organization is not to solve social problems but to maximize both its profits and the shareholder value. Social entrepreneurship allows to solve social issues using the instruments and the techniques of classic corporate organizations, however, its main goal is its social mission rather than profit maximization. The course explains how to become a social entrepreneur, the different options to organize a social business and to find the requested financial support, and how to use the lean start-up methodology to find both the right business model and market fit in order to solve a significant social problem
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Social Psychology
Social psychology is concerned with how we think about, influence, and relate to other people. This course is about the study of human social behavior, examining theories, findings, approaches, and methods in social psychology, as viewed from an interpersonal perspective. Topics include: the role of others in shaping self-concepts, as well as the formation of person perception, attitudes, attribution theory, obedience, conformity, and social relations. We will further look at the causes and methods of reducing prejudice and aggression, as well as exploring altruism, the development of gender roles, stereotypes, and nonverbal behavior. Readings and activities assigned will enhance discussion, broaden students' knowledge of and perspectives on human social interactions and give them a framework to interpret social behavior. In addition, since this course is taught in Florence, Italy, it provides a natural opportunity to compare and contrast the influence of culture on individuals. Living for even this short period in another country helps you to see and understand the relationship between the individual (self) and society, and a chance to view your own culture from a distance.
Language of Instruction: Spanish
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Contact Hours: 45
Social Psychology
This course is designed to offer a comprehensive view of Social Psychology and its most important phenomena. Our approach will depart from the theoretical basis of social psychology but our learning process will be directly connected to our daily lives. This means that learning will combine the theoretical dimension with a set of new ways of looking at reality, at social others, and at yourself. To combine these two dimensions in our classes, we will complement the theoretical dimension with examples that will help us to identify and understand the theory on the basis of materials such as films, songs, conferences, and presentations of students’ research projects.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Lower Division
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Social Psychology
The understanding of the social bases of behavior is an essential part of the training of the psychologist. This subject helps to understand the psycho-social principles of how individuals operate in groups. Experimental situations are used to reflect on the cognitive and social processes in order to explain the way in which individuals perceive and interpret the conduct of other individuals in groups and the way in which they influence each other and interact.The contents and activities making up the subject will facilitate the analysis of social situations linked to the beliefs, attitudes and aggressiveness, prejudice, altruism and other current key themes, by fostering reflection and questioning beyond a strict ethical code.
Course taught with Spanish students.
Language of Instruction: English Spanish
Recommended US semester credits: 3
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Statistics I
The main purpose of this course is to enable students to know the most important inferential statistical methods and being to identify and apply the adequate method to each specific real situation in business and institutional environments, with the help of statistical software.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Lower Division
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Strategic Decisions in Entrepreneurship
This course considers management problems of founders, owners, managers, and investors in startups. Acquisitions, location, organization control, labor relations, finances, taxation, and other topics of interest to entrepreneurial business management will be analyzed.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Strategic Management
Weighing the ins and outs of crafting, implementing, and executing company strategies forces a total enterprise perspective, demands that many internal and external situational considerations be dealt with at once, and calls for judgments about how all the relevant factors add up. This trait is what makes strategic management an integrative course. The center of attention is the total enterprise–-the industry and competitive environment in which it operates, its long-term direction and strategy, its resources and competitive capabilities, and its prospects for success.
Throughout the course, the spotlight will be trained on the foremost issue in running a business enterprise: “What must managers do, and do well, to make the company a winner in the game of business?” The answer that emerges, and which becomes the theme of the course, is that good strategy-making and good strategy execution are the key ingredients of company success and the most reliable signs of good management. The mission of the course is to explore why good strategic management leads to good business performance, to present the basic concepts and tools of strategic analysis, and to drill you in the methods of crafting a well-conceived strategy and executing it competently. Videos and case studies in order to develop students’ capacity to think strategically about a company, its present business position, its long-term direction, its resources and competitive capabilities, the caliber of its present strategy, and its opportunities for gaining sustainable competitive advantage.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Upper Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Upper Division
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Strategic Management
Present and develop the concepts, methodologies and tools needed for an effective participation in the strategic management process.
