Italian

The course focuses on the methods of gender studies and applies them to the context of medieval historiography. For this purpose, the course highlights narrative sources, legislation, treatises, literature, and iconography. Students are required to write a short paper demonstrating the use of the tools of historical research and communication, and the ability to customize one's own learning path. This course covers the multiple aspects of female monasticism in the Early Middle Ages through the analysis of narrative sources, charters, and iconography. The course illustrates the problem of the representation of female monasticism during the Early and Central Middle Age period. The use of conceptual tools in gender history allows students to identify the shapes assumed in the specific historical contexts through the construction of the social identity of individuals, both male and female.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is intended for students who have a strong background in media studies and communication. The course focuses on mass media products using the specific tools of semiotic analysis. The course offers an introduction to the notion of the semiotic gaze applied to the media and the role of this gaze as a cultural phenomenon. The course includes a description of the main elements of contemporary media textuality and the increasing, yet ambivalent, process of media convergence, integration and transformation of media contents and forms. Attention is placed on the semiotic mechanisms able to generate links and connections between media objects and environments (games and videogames, TV series, fandom), and to activate a semiotic crossover that expresses itself in narrative, discursive and interactive dimensions. The course concentrates on concrete examples of audiovisual media texts and practices that are analyzed with different semiotic tools and concepts (from the specific dimensions of media textuality to the notions of media genre and format). The ultimate aim is the development of a semiotic gaze on both media-specific elements (the construction of the visible, the audible, rhythms and the syncretism of languages), as well as the relation between media textuality and experience. A special section of the course is devoted to the ways in which contemporary media texts and genres construct gender identities and the intersectionality with elements of race, color, class, age, and disabilities. Required readings include: SEMIOTICA DEI MEDIA. LE FORME DELL'ESPERIENZA MEDIALE and LA CONDIZIONE POSTMEDIALE. MEDIA, LINGUAGGI E NARRAZIONI by R. Eugeni, I MEDIA: STRUMENTI DI ANALISI SEMIOTICA by P. Peverini, MULTI TV. L'ESPERIENZA TELEVISIVA NELL'ETÀ CONTEMPORANEA by M. Scaglioni and A. Sfardini. After the first introductory week, students are invited to prepare class presentations based either on theoretical/methodological questions (related to the required readings), or on the application of different semiotic tools to specific case-studies. Assessment in the course is based on an oral exam and a paper on one of the topics discussed in class (i.e. forms of textuality and media practices, format and genres relating to gender and intersectional identities).

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is intended for students who already have a strong background in literature and critical theory. The course focuses on the institutions of literature, the relationship between text and context, and the dynamics of literary communication and its political, ideological, socio-economic and editorial influence. The course explores the use of critical tools and forms of investigation that belong to the field of sociology and applies them to literature. Emphasis is placed on the thematic and sociological components of literary texts. The topic for the Spring 2018 semester is: The Other Nation–The Italian Migration. The course is divided in 6 sections with assigned readings: history of migrations, migration and literature, novels, new migrations; the question of Brain Drain, narrations. The course includes visual materials and a guest speaker series with international experts in the field of migration and authors who have addressed the question of migration in their writings. Assessment in the course is based on a final oral exam.

This is an introductory level art studio course in mosaics for students who have no prior experience in mosaics and are not art studio majors. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is held at the Accademia di Belle Arti during the first and second semesters. Students are required to attend both the theoretical part and the studio laboratory and to complete individual projects. Mosaics are generally synonymous with decoration, although historically they have been used especially in the large pictorial projects in cathedrals. The aesthetic qualities of mosaics and their resistance to atmospheric agents and the wear and tear of foot traffic have made them the ideal choice for the decoration of important palazzi and public buildings which the Art Nouveau style (1890-1910) has reclaimed and re-utilized on a large scale. Thanks to this recent revival of mosaics it is necessary - for those who are interested in this art form - to review some of the basic elements of mosaic production, both in the project phase and the actual execution in order to be able to advance to new models and techniques and to create a personal repertoire. A significant portion of the course is dedicated to the Accademia's tradition in the field of ornamentation as it was envisioned by the renowned Bolognese artist Antonio Basoli (1774-1843).

The course provides fundamental and exhaustive knowledge regarding the main aspects of astronomy and astrophysics, including up-to-date topics (e.g. extrasolar planets and astrobiology, black holes, dark matter, dark energy). The course focuses on the following main topics: from positional astronomy to the solar system, stars, galaxies, and cosmology. Topics covered include: basic spherical astronomy (solid angle, great circle, spherical triangles, shape and size of the Earth, Eratosthenes experiment), terrestrial coordinates (latitude, longitude), celestial coordinates, Doppler effect, perturbation of coordinates (precessions, nutation, parallax, proper motion, aberration), the motion of planets (including historical background), the Kepler laws, the Earth (properties, seasons, tides), the Moon (properties, motion), solar and lunar eclipses, the Solar system (planets), and notions on extrasolar planets, the electromagnetic spectrum, astronomical observations (terrestrial atmosphere, astronomical sites, seeing, adaptive optics), telescopes (reflection and refraction optics, submm-mm, radio, space telescopes, HST, Herschel, Planck, X-ray telescopes), astronomical data (images, spectra), radiation from astrophysical objects (luminosity, spectra, flux, 1/r^2 law), apparent magnitudes and Pogson law, color indices, extinction and atmospheric extinction, absolute magnitudes, black-body radiation, Planck, and Wien laws, relation between black-body and color indices, Stefan-Boltzmann law, atoms and radiation (electronic transitions, hydrogen atom, types of spectra, emission and absorption lines, continuum spectra, emission nebulae, 21 cm transition, basic thermodynamics), the classification of stars and relation with black-body, types of stellar spectra and absorption lines, luminosity classes, Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, binary stars (visual, photometric, spectroscopic, astrometric), mass of visual binary stars, the luminosity-mass relation, the four equations of stellar structure, energy transfer mechanisms, energy production in stars and timescales, thermonuclear reactions, proton-proton chain, CNO cycle, triple-alpha reaction, stellar evolution (HR diagram, time on main sequence, mass and internal structure), open and globular clusters, age estimate with HR diagrams evolution of low-mass stars, evolution of high-mass stars (Novae, Supernovae, Pulsars, Black Holes), interstellar medium (gas phases, composition, types of nebulae, H II regions, molecules, dust, star formation, chemical enrichment), our galaxy (properties, structure, components, observations across the electromagnetic spectrum, stellar populations, spiral structure, star formation, differential rotation, bulge, rotation curve, dark matter, central black hole, the local Group), galaxies (Hubble classes, colors, spectra, Schechter function, luminosity functions, spirals, ellipticals, starbursts, merging, large scale structure, groups, clusters, galaxy formation), supermassive black holes and active galaxies, basic cosmology (Hubble law, age of the Universe, Big Bang, cosmic microwave background, large scale structure, density parameter, dark matter, dark energy, possible destiny of the Universe). Required reading: FUNDAMENTAL ASTRONOMY by H. Karttunen, P. Kröger, H. Oja, M. Poutanen.

