Italy

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course covers the basic information necessary for understanding the complexity of modern Archaeological Museology: from knowledge of the scientific subject of Museology to Museum Practice. The course focuses on topics including the history of museology: from the “archetype” of museums in the ancient world to the “relational” museum today; the question of the role of media in museums today; experimental archaeology and ethno-archaeology in connection with archaeological preservation and enhancement; the question of archaeological parks designed to create interest and foster critical debate; and archeological tourism: management and culture. Students submit a case study that focuses on a specific museum, exhibition site, or archaeological park, or is an analysis of a specific theme related to the course. Case study outlines are provided during the course. The course includes two visits to local museums at the end of the scheduled class lectures. Assessment is based on a final oral exam covering course materials and a discussion of the case study. Students in Art History can take the course for under the Art History subject area in consultation with the instructor. In this case, students concentrate on the history of museum exhibits that focus on art objects such as paintings, ceramics, and even jewelry. Topics covered include museum architecture, history of museums, museums and cultural heritage, management of museums, and marketing of museums and exhibits: museum tourism.

This course introduces advanced issues of the Psychology of Music. Whenever possible, the course introduces the application of the concepts of psychology of music in the everyday life. The course highlights the positive aspects of music listening (e.g., inducing a positive mood, relaxation, etc.) and the positive aspects connected to musical practice (e.g. better memory skills, spatial skills, etc.). The course is divided in two parts. The first part of the course includes an overview of acoustics, music theory, methodology, and physiology as linked to music psychology. The first part of the course provides the necessary tools to understand the literature of auditory perception and psychology of music. The course discusses topics including basic concepts such as sound, sound waves, acoustics, sound in music and music theory, methods of psychology of music, anatomy and physiology of the auditory system, and loudness and absolute threshold; as well as psychology of music topics including music training in hearing loss and aphasia; psychoacoustics and mp3; music and cognition: Mozart effect, background music and cognition, music talent and cognition, and the cognitive abilities of musicians and non-musicians; pitch: illusions, pitch coding of simple and complex tones, musical intervals, harmonic, melodic, consonance, the representation of pitch, amusia, and absolute pitch; and music as a universal language: music perception in infants and animals. The course requires a strong background in the main concepts of cognitive psychology such as perception, attention, memory, learning, and intelligence, and a solid methodological background as a prerequisite.

This course is divided into three parts. The first part covers Dante, topics include the evolution of the Latin language; an overview of medieval Romance literatures; Italian lyric poetry before Dante; Dante’s life; and Dante’s VITA NOVA (selected passages), DE VULGARI ELOQUENTIA, CONVIVIO, INFERNO (selected cantos), PURGATORIO, and PARADISO. The second part of the course discusses Petrarch, topics include his biography within the historical and cultural context; literary production (in Latin and Italian); his multifaceted relationship with the Roman Antiquity and the Christian doctrine (selected readings from THE SECRETUM and THE SENILES EPISTLES); in-depth study of RERUM VULGARIUM FRAGMENTA with attention on its genesis, structure, contents, and features; and Petrarch’s legacy and impact on the Italian language and literature, and on the early-modern Western literary production. The last part of the course discusses Boccaccio, topics include his biography and literary production (Italian and Latin works); his intricate links with eminent predecessors (both Dante and Petrarch); in-depth study of the DECAMERON with focus on its genesis, structure, themes, and features; Boccaccio’s erudite, humanistic, and lyrical texts; his multifarious relationship with women and the varied ways in which he depicted them; and Boccaccio’s impact on later authors. This course is taught in a degree program which introduces students to knowledge of Italian language throughout the degree. The first year of instruction in this degree begins in English and then gradually shifts to Italian by the third year. Because this course is taught in the first semester of the first year of the degree, the course is mostly taught in English with some Italian and is appropriate for students who do not speak Italian.

This is a special studies course with projects arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific topics of study vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. The number of units varies with the student's project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student's special study project form.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on the main international models of corporate governance and their specific problems. Special attention is placed on minority shareholders' protection and on the integration of the European Financial markets through the recent harmonization of financial regulations. The course discusses topics including an introduction to international corporate governance models; agency costs from separation of ownership and control in a public company; the US Enron scandal and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; the Continental European Model; investors' protection around the world; corporate governance reforms and investors' protection in Italy; the value of the voting right in dual class firms; the Financial Services Action Plan and major EU directives; economics of takeovers and the EU takeover directive; and the Nabisco takeover and the movie "Barbarians at the gates."

This course demonstrates that crime and deviancy, rather than being found ready made in society, are produced, strengthened, and challenged by numerous competing forces and actors. Using Italy as a launchpad, the course approaches, analyzes, and discusses contemporary and historical case studies in which these forces and actors are located, in order to develop precisely those skills needed to question and dissect unfolding events in a sociological fashion. Italy has long had associations with organized crime, and the course studies first-hand this complex historical, sociological phenomenon, while simultaneously questioning those more socially immediate and recognizable forms of social "deviance" found in the modern Italian context. To aid this analysis, case studies are navigated in parallel with the pillars of sociological theory relating to crime and deviance, in order for discussions and theses about events to be rooted in, and aided by, models which facilitate thought and hypotheses.

The course explores the principles of financial analysis and provides a framework to understand how businesses’ values and risks are captured in financial statements and price them correctly. At the end of the course, students are able to understand various techniques in financial statement analysis; apply techniques to assess and compare firms’ financial position, performance, and credit risk; understand the limitations of financial statement numbers; extract accounting information to make forecasts and valuations; and select the most appropriate valuation model depending on the company analyzed. This course is relevant for students who want to pursue careers in investment banking (particularly in equity research), security analysis, private equity analysis, consulting firms, or corporate finance.

This ccourse is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course enables students to: be familiar with the structure of education systems in the developed world; recognize the goals of knowledge transmission, socialization, and selection typically pursued by education systems; be knowledgeable about sociological theories dealing with education; understand selection mechanisms enacted via education systems; identify the interests of the various stake-holders involved in educational activities; grasp the key features of the comparative approach to the study of teaching and learning processes; apply a set of tools for analyzing educational policies (as, for example social inequality) and thus interpret them, convey their principal characteristics and assess their outcomes.