Italy

The course focuses on 20th century Italian literature with special attention to sociological, anthropological, and philosophical questions. The course highlights general notions in critical theory and textual analysis including formal, structural, and compositional elements as well as the question of reception. Special attention is placed on a selection of modern and contemporary literary texts related to Italian and European traditions. The course topics varies each term, review the University of Bologna Course Catalog for the specific topic for each term.

"Made in Italy" may have been coined in the twentieth century, but the relationship between excellence in craftsmanship and the visual, performing, and decorative arts goes back centuries. Outstanding Italian quality, style, and know-how in a range of artistic traditions from architecture and fashion, to music, and theater have long been recognized internationally. This course examines the intersection between the Arts and Italy's reputation for luxury and high quality through a series of case studies beginning with the fifteenth century. It was Renaissance culture that first fueled the prosperity of the luxury sector in a time where the production and patronage of art was trendsetting. The course investigates how trans-Mediterranean trade inspired local craft industries like metal and stone work; the development of theatre and costume design and the theatrical influence on urban spaces and architecture across European capitals, and the effect of luxury goods on politics and economy. The course provides students the opportunity to interview local artists and artisans, and investigate and present on areas of interest of local excellence in craftsmanship and its connection with the Arts. The course visits the spaces, workshops, and ateliers in Rome that bear witness to this ongoing conversation.

 At the end of this course students are aware of and understand the ethical and strategic implications, complexity, and dilemmas of corporate responsibility and sustainability. The course covers motivations in markets, ethics of individual actions, and their effect in societies and the tensions between markets and distributive justice. The course is an attempt to reclaim economics as a moral science. It argues ethics is a relevant and inseparable aspect of all levels of economic activity. Taking ethical considerations into account is needed in explaining and predicting the behavior of economic agents as well as in evaluating and designing economic policies and mechanisms. Several cases and references to major recent phenomena complement the theoretical landscape. For UNIBO students, the course is generally graded on a P/NP basis. UCEAP students who would like a LG must make special arrangements directly with the instructor.

This course develops a comprehensive overview of modern globalization processes, their characteristics, and their implications for corporate performance. The ultimate objective of this course is to provide students with an interpretative framework to analyze how different companies –both transnational and domestic - can approach the risks and opportunities that globalization entails and deal with the strategic tradeoffs they face in a global context. This course is designed to develop an in-depth understanding of modern globalization processes and their implications for corporate strategies. The first part introduces modern globalization and its characteristics in light of the concurrent evolution of globalization and localization trends. It looks at the emerging geography of production and labor, introducing the concept of technological change as the key enabling process of the global economy. The second part of the course examines the key actors involved, namely companies confronting daily the opportunities and risks of doing (or not) business in the global market. The course addresses all major strategic options for business development in an interdependent and open economy, including location decisions, knowledge generation, and management strategies and human capital management practices. These different strategic options are analyzed through the lenses of conceptual arguments, empirical evidences, and evidences from real world experience. The course recommend students have a general background in international business and management at the undergraduate level as a prerequisite.

This course focuses on theories and empirical scientific findings that are key to the most recent developments in social and group psychology, and to the understanding of intragroup and intergroup dynamics in the real world. The concept of diversity guides the course and its main textbook. Course topics include the many facets of diversity and the possible threats to diversity, such as stereotypes, prejudice, stigma, and discrimination; applying concepts towards understanding actual intragroup and intergroup dynamics and interactions in societies; and promoting a critical debate on social issues associated with diversity, in particular ethnic diversity, in contemporary societies. The course discusses diversity and threats to diversity; theories of prejudice and prejudice reduction; social categorization and social identity; intergroup interactions, stigma, and discrimination; and diversity and power dynamics in societies. Basic knowledge of social psychology and psychometrics may be useful as a prerequisite.

This course discusses the main and most recent theories on the development of emotion regulation, with a special focus on its role in children’s learning processes. The course adopts a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach presenting 1) the foundation of the development of emotion regulation and its role for later development of healthy, competent functioning; 2) the strong interconnection between emotion and cognitive regulation; and 3) the protective role of emotion regulation when coping with internal and external sources of stress during childhood. Furthermore, research methodologies (including physiological measures) and cultural-contextual influences are presented. At the end of the course, students should be able to express knowledge about the development of emotion regulation and its role in promoting, wellbeing and learning across the life span. Moreover, they should be able to understand and apply key concepts in the development of emotion regulation real-life practical educational and clinical contexts as well as to plan a simple research with adequate methodologies for the study of emotion regulation in children. The course examines topics such as the definition of emotion regulation; methods of assessment of emotion regulation (from self-reports to psychophysiological measures); development of emotion regulation from infancy to adolescence; the polyvagal theory, emotion, and self-regulation; emotion and cognition in learning; and emotion regulation and stress. The course requires students to have basic knowledge in developmental psychology as a prerequisite

This course explores love and sexuality in Italian culture from circa 1350 to 1650. From the verses of Petrarch, to the writings of Ficino, Leone Ebreo, Aretino, and poems by Marino, love and sexuality were theorized and represented in the treatises, poetry, paintings, and sculptures of this period. Mainly on-site in the churches, palaces, and museums of Rome, this course considers the poetic, social, and visual aspects of the topic in an interdisciplinary study that examines both word and image. The course begins with Michelangelo's SISTINE CEILING and its reflection on the fall of Adam and Eve with their subsequent awareness of their sexuality. Following Leo Steinberg's theory about the sexuality of Christ, students explore the theology of nudity in Christian art as well as the “amor dei” (love for God) or mystic marriage through Baroque sculptures such as Bernini's SAINTS IN ECSTASY. The second part of the course focuses on the more secular, sensuous, and even lascivious aspects by considering the revival of ancient classical culture. Central to this evolution is the METAMORPHOSES by Ovid and the themes deriving from the many commentaries on it such as, unrequited love through Bernini's APOLLO AND DAPHNE, rape though Bernini's ABDUCTION OF PERSEPHONE, and love for the self through Caravaggio's NARCISSUS. The course concludes with exploring socio-historical, gendered topics such as marriage, courtesans, male virility, female chastity, homosexuality, androgyny, and hermaphroditism through a variety of art objects.

This course is for students who studied Italian for a short period and can express themselves using basic structures, can introduce themselves, and can talk about themselves and their daily routines. It runs at the A1/A2 level according to the CEFR level. This communicative course develops oral skills in Italian.

This course provides students with a general understanding of the different functions performed by financial markets and institutions and their role in the economic system. The course begins with a brief overview of the functions of the financial system and its connections to the real economy. The course then studies the functioning of financial markets and the main financial instruments. Finally, the course studies the economics of different types of financial institutions. The first part of the course analyzes in detail the characteristics of the major financial assets, and describes the institutional characteristics of the markets in which these assets are traded. The second part of the course studies in detail the objectives as well as the organization of the major financial intermediaries (commercial banks, investment banks, mutual funds) that allow to match demand and supply of funds when securities markets do not function perfectly. The course recommends students have background knowledge in Mathematics (applied), Management, Accounting, and Financial Statement Analysis as a prerequisite.