University of Bologna

Please note that the course extends into January, available for year students only. The course focuses on the following topics: the geological evolution of the planet earth and the formation of sea basins; the physical and chemical characteristics of the water masses; physiography and geomorphology of the seabed, genesis, and characteristics of rocks and sediments; sedimentological processes and distribution of benthic environments; the interactions between marine organisms and the abiotic environment; the main types of marine ecosystems and their functional characteristics; and the processes of formation of populations and their distribution in space and time. The course is divided into lectures and practical sessions, in the field and/or in the laboratory, with collection and analysis of samples/data and interpretation of results. Visits to the ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences) of the CNR of Bologna where the tools used in oceanographic and marine biology campaigns and the principles and techniques for the analysis and interpretation of the acquired data are presented. Visit to the Environmental Sciences Laboratories, of the Master's Degree in Marine Biology, at the Ravenna Campus.

This course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course covers molecular, cellular, and “-omics” aspects of the following topics (considering both theoretical and methodological points of view): 1) Cell-cell communication in bacteria (quorum sensing): basic principles and components of quorum sensing (QS); role of the QS in microbial pathogenicity, genome plasticity (horizontal gene transfer), stress response, and microbial interaction with the host; and application of quorum sensing circuits in biotechnology and synthetic biology of single bacteria and microbial communities. 2) Microbial biofilms: distribution and diversity of biofilms; mechanisms of biofilm formation and persistence; microbial metabolism and physiology in biofilm; role of QS in biofilm formation; biofilm resistance and tolerance; in vitro systems to grow and study the microbial biofilm; and the role/importance of biofilms in medical and industrial fields. 3) Bacterial second messengers: molecular mechanisms of the nucleotide second messenger (NSM)-based intracellular signaling in bacteria; the different components involved in the NSM-based signaling; and essential and emerging roles of NSMs in bacterial sensing and cellular response, biofilm formation, and microbial interactions. 4) Signaling and interactions within microbial communities: “-omics” to study microbial communities and microbial interactions; and designing and construction of synthetic microbial communities for the application in medical, industrial, and environmental fields.

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. Students who complete a research paper on a pre-approved topic are awarded 1 extra unit. Maximum units for this course are 8. The course has 2 parts: A & B. Students must take both parts. No partial credit is possible. Part A of the course focuses on the history and development of non-European literature in French, with particular attention to the relationship between literary texts and the historical, artistic, and linguistic context. Special attention is placed on the different methodologies useful for the analysis and interpretation of literary texts. Part B of the course focuses on the issues of diversity and inclusion in French-speaking migrant literatures with particular attention to Quebec, Lebanese, and Senegalese literatures. Special attention is placed on literature written  by migrant authors and literature written by those born in exile. Voluntary or forced mobility generates a literature with a dual focus: towards the country of origin and towards the country of adoption. Migrant writings, in a French-speaking context, give rise to a third space in which identity is renegotiated through writing, a space for the elaboration of diversity in search of similarities. Principal texts by Marco Micone, Antonio D'Alfonso, Fulvio Caccia, Amin Maalouf, and Wajdi Mouawad.

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 founding principles of international criminal law and justice; the historical evolution of international criminal justice and their current mechanisms; how to critically assess the impact and effectiveness of the different responses to international crimes. Students are expected to acquire the skills necessary to identify the problematic issues of criminal law, both from a political and juridical viewpoint, arising in different contexts and related to different mechanisms (whether retributive or restorative and both at the national or international levels). The objective of the course is to provide students, through a comparative and international perspective, with an understanding of: the criminal justice system and its changes introduced through the processes of internationalization and Europeanisation, at the same time highlighting the importance of the comparative approach; the constitutional principles in criminal matters and the foundational concepts of criminal law, the structure of its main principles and categories, the punishment and the classification of different penalties; the European criminal law developments, both regarding the legislation and the case law, as well as its influence on national criminal justice and law systems. Throughout this course, the theoretical framework is analyzed in the light of judicial decisions of national Constitutional Courts, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and, finally, the International Criminal Court. The course has 3 Parts. Part I: Internationalization of Criminal Law; Part II: International Criminal Law; Part III: Leading Case Law Analysis.

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director or Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. The internship may be taken during one or more terms but the units cannot exceed a total of 12.0 for the academic year.

This course s part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. Globalization dramatically changed the environment of political and economic activity, widening the context of social action and speeding up its pace. This course tackles the new ethical issues inherent in a globalized world of social change from a theoretical perspective, without neglecting the historical side. At the end of the course students have a deeper appreciation of the new ethical issues facing mankind in an era of globalization, have knowledge of the most interesting contemporary theories of the just society, and are capable of historically situating the current developments in society. This course examines three broad themes connected to the contemporary geopolitical circumstances: the question of the just society and the challenge of relativism, the dilemmas of globalization, and environmental ethics. The course examines how and to what extent globalization has changed politics and, strictly connected to this question, the issue of the just society in such different circumstances and the challenge posed by cultural relativism. Finally, the course tackles the problem of our responsibility towards the environment and towards non-human creatures.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program and is intended for advanced levels students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course focuses on the tools necessary to evaluate the main themes and issues related to questions of cultural memory from a semiotic perspective. Memory studies is a relatively young academic field that aims at an interdisciplinary study of collective forms of remembering and of processes of construction, transmission, and communication of the past in contemporary societies and in contexts characterized by an inherent "semiotic complexity" At the same time, memory studies is often in constant dialogue with other disciplines dealing with memory (philosophy, sociology, psychology, semiotics, cognitive science, anthropology, history, archaeology, etc.). The course introduces and critically discusses the current debate in the field of memory studies, considering the main issues and questions from a semiotic perspective. Starting from a critical discussion of the concept of collective memory, the various "discursive arenas" (media discourse, historical discourse, legal discourse, political discourse, artistic discourse...) that shape shared - as well as individual - memories (and consequently collective and individual identities) are highlighted. Part of the course focuses specifically on the processes of construction and transmission of Cultural Heritage, particularly in terms of its semiotic, political, and conflictual character. Special attention is given to notions of dissonant and difficult heritage.

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 covers types of comics from the 13th century to the 16th century, and poetry and theater in the 18th and 19th centuries. The first part of the course is dedicated to comic in literature and focuses on Boccaccio with in-depth studies on the DECAMERON. The second part is dedicated to the reading of Machiavelli and discusses Goldoni, Pascoli, and an in-depth study of Dante's INFERNO in the context of poetry.