English

In this course, students explore the evolution, contemporary controversies, and ongoing validity of human rights.

Through a range of cases studies around gender, citizenship and migration, torture, the death penalty, development, and corporate abuses of human rights, the course outlines the rise of the human rights regime, analyzes whether we now live in a post-human rights world, and considers the implications for human rights in a post-human era. Students draw on international examples of human rights institutions and violations, including torture in Guantanamo Bay, the death penalty in the US and countries such as Saudi Arabia, and the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe.

This course examines the fundamentals and principles of dramatic writing for screen, providing an immersive experience in the principles of screenplay writing with particular attention paid to visual language, narrative structure, characterization and dialogue, script critiques and the process of rewriting.

This course offers a unique opportunity to study some of the world’s oldest religions in a comparative perspective. It is an interdisciplinary initiative between the disciplines of the Study of Religions, Egyptology, and Assyriology. The course is theme-oriented and each unit has both a more theoretical part along with an empirical component that focuses on texts and objects from Egypt and Mesopotamia. Themes studied include deities and concepts of the divine, mythologies, temples and sacred space, ritual leaders and other religious agents, rituals and festivals, hymns and prayers, magic, healing rituals and divination, conceptions of death and afterlife. The course also introduces the main textual sources (such as the Gilgamesh Epic, the Babylonian Epic of Creation, the Myth of Isis and Osiris, and the Book of the Dead), excerpts of which are read in English translation. The course provides a general overview of the basic theoretical debates in the history of religions, as well as a basic overview of religious beliefs and practices in ancient Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia (c. 3300 BCE – 300 CE). The empirical material in class come from the religions of the ancient Near East, but the analytical tools used are applicable on historical religions at large.

A moral theory has the task of explaining why certain norms regarding our actions are valid. Most people agree, for example, that it is morally wrong to lie. There is, however, strong disagreement as to why it is wrong. This course provides an overview of the most important moral theories, such as divine command theory, natural law theory, and moral relativism.

The course will also discuss ethical questions emerging in literature and film. It is recommended to read Ivan Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons" ("Fathers and Children" in the Russian original) and watch Billy Wilder's movie, "Double Indemnity."

This studio course introduces the principles of painting and develops skills in composition, observation, and the use of color. The course includes sessions on technique, brushwork, color theory, and the use of different media.  During the first half of the course assignments concentrate on developing different skills and building techniques, using traditional and experimental approaches to painting. During the second half of the course, students use these skills to develop their own work. Students explore the history of art in Florence in the many galleries and museums and use this knowledge to inform their own work. The course covers the technical developments of the Renaissance, including the study of perspective, line, and form. Through guided instructional sessions, students cultivate their unique artistic styles and engage in individual research, which may involve integrating themes and techniques from both modern and contemporary art. This study is the basis for developing painting skills through engaging with, and responding to, the works and artists they study. The course also has a focus on developing skills for self and peer criticism to discuss the development of the work. Students create a final piece supported by an Artist's Statement, a research breakdown outlining the evolution of the project's concept, and technical development. 

The course examines how Europe (the EU, in particular) and Spain have responded to social inequalities, global pandemic pressures, gender inequality, migrations, nationalism(s), climate change, and sustainability. It provides a critical overview of these current challenges at the transnational, regional and national level. The course combines analytical tools and categories stemming from political science, international relations, economics, European Integration studies, public policies analysis and development economics.

This course approaches history in an unconventional way, namely, through the study of everyday objects. By analyzing thirty objects ranging in time from the ice age to the current times, this course presents history as a kaleidoscope of cultures, languages, and ways of thinking that shows the world as constantly shifting, profoundly interconnected, and unfailingly fascinating. An anonymous and ordinary-looking stone pillar, for example, will tell us the story of a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance to his people; a series of luxury Spanish coins will introduce us to the troubled history of colonization; and an early Victorian tea set will speak to us about the idea of empire.  

The goal of this course is to explain the key stages in global history through the study of everyday objects.  

This course examines qualitative communication research, the role it plays in the development of communication theories and applications, and the steps in carrying out qualitative research projects. It covers fundamental concepts in qualitative research design, sampling strategies and protocol development, data collection, data analysis, and evaluation. This course introduces basic concepts of qualitative methods such as interpretation, meaning making, co‐construction, and performance. A set of field‐based experiences are designed to give students opportunities to become familiar with specific forms of qualitative data gathering such as in‐depth interviews, focus groups, and ethnography.

This course provides a survey of Islam and its history from the formative period to its manifestations in modern times. It discusses sectarian movements such as Kharijism, Shi’ism and Sunnism; various schools of thought in law, theology, philosophy, and mysticism; as well as modern interpretations of Islam, especially with regard to political, social, and gender issues.