University of Bologna

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 basic algorithms, tools, and systems for the management, processing, and analysis of digital images. Special attention is placed on the design and development of simple systems oriented to real-world computer vision applications such as those requiring segmentation and classification of objects in digital images. The course discusses topics including basic definitions related to image processing and computer vision, image formation and acquisition, intensity transformations, spatial filtering, image segmentation, binary morphology, blob analysis, edge detection, local invariant features, and object detection. The theoretical part of the course is complemented by assisted hands-on lab sessions based on Python and the OpenCV library. Lab sessions cover selected topics such as intensity transformations, spatial filtering, camera calibration, motion estimation, and local invariant features. Students are provided with the software tools, image/video archives, and support that enable practical implementation and testing of most of the topics discussed in class, in order to provide in-depth analysis of the course subject matter.

The course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by consent of the instructor. The course explores some fundamental moments in the history of contemporary art from the 1950s to the present, focusing on the main methodological, thematic, and theoretical issues that have emerged in the visual arts. Case studies are documented through the support of audiovisual materials. Places for incoming exchange students are limited and are reserved primarily for students enrolled in art related programs at their home university.

This is a graduate level course that 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 historical and epistemological relationships linking the development of archaeology and museology to colonialism. Special attention is placed on the current debates on decolonization and contemporary movements in countries with a colonial past that involve debates on topics such as repatriation of human remains and artefacts, local curators, and community archaeology. The course places the history of archaeology and museums in a wider epistemological framework and offers a critical analysis of archaeological and museological theory and practice. Students have a chance to apply their analytical skills to professional activities linked with the popularization and public use of archaeological and museum-linked expertise. The course deals with the development of Western archaeological/anthropological enquiry and museum collections in the wider historical and epistemological context of European colonial expansion and follows a roughly chronological order. Starting with the birth of antiquarian practices in the 16th century, the course explores the many ways in which scientific enquiry has been entangled with colonialism. Special attention is devoted to the study of extra-European peoples and pasts, with a specific focus on indigenous America. Selected case studies are explored in order to shed light on the ways in which the entanglement developed over the centuries, stressing not only how archaeological research and collecting practices benefited from European political domination of non-Western countries, but also how academic disciplines have been instrumental in providing the epistemological frameworks which legitimized colonial domination, thus creating a circular, self-sustaining relationship of mutual support. The last part of the course focuses on recent attempts at the decolonization of archeological and museum activities through the implementation of good practices such as collaborative and community archaeology, object repatriation, and indigenous curatorship.

This is a graduate level course that is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. There are two versions of this course; this course, UCEAP Course Number 188B and Bologna course numbers 29886 and 81714, is associated with the LM in Modern, Post-Colonial and Comparative Literatures and the LM in Geography and Territorial Processes degree programmes. The other version,  UCEAP Course Number 188A and Bologna course number 78696, is associated with the LM in Language, Society, and Communication degree programme.
This course examines languages as cultural features linking the human communities to their territories, history, and geopolitical evolution, with a particular analysis of the changes occurred in the spatial dimension of languages, in connection to acculturation processes and to linguistic policies. In this respect, the course deals with the regional division of the European languages and with the EU language policy both in respect to minority languages and to the process of linguistic education of its citizens. The relationship between linguistic diversity and biological diversity is also explored with a geographical focus on the issue of language death. The course examines the relationship between space/place and language from different perspectives. At the beginning of the course, the students explore the field of cultural geography and its main themes, concepts, and keywords. After having explored the differences between linguistic geography and geographies of languages, the course focus on the second and using both theories and empirical cases, looks at the interconnections between culture, cultural geography, and language geography; language as cultural phenomenon; toponyms and culture; and semiotics of space. Moreover, the course observes how the relationship between geography and language expresses itself in different configurations of bodies and spaces: digital and media spaces, literary spaces, migratory fluxes, terrorism discourses and place-bound semiotics, tourism performance, and cultural and intercultural spaces.