Language of Instruction: English
Course Level: Lower Division
Recommended US semester credits: 3
Course Level: Lower Division
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Strategic Marketing Management
This course involves the analytical integration of material covered in previous marketing courses. It develops skills in diagnosing marketing problems, formulating and selecting strategic alternatives, and recognizing problems inherent in strategy implementation. The development of a comprehensive marketing plan is a major requirement of the course.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Street photography
Street photography is an informal genre of photography using natural light, usually outdoors, that takes advantage of spontaneous discoveries. Street photography is a branch of both fine art photography and journalistic photography. The work of significant photographers in this genre, like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helen Levitt, and Robert Frank, will serve as examples. Since it often involves candid shots of people going about their business in the bustle of urban life, one aim of this course is to give students more confidence in photographing and approaching people with a camera.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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The American Experience II: From the Closing of the Frontier to the Present
This course will examine the transformation of the United States from a peripheral country to a world power. The course will analyze the causes of that transformation, focusing on industrialization, the First World War, the Great Depression, changes in American social thought and literature, the Second World War, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the search for a new world order. Special attention will be devoted to democracy and freedom, the role of race, the impact of immigration, as well as the post-war student and protest movements.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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The Economics of China
Chinese economy has gained remarkable growth since 1978 and today is the second largest economy in the world. Due to its size, the country has become a major participant in the world economy and it is currently in a process of large economic and social transformation. The purpose of this course is to help students understand the complexity and challenges of China’s rise and to critically evaluate their implications. After taking this subject, students are expected to understand why China succeeded in maintaining such a high economic growth in the past three decades, the role that the country is playing in the global scenario and what challenges it will be facing in the future.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Travel Photography
Travel photography is the art of documenting places, people and traditions in a manner that the image itself narrates a feeling of time and place, and a portrayal of the art, and landscapes and societies it engages with. Technically, travel photography also hones skills in dealing with diverse light conditions and settings. A sense of history and observation, and an eye for composition and action are hence integral aspects of this type of photography. The course provides a practical engagement with the challenges of natural light photography, and an analytical appreciation of the language of travel reportage photography.
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Twentieth-Century Europe and the World
This course explores the history of Europe and its relations with the larger world from World War I through the aftermath of the Cold War. In it, students investigate the cultural, diplomatic, economic, political, and social developments that shaped the lives of twentieth-century Europeans. Significant attention will be given to the relationship between Europeans and peoples in other parts of the world, the experience and significance of the World Wars and the Cold War, the development of democratic, authoritarian, and 'totalitarian' political systems, and the ways in which everyday life and culture changed during this period.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Video Essay Workshop
This course aims to introduce students to the various forms and methods associated with the contemporary video essay, and to guide them through the conception and production of their own analytic video essays — a skill which they will be able to transfer to numerous other courses and extracurricular and/or professional contexts. The course will teach students to present and directly elaborate the audio-visual material they engage with (rather than merely writing about it), as well as appreciate and understand the ways in which practical and critical engagement with media can advance active modes of spectatorship and media consumption.
