University of Bologna

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Corporate Finance is an advanced course with a focus on valuation, covering the theoretical framework of corporate valuation issues and the tools to apply valuation models in practical situations. Topics covered include estimating cash flows, the firm’s opportunity cost of capital, the role of capital structure, and relative valuation. At the end of the course, students are expected to know and understand, to a greater extent, national and international socio-economic processes and be able to independently draw conclusions based on the collected data; know in-depth mathematical, statistical and qualitative research methods used in research in economic sciences and management sciences; and have in-depth knowledge of their use in the processes of analysis and inference in the field of international business.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course focuses on the concepts, methods, procedures and techniques concerning the archaeological research on the landscape. The main keywords, sources, issues, and approaches to the discipline will be presented and discussed, with particular attention to the most recent experiences in the Mediterranean area. From the first pioneering projects, the principal stages of the evolution of the subject matter will be presented, introducing the most innovative lines of research and future perspectives. The three main objectives of the contemporary discipline will be addressed: reconstruction of the landscapes of the past, proactive conservation of the contemporary landscape, public and social dissemination of knowledge. A special emphasis is given to non-invasive methods of exploration and mapping of subsoil and landscape, such as field walking surveys, remote sensing techniques, aerial photography and geophysical prospections. In all cases, methods and practices are considered in relation to different environmental, topographical, and archaeological conditions and problems. By the end of the course students understand and contextualize the approaches to the study of landscape in archaeology; know the main sources, the methods, tools and strategies applicable to the different contexts and scales of analysis; display awareness of the multidisciplinary nature of the subject, the importance of dialogue with subsidiary sciences and specialists in the study of landscape, and the various entities responsible for protecting, planning and managing the territory; have an updated understanding of the evolution of the discipline and of the current international scientific debate; have a global and critical approach to the study of the ancient landscape, attentive to both geographical, natural and anthropic aspects, whilst maintaining archaeological and historical research problems in central place; be versed in the main diagnostic non-invasive survey methods and know how to choose the most appropriate ones according to variables in the environmental and cultural context; and participate in debates on the contribution of information sources and methods of investigation and diagnosis.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course introduces the most relevant conceptual and theoretical instruments for the study and analysis of social stratification and economic inequalities. The course develops the following competences: general competences (instrumental, interpersonal, and systemic): ability to analyze and synthesize different approaches to the study of inequality; a thorough understanding of basic conceptual frameworks of inequality research; familiarity with measurement and methods of examining inequalities and poverty; the ability to conduct research on income and wealth inequality using micro-data; the ability to write well-reasoned reflections in English on related topics; the ability to present orally; the ability to evaluate research on inequalities from sociology, demography, and economics; and familiarity with state-of the-art research in the field. The course is organized as follows: lectures introduce the core tenets of the discipline; and practical exercises and seminars provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. The course modules include the philosophical debate on equality/inequality, K-concepts/debates in social stratification, and empirical analyses using R and R-studio, and data sets such as SHIW, LIS, ESS, SHARE.