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. At the end of the course unit students have acquired awareness of the concept of universal history centered around Europe and Western Civilization as well as with the ways through which this narrative has been deconstructed by means of alternative and peripheral critical stances. Students are able to understand the relevance of different traditions of critical thought such as cultural Marxism, anti-imperialist and Afro-American thought, cultural and postcolonial studies. At the end of the course students demonstrate a sound theoretical framework within which specific research interests can be developed. The course is divided into two main parts. The first part is devoted to the critical analysis of narratives of the world history from ancient times: Narratives of Universal History: classic, medieval, and early modern patterns; From the Enlightenment philosophy of history to the nineteenth century imperial history; The crisis of the western image of world history. The second part focuses on socialist and communist internationalism as actors and networks of nineteenth and twentieth century world history and particularly focuses on the first phase, the years of Comintern (1919-1943). The second part focuses on the following topics: The First and the Second Internationals: revolutionary strategies, universalism and the colonial question; First World War, Soviet Revolution and the birth of the Comintern in 1919; Perspectives of internationalism after the First World War: Wilson vs Lenin; Revolutionary perspectives in the peripheries; Space, time, culture rethinking the socialist transition; Race, language, translation and socialist transition; The Second World War and beyond: communism as an actor of twentieth century globalization.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is intended for students who have basic knowledge of African history and a strong background in political theory. The course focuses on the main policies and institutions of the European Union partnership in the fields of security and development cooperation, within the framework of the international debate on these topics. In particular, the course offers an analysis of contemporary literature on the political and military relations between the European Union and Africa. Special attention is placed on the main global and regional transformation processes governing the relations between the EU and Africa. A section of the course is devoted to the historical evolution of EU-Africa security and increased cooperation in the area of development. The course is divided in 4 main parts. Part 1 focuses on the historical framework of African-European relations since the late nineteenth century. Emphasis is placed on patterns of colonial domination and the decolonization process. Relations between African and European countries during the Cold War are also examined, and specific attention is devoted to the evolution of Africa-France relations and the role of the Western countries in the decolonization of Southern Africa and the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Part 2 focuses on the aims, instruments, and outcomes of development cooperation between African governments and the European Union since the early 1960's. Part 3 focuses on relations between Africa and Europe in the post-Cold War era. In particular, European policies aimed at promoting democracy and human rights, the prevention and resolution of violent conflicts and the promotion of economic development and poverty reduction. Part 4 focuses the "new scramble" for Africa's natural resources and its complex political and economic effects. Required readings: FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN AFRICA. FROM THE COLD WAR TO THE WAR ON TERROR by E. Schmidt, THE EU AND AFRICA. FROM EUROAFRIQUE TO AFRO-EUROPA by A. Adebajo, K. Whiteman, TERRORISM AND COUNTER-TERRORISM IN AFRICA by H. Solomon. Assessment is based on an oral examination on lecture materials and the required readings.

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 analyzes different aspects of spatial imaginaries in the context of colonial and post-colonial history. The main focus of this course concerns visions of international order after empire in the twentieth century. The course is divided into five parts. The first part of the course concerns an introduction to the category of ‘space’ in historical studies in order to provide an analytical framework to imperialism and colonialism. The second part of the course focuses on the spatial dimensions of the colonial and imperial rule. In the third part, students discuss nationalist and federalist visions for post-colonial order, analyzing the relations between nationalist movements and supra-national political spaces. The topic of the fourth part is about the idea of pan-regionalisms, looking at three specific case studies. The last week is dedicated to the connections within and between the imperial and colonial spaces and visions of international and global order. At the end of the course students reach an understanding of the social and cultural history of areas of the world that have been subject to modern colonial rule and that, in most cases, experienced a subsequent phase of political decolonization. Students will be able to critically engage in the study of different kinds of sources, using a comparative perspective. They will acquire the analytical tools needed to properly investigate the complex social, cultural, and political realities of colonial and postcolonial spaces. At the end of the course, students will also be able to deploy their analytical skills in professional activities linked with the popularization and public use of historical knowledge.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale in innovation and organization of culture and the arts. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on the elements of marketing within the service sector that are applicable specifically to cultural organizations. This course introduces, discusses, and analyzes several key topics in the area of service. The course explores topics including challenges inherent in marketing and managing services; developing and delivering quality service; strategies and tools for addressing the challenges of services management and marketing, the “services marketing mix,” and the complexities of service design, delivery, and communication aimed at building sustainable service brands. Students discuss producing and delivering services, the servuction model and its implication for theory and practice; customer behavior before and during the service experience; the role of employees in service delivery; the Servicescape; service quality and customer satisfaction; measuring customer satisfaction; and pricing. The course includes traditional lectures, presentations, and interactive teaching regarding concepts and theories as well as in class discussions of case studies. Assessment is based on a written exam based on essay questions.

The course focuses on the relationship between literature and film and the connections between the two languages through the in-depth study of a selection of historically relevant and exemplary works. A section of the course is devoted to the question of the historical adaptation of literary texts to the screen–from early works to the present. The course focuses in particular on the construction of the fictional movie character through a comparative approach between literary studies and film studies that places emphasis on the peculiarly cinematic element: the human factor linked to the role of the actor. The course focuses on the construction of a particular cinematic character, the history of Hollywood production (divas and audience) and the cultural role played by Hollywood in its historical context through its role in the production of film adaptations of literary works. Required film screenings: QUEEN CHRISTINA (1933), CITY LIGHTS (1931), GONE WITH THE WIND, (1939), CITIZEN KANE (1941), NOW VOYAGER (1942), WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939), A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951), REAR WINDOW (1954), WRITTEN ON THE WIND (1956), THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL (1957). Assessment is based on a written exam that covers the required readings, the critical analysis presented in class and the required film screenings.