Italy

The course deals with the main topics of interest in Social Psychology. The course examines the main concepts and theoretical frameworks in Social Psychology and the seminal experiments of the field. The course discusses topics including an introduction to social psychology, research methods in social psychology, self and self-presentation, social perception and cognition, attitudes, symbolic communication and language, social influence and persuasion, understanding groups, and group processes.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program in Modern, Post-Colonial and Comparative Literatures. The course is intended for advanced levels students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. Students acquire knowledge of gender studies (theories and methodologies) in diverse cultural contexts whereby the notions of identity and otherness, difference, and diversity are analyzed within an intercultural perspective. The course intends to favor the capability to deconstruct these notions in diverse texts (theoretical, literary, and visual). The course focuses on the following topics: controversial books, ethical reading, and ethical criticism: cultural representations of diversity and the survival of the outsiders. The course analyses books that were banned (such as WIDE SARGASSO SEA or THE COLOR PURPLE) or controversial (for instance THE PASSION OF NEW EVE and DISGRACE) for their provocative and non-mainstreaming cultural position. The first lessons analyze critical theories on difference and diversity within an intersectional perspective. The second part interrogates and discusses literary and visual texts where the construction of women and other subjects as "negative" and functional/structural diversity are challenged and overcome through narrative strategies of resistance and trans-formations. The violence of representation is thus exposed and critically challenged. The diachronic study of theories and fiction (in different genres) aims at showing repetitive patterns in the cultural representation of difference as well as in the strategic patterns of resistance, reaffirming the necessity, right, and power of diversity.

This intensive language course is conducted in Italian and is designed to provide students with basic knowledge of Italian. The course follows the language proficiency guidelines set up by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).  Students in this course generally have an entrance exam that places them between the AB and A.1 levels. At the end of the four-week intensive program, students are expected to be able to express themselves in a simple, fluid, and clear manner and to be able to describe events that have taken place in the past and express personal preferences. The course covers the present tense (regular and irregular verbs as well as the past tense (regular and irregular) and the use of the correct auxiliary verb and the concordance. The course is designed to cover the first semester of Italian, roughly akin to Italian 1 and a portion of Italian 2 in the quarter system. All four abilities including speaking, listening, reading, and writing are emphasized with the support of authentic materials (videos) and real-life situations such as visits to local venues and cultural sites. The course follows a communicative approach to language acquisition and involves opportunities for role playing, group activities, games, class discussions, and exchanges with local University of Bologna students. Activities outside the classroom are organized in order to reinforce observation and communication skills that facilitate immersion in Italian culture. The course includes a major field trip. Students select the number of quarter units from a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 6. The course is organized by Inlingua with supervision from the Study Center. Course materials are provided by Inlingua. The basic text for the course is: NUOVO CONTATTO A1 (Loescher, 2018).

This course explores the time when the “Peoples of the Sea” roamed the southern Italian coasts, to the epic era in which Rome and Carthage fought for control over the Mediterranean basin, all the way to the period when Rome lost control of the Mediterranean at the end of Antiquity. One key component of the course consists in a number of fieldtrips to the most famous archeological sites around Naples, including Ischia, Paestum, and Pompeii. The fieldtrips are organized in temporal sequence, and so are the readings and seminar discussion, so as to arrange the course roughly in historical progression from ancient times to late antiquity. The focuses intensively on certain periods and themes, oscillating from the local to the Mediterranean at large, and from the particular to the general. In-class meetings consist of lectures and seminar discussions focusing on the history of Mediterranean life, culture, and politics in a certain historical period; fieldtrips focus more specifically on local history in that period.

This course provides students with a sound basis for communicating effectively and accurately in oral and written Italian. In this course, students continue to practice recognizing and using complex Italian grammatical and syntactic structures, such as verbs in all tenses and moods, connective words, and all uses of the subjunctive mood in hypothetical sentences, conjunctions, or indirect speech. 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 life of the ancient Romans was guided by two important concepts, otium, or leisure time, and negotium, a more structured use of time that may be associated with work of varying kinds. A good Roman life could, and often did, include both. This course explores Roman daily life and the many activities associated with both otium and negotium. The business of ancient Rome was largely conducted in the central and market areas of the city, and students study the ancient Roman Forum, the ancient river port in Rome and its associated features (wharves, warehouses, and rubbish heaps), as well as the ancient port city of Ostia. The leisure time of the aristocracy was noticeably different than that of the poor. They often spent leisure time in a relaxing environment outside of the city, such as villas, where they could pursue all types of activities deemed beneficial to the mind and body. The poor, instead, tended to stay in Rome, and spend their unstructured time at state-sponsored events and venues such as the games held in the Flavian Amphitheater, or at a monumental bath complex, such as the Baths of Caracalla. Alternatively, they would congregate in small taverns or popinae, or they might just sit on the stairs of a city building and play a game. Students visit and study the places where the Romans spent their leisure time looking closely at the leisure activities. As students get to know the Romans by studying what they have left us in terms of physical and literary remains, they discuss how much of what is "reconstructed" from the evidence can be certain, and how much must remain debatable. This course includes visits to Rome-area museums and sites, and special outings to the Roman cities of Ostia and Pompeii.

This course studies diverse social psychological phenomena that have been examined in the context of neuroscience, with particular attention to decision-making, aggressive behavior, status, dominance, and racial bias/discrimination. In doing so the course (1) studies diverse systems that are involved in the study of social neuroscience (structural/anatomical, neuroendocrinological,); (2) critically considers the methodological approaches used to study the associations between neurological systems and social behaviors/attitudes; and (3) evaluates the theoretical contributions of these approaches and studies. Students are expected to develop critical scientific reasoning skills, in addition to a knowledge base in this area. Students are required to have completed at least one social psychology course, and at least one course in neuroscience and neuroscience methodology, as prerequisites.

This course explores the conceptual and theoretical framework surrounding valuation issues and the practical tools to address such topics in real-life situations. The methodologies for corporate valuation are analyzed and the approaches commonly used by practitioners (financial analysts, investment and merchant banks, consulting firms) are discussed with particular regard to the context and to the purposes of the valuation. Valuation of intangibles assets is analyzed with a focus on brands and copyrights. Students discuss topics including theoretical framework and fundamental skills in company valuation, an overview of valuation methodologies, net asset approach, intangible assets valuation, estimating the cost of capital, relationships between leverage and discount rates, discounted cash flow analysis and APV, comparative valuation: stock market and deal multiples approach, income approach, acquisition value, exchange ratios in mergers, and premiums and discounts in company valuation. Knowledge of basic financial accounting and basic corporate finance is encouraged, but not required, as a prerequisite.