The course focuses on the history of North American cinema and in particular the identifying elements of production and industry (the genre system, the studio system, and the star system). Special attention is placed on cultural and formal elements as well as economic and distribution factors that have determined the success of North American cinema worldwide in a comparison with European cinema production. The topic for the 2017-2018 year is "Comedy and Comedians: comic forms in American cinema, from the dawn of sound to Jim Carrey". Required readings includes: SOGNO E REALTÀ AMERICANA NEL CINEMA DI HOLLYWOOD (2014). Students select six films from the following list: FRANKENSTEIN (1931), LITTLE CAESAR (1931), QUARANTADUESIMA STRADA (1933), TOP HAT (1935), THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940), CITIZEN KANE (1941), CASABLANCA (1942), CAT PEOPLE (1942), PERDUTAMENTE TUA (1942), DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950), A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951), SINGING IN THE RAIN (1952), KISS ME DEADLY (1955), THE SEARCHERS (1956), INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956), VERTIGO (1958), IMITATION OF LIFE (1959), THE GRADUATE (1967), THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971), NASHVILLE (1975), CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977). Students choose six additional films from the following list: MANCIA COMPETENTE (1932), LA SCALA MUSICALE (1932), LA GUERRA LAMPO DEI FRATELLI MARX (1933), ACCADDE UNA NOTTE (1934) L'IMPAREGGIABILE GODFREY (1936), L'ORRIBILE VERITÀ (1937), LA SIGNORA DEL VENERDÌ (1940), IL GRANDE DITTATORE (1940), LADY EVA (1941), VOGLIAMO VIVERE! (1942), L'ISPETTORE GENERALE (1949), LA RAGAZZA DEL SECOLO (1954), ARTISTI E MODELLE (1955), A QUALCUNO PIACE CALDO (1959), L'APPARTAMENTO (1960), LE FOLLI NOTTI DEL DOTTOR JERRYL (1963), HOLLYWOOD PARTY (1968), PER FAVORE NON TOCCATE LE VECCHIETTE (1968), AMORE E GUERRA (1975), IO E ANNIE (1977), ANIMAL HOUSE (1978), FUORI ORARIO (1985), RICOMINCIO DA CAPO (1993), MAN ON THE MOON (1999). Assessment is based on a written exam that covers the general part of the course and a ten-page paper on a topic approved by the instructor that is directly related to the thematic part.

In this course, anthropology is approached from a philosophical point of view and with philosophical methods. The course consists of three units. The following main topics are addressed: key concepts for the epistemology of anthropology, philosophical accounts of human nature from antiquity to modern age, and evolutionism and anthropology.

This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately in oral and written Italian. This course covers basic Italian grammar and syntax including present, past, future, imperative, and conditional tenses. Students are able to use direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns in addition to comparatives and superlatives. Authentic materials (songs, videos, advertisements, and film clips) are used in a communicative-based approach, and emphasis is placed on the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students participate in several sessions of language exchange with Italian university students, and field trips take them outside the classroom to engage with the city and Romans to reinforce the grammatical skills learned in class. The course is conducted entirely in Italian.

The course focuses on the main connections between migration and learning processes, especially as they concern second generation immigrants; multicultural family models, with special attention to international adoption; developmental processes of children and adolescents with foreign origins (or internationally adopted); contemporary debates on multiculturalism and interculturalism. The course highlights: tools and strategies useful in planning training courses on intercultural education in extra-school contexts; the categorization processes related to the formation of stereotypes and prejudices; strategies for overcoming ethnic conflicts; historical, social, and cultural factors that lead to racist attitudes and behaviors. The first part of the course explores the main concepts and knowledge connected to multicultural societies. It aims to promote understanding and reflection on new possible approaches for active citizenship. The topics covered in the course are the following: globalization; multicultural societies and intercultural approach; stereotypes, prejudices, and the vocational approach; racism and cultural relativism; migration in the literature, the German and Italian case: a comparison; diversity, differences, valorization of differences; assimilation, segregation and integration; intercultural education: construction and evaluation of outside-school learning paths, conflict management. The topics are explained and discussed through traditional lectures and then the students are expected to develop the topics in which they are particularly interested through workgroups geared to the production of a multimedia presentation to be discussed and defended in class with the instructor and the other participants. students. The presentation is part of the final assessment. The second part of the course is tailored on the specific topics of this course and focuses on the pedagogical analysis of migration in the German and Italian cases.