Communication

The media plays an extremely influential role in the public’s conceptions of crime and order. This course is designed to look at the different ways in which the media shapes our ideas and responses to crime. The course is divided into two main sections. The first half of the course examines representations of crime in different media forms and theoretical explanations for why crime is portrayed in particular ways. The second half of the course focuses on the representation of crime in popular culture, particularly in films and novels.

Health communication is becoming increasingly important in a world faced with new health challenges from obesity to Ebola, anxiety to diabetes. This course considers the role of language in our experience of and beliefs about health and illness. Students learn how health communication differs among various communities, both monolingual and multilingual, from the grassroots level, such as in families, to broader groups, for example, between health professionals and patients. It also considers the effects of social diversity, such as the age, gender, and ethnicity of patients and healthcare professionals. Students become proficient in analyzing a range of relevant uses of language, including narratives about health and illness, the representation of health and illness in the media, computer-mediated communication about illness, and public health information, persuasion and campaigns.

This course provides students with the knowledge and professional development for the 21st century organization. Students learn contemporary organizational communication theories and concepts, the dynamism of working in teams and diversity, as well as leadership communication skills essential in today’s technology-driven and digitally connected global workplace. Students apply case studies to solve the problems and challenges faced by the contemporary globally connected workplaces, learn how to manage intercultural sensitivities and interactions, and demonstrate effective decision-making and conflict-management processes in the workplace through a strong understanding of organizational communicative processes and relationships.

Leadership in Action (LIA) helps students understand what it means to be a leader in the 21st century. The course explores complex current problems and ask: How does change happen? Who makes it happen? What does that tell us about leadership and how we do it? This course equips students with the tools to critically evaluate models and approaches to leadership and to apply these to a range of complex 21st century problems such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. The course also helps students to develop a toolkit of transferable skills that boosts their employability. Students hear from leaders who are influencing change in the world, including some of the university's leading academics and leaders from the public, private, and voluntary sectors.

The course explores the nature of culture and its role in society, with a focus on intercultural communication, representation of otherness, and cultural diversity. Students examine cultural dynamics from traditional to postmodern contexts, including the impact of digital and cybercultural transformations, and learn strategies for effective cultural communication across formats, genres, and media.

This course covers the historical development of journalistic activity in Brazil across different media. It investigates the relationships between journalism, culture, and power in Brazil.

Public Crisis Management is an undergraduate course in Public Administrative. Specifically, it is divided into three parts: the first part is the types and causes of sudden public events, the second part is crisis and crisis management theory, and the third part is the specific process and techniques of crisis management.

This course develops an appreciation of both theoretical and practical conceptions of public relations. Although examples are drawn primarily from Swedish, UK, and US experience, students are invited to consider public relations in a broader transnational and global context. Emphasis is placed on understanding the changing nature of the discipline, including those driven by the increasing importance of digital platforms and channels. The course develops the student’s ability to consider public relations as a strategic activity and builds familiarity with the public relations toolkit. The range of tactical devices employed for delivering organizational messages and engaging with a range of stakeholder groups. This includes developing techniques for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of such activity. As well as critically examining the reality of what is sometimes described as the “professional project” students are encouraged to consider ethical issues surrounding public relations activity, including power imbalances and tensions around truth, persuasion, authenticity, transparency and legitimacy.

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 objectives include: Critical Analysis: Train students to critically analyze how culture and social structures both shape and are shaped by the physical environment. Spatial Awareness: Help students understand the spatial dimensions of social phenomena, exploring how territories impact social interactions and cultural expressions. Cultural Appreciation: Foster an appreciation for cultural diversity by examining how different cultures manifest within specific territories, and how cultural practices are influenced by geographic locations. Research Skills: Develop research skills by teaching students how to investigate and analyze the relationships between social structures, culture, and territory through empirical studies and literature reviews. Globalization Impact: Explore the effects of globalization on local cultures and identities. Emphasize how global forces interact with and sometimes challenge local customs and territorial boundaries, fostering critical thinking. 

This course focuses specifically on the spatial and cultural dimensions of contemporary life. It begins by exploring the historical development of the discipline and its intersections with other social sciences, then moves toward a more focused examination of how territory and culture interact within the context of consumer society. Particular attention is devoted to understanding how consumption shapes and is shaped by both physical and digital environments. Consumer culture is not approached merely as an economic phenomenon, but as a complex system of practices and meanings that contribute to the production of social identities, symbolic landscapes, and territorial imaginaries. From shopping malls and theme parks to social media platforms and algorithmically curated spaces, students investigate how consumption environments function as sites of cultural production and negotiation. Throughout the course, students engage with theoretical perspectives and empirical case studies that highlight the interplay between material culture, globalization, prosumption, and the hybridization of space. The physical and the digital are not treated as separate spheres, but as interconnected and co-constructed domains that define how individuals navigate, appropriate, and give meaning to their social worlds. By combining lectures, seminar discussions, and multimedia materials, the course fosters a critical understanding of how contemporary spatial practices reflect broader cultural transformations. In doing so, it encourages students to reflect on the ways in which space and culture co-evolve in the context of late modernity, shaping both inclusion and exclusion, identity and belonging.