English

This course covers theories and processes of contemporary urban development from a critical political economy perspective, addressing urban problems and policy responses in our rapidly urbanizing world. The course examines what urbanization means to the state, to (global/domestic) businesses, and ordinary citizens, focusing on a selected set of key themes that are pertinent to the understanding of urban injustice. Such themes may include, but are not limited to, the understanding of the (social) production of unequal urban space, global circulations of urbanism, gentrification, displacement, and dispossession. Case studies are largely drawn from a diverse range of cities across the world, providing opportunities for students to contest urban theories that have largely been rooted in the experiences of the advanced economies.

Economic and especially wealth inequality in the US is rising, along with the number of and power exerted by billionaires, multibillionaires, and multinational enterprises (MNEs). While taxes count as one key instrument to reduce inequalities, the most affluent individuals and corporations seem to make use of multiple pathways to circumvent their tax obligations and thereby harm the redistributive effect of taxation. In this seminar, students will become familiar with general economic and sociological theories on tax evasion and avoidance, and challenge the view of tax havens as Caribbean island paradises, where the rich and famous store their money. We will discuss ways in which tax evasion works, the impact of tax havens on regional and global inequality, historical developments of tax havens, and economic approaches to measure tax evasion. Students are expected to have knowledge or the willingness to learn basic sociological as well as economic concepts and theories such as tradeoffs, opportunity costs, and expected utility theory. 

This course examines connections between gender, bodies, sexualities and identities. It asks how gender affects our experiences and how sexuality can be understood as a social phenomenon, rather than merely an individual one. It looks at the past and present and speculates on the future. It also looks at a range of viewpoints and case studies, examining such issues as the representation and regulation of bodies; reproductive bodies; socially ambiguous bodies; old and new forms of sexual identity and practice; and the impact of technology.

This course investigates some of the deep and puzzling philosophical issues arising from mathematics. Some are metaphysical and semantic: What is mathematics about? Are there such things as mathematical objects (numbers, functions, sets, etc), and if so, do they exist in the same way as more familiar entities such as tables and chairs? Others are epistemological: How do we obtain mathematical knowledge? Does it arise from pure reason alone, or does the empirical world play a role? Students examine a number of influential views, including logicism, constructivism, platonism, fictionalism, and structuralism. The course requires students to take prerequisites.

This course explores how culture shapes cognition and mind. By learning how culture shapes one's mental processes, sense of self, worldview, and behavior in daily life, one can develop a more "intercultural mind". This course is good for anyone interested in travel, cultural identity, cultural difference or living abroad.

This course examines the fundamentals of the methods used in science practice, how to construct and evaluate a scientific argument, and how processes of scientific investigation are applied across the diverse range of scientific disciplines. Students will also learn to communicate science effectively to different audiences, and how to evaluate reporting of science in the mainstream media. 

This course examines a range of practices, research and theories in the contemporary visual arts focusing on a selection of critical transformations in this field.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. This course provides, through a comparative and international perspective, an understanding of: the criminal justice system and its changes introduced through the processes of internationalization and Europeanization, at the same time highlighting the importance of the comparative approach; the constitutional principles in criminal matters and the foundational concepts of criminal law, the structure of its main principles and categories, the punishment and the classification of different penalties; and the European criminal law developments, both regarding the legislation and the case law, as well as its influence on national criminal justice and law systems. Throughout this course, the theoretical framework is analyzed in the light of judicial decisions of national Constitutional Courts, the Interamerican Court of Human Rights and, finally, the International Criminal Court. This course provides a general understanding of the international framework, the European criminal law, and the complex issues relating to the relationship between criminal law and human rights. The first part of the course examines the most important provisions of international criminal law. The course uses both the comparative method and the analysis of (national and international) leading cases, in order to show empirical examples of the various issues related to the protection of human rights.

This course examines algorithms and representational schemes used in artificial intelligence, AI search techniques (e.g., heuristic search, constraint satisfaction, etc.) for solving both optimal and satisficing tasks, tasks such as game playing (adversarial search), planning, and natural language processing. It discusses and examines the history and future of AI and the ethics surrounding the use of AI in society.

This course focuses on childhood cognitive development, a field of study within developmental psychology focusing on how the ability to think and reason develops throughout childhood. The course discusses how children learn to do many of the tasks we accomplish on a daily basis, including speaking language, understanding other people’s thoughts, inhibiting impulses, memorizing and recalling information, and problem-solving.