Communication

This course covers a variety of audiovisual tools, exploring their history, inventors, and effects on society. The first part of the course covers networks and long-distance communication, focusing specifically on the telegraph, telephone, and telecommunications. The second part covers fixed and animated images, specifically the camera, the photograph, and cinema. The third part of the course explores sounds and image machines: the phonograph, radio, and television. Finally, the fourth part of the course focuses on digital media, primarily the internet. The course utilizes a global lens, but especially explores these topics in France and the United States.

This course examines the notion of Spanish brands and how Spain's culture and society have influenced its businesses and institutions. Topics include: building brand equity; triangulation of institutional, social, and corporate efforts in the shaping of place branding-- the Barcelona city brand case study; the influence of globalization on local brand positioning-- creating competitive identities through values beyond volume; family business in Spanish corporate tradition; homemade identity-- influencing outreach vs impact, quality and quantity; the creative marketing mix in Spanish brands.

This course examines lived experiences and life narratives - ours’ and others’ – to examine the relationship between the past and the present, individuals and different types of social life, the public and the private, the local and the (trans)national. Topics include identity and representation (including self-representation), power and ethics, the complexities of memory, as well as possibilities afforded by different forms of life writing, which encompass personal essays, memoirs, biographies, diaries, letters, oral histories, family histories and blogs.

The course introduces the various forms of communication, including interpersonal communication, organizational communication, mass communication, new media communication, cross-cultural communication, and public communication. It also discusses the relationship between communication and culture, communication and society, communication and politics, and communication and the economy.

The aim of the course is to equip participants with toolkits to develop strategies for managerial problems in the context of marketing communications. The different modules of the program introduce the participants to the theoretical models, methods and techniques with the aim to: 1) develop a communication strategy; 2) effectively and synergistically manage the various tools of the communication mix; and 3) monitor and measure the performance of the initiatives developed. In addition to the traditional marketing communication channels, the course also introduces  the emerging online marketing communication channels to deal with changing media consumption habits of consumers. Although the course addresses marketing communication from a managerial perspective, it also offers students critical tools for evaluating the ethical aspects of communication and its undesirable consequences on individuals and society. Finally, the course covers the contribution of communication to corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing initiatives and to the non-profit world.

This course focuses on the intersections between the fashion system and the media system. Students learn about the evolution of both the fashion and media within the Italian context and the fundamentals of the historical evolution of fashion communication in the Italian mediascape. Students analyze events, campaigns, exhibitions, fashion shows, public relations activities, customer management, and other fashion-related events to understand the communication strategies of the fashion industry for advertising and promotion purposes. The controversial impact of new technologies (i.e. social media, bloggers, influencers) are also discussed, along with a critical reflection on ethical matters concerning the role of fashion as a major influential presence in the media and more in general in our culture. Students learn how fashion communication works also by acquiring and practicing communication skills in fashion projects. They will understand hands-on how the fashion communication process develops, experimenting with how to design and develop a fashion communication campaign (articles, blog entries, social media posts, etc.) with a focus on Italian brands. Students explore their own potential as fashion communicators, learning the basics to create branded content for the fashion industry, choosing the most suitable media outlets, and crafting effective messages. A critical analysis of how fashion language has evolved, from 19th–century fashion magazines to today’s blogs and influencers, also helps students acquire the fundamentals of how to communicate fashion. 

This course is designed to improve students' communicative skills in the business world. It is targeting at upper-intermediate to advanced students of business. It helps students to use English more effectively and professionally. The texts offer an insight into topical biz issues and invite students to explore current thinking on important biz topics and trends. They are accompanied by authentic recorded interviews with top biz people and authentic texts from prominent biz publications and the media. Skilled based units provide an in-depth focus on presentations, negotiations and meetings, adequate scope for students to practice the language and communicative skills, interaction and communication to develop interpersonal skills as well as to improve students' performance and increase confidence in these areas. The format includes introduction, texts reading, English vocabulary, language practice, listening, case studies, and writing.

This course examines ethical references within Spanish and European legal frameworks, specifically, contemporary ethical issues that have arisen in the field of cultural industries. It provides an introduction to the Spanish judicial system, the system of rights and freedoms as outlined in the Constitution, in the European Union and in international law. The course covers the freedom of expression and right to information, configuration of cultural industries, and deontology of information.