Communication

In the 21st century, no one is exempt from Brand Management. Celebrities and consumer brands, politicians, and even nations are engaged in managing perceptions to persuade others in order to achieve their goals. How do we create, project, and then leverage brand identity? What are the techniques of brand management in our complex contemporary society? How does technology change our approach to brand management and understanding? This course provides students an overview of the history of brand management, as well as an overview on brand development, research, and management structures for sales, marketing, and advertising, and will explore techniques of persuasion. It examines how brands influence perceptions in order to retain power. It will review specifics of brand equity and brand identity, the techniques of storytelling, and marketing by association. The course considers the winners and losers of the branding game by exploring examples from business, politics, and celebrity.

This course is primarily designed for undergraduate students who want to improve their English presentation language and techniques for future academic presentations. The focus is on developing commonly used functional skills for all types of presentations. 

This course goes beyond the fundamentals of public relations emphasizing the concepts, theories, and techniques relevant to the Italian practice. The course explores three key areas of public relations: first, communication: its models, their evolution and what happens in Italy; second, cross-cultural perspectives/realities of communication media, public relations, and mass media; and third, marketing and advertising approaches, news writing, press releases, and social media management of Italian companies. The course presents a cross-cultural perspective and focuses on European and Italian attitude toward public relations, providing evidences and a hands-on experience. An additional concentration is on the business aspect of the label, in particular, on marketing, branding, and consumer behavior seen from both Italian and international perspective. Business case studies and site visits are part of the course. The course includes topics such as evolution of communications models and techniques, public relations, social media, communications and public opinion, ethics, organizational structures, tactics and strategies, employee relations, media relations, government relations, and public relations research.

This course examines the transformations of the media in China in the past three decades due to forces of marketization, political reform, technological changes, and cultural globalization. The course provides a basic and comprehensive understanding of contemporary Chinese media institutions, and how media and culture are embedded in a broader historical and global context. Popular culture in media is studied through its relation with cultural globalization, social stratification, and political economy. Guest lecturers from journalism, communication, and cultural studies speak on specific topics. Text: S.L. Shirk, ed., CHANGING MEDIA, CHANGING CHINA. Assessment: essay, final group project and presentation, tutorial participation.