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Web Design I
The premise of this course is that a web site differs from a traditional media publication because its contents can be updated at any moment, many possibilities exist for making it interactive, and reader attention span is short. The course provides students with technical knowledge and skills required to build a web site, while covering design, communication, and computer-human interaction issues. Topics include web history, HTML, style sheets, and effective information searching. As a final project, students create a web site on a liberal arts topic, which will be judged by the instructor and a reader specialized in the chosen topic.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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World Art I: Visual Culture of the Ancient World
This survey course focuses on the art, archaeology and architecture of the Mediterranean world, roughly between 2500 BC – AD 300. The course investigates the material culture of the diverse cultural groups that shaped this cosmopolitan world: Sumerians, Assyrians, Minoans/Mycenaeans, Egyptians, Greeks, Etruscans, Persians, Italics and Romans. Special attention will be given to the interconnectivity and dynamic relationship of inspiration between these cultures.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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World Art III: Visual Culture of the Early Modern World
This survey course focuses on the art and architecture of Europe, South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and the Americas from the late 1200s to c. AD 1750. The course investigates a range of media including painting, woodcuts, sculpture, and architecture, while considering materials and methods of production. Special attention will be given to the socio-economic and political contexts in which these artifacts were commissioned and produced.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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World Art IV: Visual Culture of the Modern and Contemporary World
This survey course focuses on the art of Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania from the 1700s to the present. The course investigates all media, including photography, and considers the impact of globalization and new technologies on contemporary art and evidence of cross-cultural influences. Special attention will be given to the new aesthetic languages, traditional cultural sources, and philosophical background of contemporary art, as well as to the broader cultural-historical contexts of their creation.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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World Politics
An introduction to the theory and practice of international affairs, this course discusses the main schools of world politics as well as actors, structures and institutions of international relations. Through this framework the course explores key conflicts and issues in the post-World War II era, including problems of war, armed conflict, and peace, and the impact of recent trends in globalization on world politics.
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Writing Across the Media
Introduces various types of encountered in media professions and digital media production
Course Level: Lower
Course Level: Lower
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Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery - HONORS
After a brief, comparative overview of historical practices, this course will examine contemporary manifestations, focusing in particular on chattel slavery, religious slavery, domestic servitude, bonded labor/debt bondage, forced prostitution and sexual slavery, early and forced marriages, forced labor, and human trafficking. Less familiar forms of human trafficking, such as trafficking for the purpose of illegal adoptions and organ sales, and the difference between human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants will also be studied. Special attention will be given to understanding what should be done to fight against these contemporary exploitative practices.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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International Marketing
This course examines the process of planning and conducting transactions across national borders in a global environment. Topics include factors in assessing world marketing opportunities, international marketing of products, pricing, distribution, and promotion program development in dynamic world markets. Marketing practices which various businesses adapt to the international environment are studied. Attention is also given to comparative marketing systems and planning and organizing for export-import operations.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Roots of Italian Identities - HONORS
This course aims to give an insight into the linguistic, cultural and sociological complexity of the ‘notion of Italy.’ The topics studied, based primarily on literary texts, include some of the major themes of Italian culture as well as examples of the various ‘identities’ that Italy offers today: the question of political and cultural unity and the long-lasting question of a common national language; the role played by Italian intellectuals in the construction of Italy as a nation; the Mafia and the institution of family-based structures; the Italian literary canon and the contemporary ideas of culture and literature. The course is in Italian.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Roots of Italian Identities
["This course aims to give an insight into the linguistic, cultural and sociological complexity of the \u2018notion of Italy.\u2019 The topics studied, based primarily on literary texts, include some of the major themes of Italian culture as well as examples of the various \u2018identities\u2019 that Italy offers today: the question of political and cultural unity and the long-lasting question of a common national language","the role played by Italian intellectuals in the construction of Italy as a nation","the Mafia and the institution of family-based structures","the Italian literary canon and the contemporary ideas of culture and literature. The course is in Italian."]
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Advertising Management
This course addresses the strategies and steps needed to create successful, ethical, and creative advertising, while emphasizing the role of advertising as a communication process. The student will learn about the advertising process from both the client and agency perspectives, and gain hands-on experience in crafting written and visual advertising messages based on sound marketing and creative strategies. The student is expected to be able to use primary and secondary research and the information tools of communications professionals.
Course Level: Upper
Course Level: Upper
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Business Law
This course is intended to allow students to explore basic legal principles with reference to business conduct; to provide students with an overview on the law of contracts, beginning with the introduction on contract law, and the implementation of the legal rules; to address some legal issues of corporate law and bankruptcy; to examine aspects of business in a challenging and practical context, taking advantage of the different backgrounds of students.
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