English

This course introduces core concepts about how the formation of ocean basins and their influence on climate govern the development of coasts and continental margins. These concepts provide a framework for understanding the geographic variation of coasts, continental shelves and sediment accumulations in the deep ocean. Ocean-basin evolution is explained in terms of movements within the Earth's interior and how these movements determine the geometry of ocean basins, and their alpine counterparts, which interact with the global circulation of the ocean and atmosphere. This interaction plays a key role in marine sedimentation and controls the environmental conditions responsible for the development of coral reefs and other ecosystems. The course systematically outlines how these factors have played out to produce, by gradual change, the coasts we see today, as well as the less familiar deposits hidden beneath the sea and coastal lands. It outlines how knowledge of responses to climate change in the past allow us to predict environmental responses to accelerated climate change occurring now and in the future due to the industrial greenhouse effect, but places these responses into perspective against the geological record. 

This course examines ecological theory and methods to contemporary issues in society. It looks at how to apply ecological methods and theory to deepen our understanding of pressing societal issues and identify management and policy solutions that may be valuable to society.
 

In this course, students learn to apply the One Health approach to address public health issues with a focus on infectious diseases. Students examine how the concept of One Health recognizes that the health of people is intertwined with the health of animals and their shared environment. Understanding this concept allows the integration of information from these three health domains when creating programs, policies, and legislation to achieve better public health outcomes. Current major public health concerns will be analyzed, and One Health interventions contrasted to a traditional approach for students to better appreciate the differences.

The world faces a variety of identity-based politics that are considered a cause of social divisions today. Ongoing globalization—the process of human movements, networking, and intensifying interconnectivity—has facilitated various interactions, often causing disparities, conflicts, and injustices. At globalization hubs, racially and culturally diversifying populations experienced geographically uneven social transformation. Sometimes, people form “identity” to create “others” as an enemy, and other times, they do so to become “we” to achieve a common goal.  

This course pays special attention to women’s experiences in the United States, a nation known for the diversity of its population. Hoisting the banner of freedom, democracy, and capitalism, the United States engaged in settler colonialism and imperialism through the nineteenth century to lead in shaping the world order and globalization process. The course examines major historical events in their respective socio-historical contexts. By taking local, national, and transnational perspectives, the course explores the complex workings of gender, class, race/ethnicity, ideology, sex, age, etc., in women’s collective power-building and analyze how they affected their identities and society. The course discusses similarities and differences among American, Japanese, and/or societies of class interest, pursuing lessons to be learned from American examples and how this knowledge can better communities today. 

This course introduces narrative and storytelling in the context of visual design. It draws on a range of traditional and contemporary examples, including Māori storytelling practices, and examples from film, animation, digital and physical games, and comics. 

This course provides a foundation in both leadership and business administration, emphasizing various leadership styles and their application in organizational settings. Students from diverse disciplines — including sociology of work, economics, business administration, communication, and the arts — develop the skills needed to lead and manage organizations effectively by addressing the challenges of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (POLC). Key topics include the evolution of management thought, business ethics, organizational culture, and social responsibility. A strong focus is placed on the ethical responsibilities of leadership, with real-world case studies examining how leaders navigate moral dilemmas and foster ethical practices within organizations. These case studies include examples from industries where leadership plays a crucial role in balancing business goals with broader cultural, environmental, and societal concerns. Students also explore how leadership can address issues like diversity, sustainable development, and the global impact on business operations. This course is ideal for students interested in management, economics, business administration, sociology of work, and communication, offering valuable insights into leadership, management, and the role of ethics in decision-making, with particular relevance to sectors connected to art, food, and society in Rome and Italy.

This course introduces the theory and practical skills of near-distance microphone techniques for a variety of acoustic and electric/electronic instruments. This course covers basic Pro Tools skills, and overdub techniques. Students are required to complete at least five multitrack sessions independently during the semester. This course requires a prerequisite.

This course explores the characteristics of manufacturing technologies to acquire basic knowledge for designing and planning implements. The course covers an introduction to material processing; creation of materials; forming processes; machining and finishing processes; joining processes, and surface treatment and modification processes. 

The course examines the appeal of science fiction and fantasy as a serious fictional engagement with consensual sense of reality. It addresses fantasy, speculative fiction, and science fiction as forms of narrative engaged in “world-building” and “word-shaping,” studying such fictional constructs as forms of sociological and anthropological knowledge. It also examines the relation between the “strange” and the “real” in terms of the shared and the antithetical elements that relate s/f to realism.

This course is an introduction to communication technology. Students learn about the adoption, use, applications, effects, and implications of communication technologies. More specifically, we discuss communication processes and dynamics in various contexts (e.g., social media, gaming, online communities) and at different levels (e.g., intrapersonal, interpersonal, group), as well as their psychological, societal, and ethical implications. Throughout the course, we read relevant literature selected from academic journals, reports, and articles targeting the general public, and watch pertinent videos.