The course provides a broad range of examples on how economic theory and experiments can be used to understand pressing societal problems as well as to inform governments, firms, and consumers. The applications range from media bias to environmental conservation, from discrimination to education and social housing. Each topic starts from simple theoretical models and then discusses experimental evidence, both supporting the model or showing potential limitations of the theory. While starting from simple laboratory experiments and in-class demonstrations, the main focus of the course is on field experiments. The list of topics covered includes: inequality; cooperation and the environment; human capital formation and education; voting and political participation; media bias and echo chambers; and incentives and the workplace. The course has three main objectives: (i) explain how economists learn from empirical evidence, and how lab, field, and natural experiments can help establishing causation; (ii) teach the intuition behind some intermediate game theoretical concepts; (iii) show a wide range of applications and topics in economics.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course provides in-depth and critical knowledge of Air and Space Law and the International Treaties which govern the sectors. In order to analyze the matter also under a practical perspective, an important part of the course is devoted to the analysis of the relevant case-law in the sector. The examination of case law will include not only specific Air and Space Law law issues, but also competition matters such as state aid and abuse of dominant position with reference to aviation and space sectors. Topics include: Air Navigation Authorities and International bodies; Air Navigation Services in the European and International Context. The 1944 Chicago Convention; Access to the European Air Transport market and the liberalization of the latter. Code sharing agreements and frequent flyer programs.; The contract of carriage by air of passengers (Montreal Convention 1999; EC Regulations 2027/97 and 2002/889); General principles of Space Law; The legal status of spacecraft including their registration (registration of space objects and jurisdiction and space legislation at EU level) and liability for damage caused by space activities; Representation of the European Space Programmes and major responsibilities of the main European bodies (EU, ESA, EUSPA); Italian Space Governance and decision-making process for space policy and legal instruments in Italy.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course focuses on the early modern world, a period of transformation unprecedented in human history, marked by profound and structural instabilities, including those wrought by climate changes. Yet, it was precisely within the chaos of these upheavals—and often as a direct result of them—that a rich mosaic of cultural encounters emerged. This course delves into these encounters, exploring how diverse cultures found ways to interact, influence, and understand each other, yet sometimes also misinterpret or even destroy one another. Such exchanges occurred across a variety of contexts—trade, exploration, warfare, study, slavery, diplomacy—evoking a wide range of reactions from excitement and interest to anxiety, hate, and fear. By examining these interactions, we gain a lens through which to view the premodern world's approach to confronting uncertainties and appreciate how these exchanges reshaped the deep structures of power and society, triggering profound shifts in people's mindsets. This course unfolds in two dynamic segments: foundations of early modern global history and pivotal phenomena of the early modern world. The course provides awareness of the cultural dimension of modern economy and society. Special attention is given to free and forced movements of people in relation to global phenomena such as geographical discoveries, colonialism, and capitalist expansion. This course provides fundamental knowledge of the historical foundations of cultural interactions and conflicts typical of the global age.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. Geography, gender, and ethic is an advanced course of cultural geography. The course provides in-depth and critical knowledge of topics and perspectives that lie at the core of contemporary geographical debates, such as gender studies and ethical issues. The course provides an understanding of these subjects and perspectives within today’s geographical debates as well as the intersection of these topics and other fundamental topics in the field of cultural geographies, such as mobility. The course addresses two main thematic pathways: 1) contemporary evolution of feminist and gender debates in the geographical field. 2) the intersection between gender geographies and ethics. The topics addressed include: feminisms, methodology, and ethics in geographical research; concept of positionality; contribution of feminist and gender studies to ethical issues concerning, for example, subjectivity, difference, and the overcoming of culture/nature; feminisms, transfeminisms, and more-than-human and posthuman geographies; geographies, feminisms, and concepts such as "trans-species"; and ecofeminisms.

This course provides general knowledge of Italian contemporary history and the main interpretations of it. The course prepares students to transmit the knowledge acquired, adopting the appropriate vocabulary and being versed in the historiographical debate. It covers the methodologies used by the research on social classes including basic mass culture and consumption phenomena. It provides awareness of how sources and choice of methodology bear on the ultimate result. The course covers: Italy from the First to the Second Republic; the main political, economic, and social junctures that represented the framework within which the democratic political system was reconstituted in Italy in the aftermath of the Second World War; the institutional as well as the economic and social framework, always keeping the international context as a reference perspective; the various moments that have marked the history of the Italian peninsula since the Second World War, from reconstruction to the economic boom, from the years of revolts and movements to the crisis of the First Republic and of that party system that had contributed to rewriting the democratic political framework. Finally, attention is focused on the different generations of men and women who were protagonists of that history.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course analyzes the connections between artistic practices and political issues in relation with the development and expansion of digital technologies. The course gives a historical-political perspective on the evolution of digitization from the birth of the internet to platform capitalism through a visual approach drawing on the main artistic movements that reflected on new technologies. The course is articulated into three parts. First, the course frames a political genealogy of the digital technologies, highlighting the philosophical issues they pose. For this reason, a brief history of the evolution of internet until the burst of platform capitalism is presented. Then, the course focuses on some of the main cultural paradigms about the technological innovation (Californian ideology, Transhumanism, Accelerationism, etc…) to analyze the way they frame the relationship between the digital and the human. Finally, the course explores how artists embedded and renewed such paradigms in their practices and how art changed thanks to the introduction of digital tools (artificial intelligence, NFT, etc.)

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course provides an overview of labor market policies, highlighting the main areas of intervention and the beneficiaries: employment protection legislation, income support, promotion of job opportunities and training, and employment services. A comparative analysis of the evolution of labor policy regimes will be carried out with particular reference to current demographic, social, and economic challenges, considering the influence of politics on labor market policies. At the end of the course the students are able to: have a knowledge of the main areas of intervention of labor market policies and their beneficiaries; identify and compare the different labor policy regimes; gain an expertise as regards to the definition and planning of active and passive labor market policies; recognize the current characteristics of the labor market and the employment system, the emerging risks and the related needs in terms of labor market policies; and interpret the influence of politics in labor market policies. The course adopts an iterative approach between theoretical debates and the analysis of cases and empirical examples, also based on current events and trends, and aims at integrating in a transversal way a focus on the gender aspects of the issues addressed.