Courses - Spring 2014

Currently under development.

Students will gain understanding of the basic messages in simple oral and written
communication. They will be able to acquire key information from listening and reading brief, simple, authentic material and have a fair understanding of the meaning of short standard Italian conversation in a limited number of content areas. Students will be able to engage in basic conversation
as well as to initiate communication on familiar topics. Strong emphasis will be given to communicative
situations involving first and second person forms; writing activities with pertinent vocabulary
and structure will include simple autobiographical information, brief messages, simple forms and lists. Linguistic structures : subject pronouns, articles, adjectives, prepositions, present and present perfect indicative.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Extensive Elem I

Students will gain understanding of oral and written material on a variety of topics, ranging from personal routine to include family, taste and hobbies. Their understanding will include present and past events. Students will be able to engage in conversations on a variety of real-life situations regarding familiar subjects, to respond to open-ended questions and initiate communication on these topics. They will be able to give and follow directions, instructions and commands. Skills in mono-directional oral presentation will begin to emerge. Writing activities will include narration of present and past events, personal experiences, school and work situations, as well as brief messages to family and friends. Linguistic structures: subject and object pronouns, articles, adjectives, present indicative and imperative, the two main past tenses in use in contemporary Italian.

This daily course immerses students in the Italian language. The basic structures and vocabulary of the Italian language are presented. Students are also provided with systematic practice of oral Italian through dialogues, pattern drills, and exercises. Special emphasis is given to correct pronunciation, sound placement, and intonation. Conducted in Italian.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Extensive Elem I & II or Intensive Elementary Italian

Students will gain understanding of oral and written communication on various topics in the past, present and future in addition to expressions of personal wishes, feelings and hopes.
Students will recognize key information in the reading and listening of authentic material and will understand, to some extent advanced texts featuring narration and description of events.
Students will be able to handle most conversation tasks and standard social situations. Students will be able to write short letters and short paragraphs and show command of simple sentence syntax. Linguistic structures: students will be familiar with increasingly complex grammatical content, such as indirect and combined pronouns, future tense, conditional and subjunctive modes.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Extensive Interm I

Students will gain understanding of oral and written material ranging from general routine and leisure time activities, to more complex topics such as politics, environmental issues, and work environment. Students will be able to read and appreciate pertinent authentic texts. Students will be able to handle most uncomplicated conversation tasks and standard social situations. Students will be able to debate and argue for opposite viewpoints on a range of topics, to make comparisons and hypothesis. Presentation skills, written and oral, will solidify; skills in narrating in paragraphs begin to emerge and develop in a creative direction. Linguistic structures: students will gain knowledge of increasingly complex verbal forms such as all tenses of the subjunctive mode, past conditional and preterit, as well as several elaborate grammatical structures.

Prerequisites: ITAL-UA 1 & ITAL-UA 2, Elementary Italian I & II; or ITAL-UA 10, Intensive Elementary Italian

This course offers students who are at the intermediate level a daily immersion class. The acquisition and practice of more sophisticated structures of Italian are undertaken. Fundamental oral and written skills are developed, and vocabulary enrichment and conversational ability are emphasized. Conducted in Italian.

Sample Syllabus 

Prerequisites: ITAL-UA 11, ITAL-UA 12, Intermediate Italian I & II; or ITAL-UA 20, Intensive Intermediate Italian

Intensive review of Italian grammar through written and oral exercises, conversations, compositions, translation, and readings from contemporary Italian literature. Conducted in Italian.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: ITAL-UA 30, Advanced Review of Modern Italian

Students entering the course should have mastered the fundamental structure of Italian. The course is designed to help students gain confidence and increase their effectiveness in speaking present-day Italian. Through discussions, oral reports, and readings, students develop vocabulary in a variety of topics, improve pronunciation, and learn an extensive range of idiomatic expressions. Conducted in Italian.

Sample Syllabus 

Co-Requisite: Conversations in Italian - ITAL-UA 9101

Students entering the course should have mastered the fundamental structure of Italian. The course is designed to help students gain confidence and increase their effectiveness in writing present-day Italian. Conducted in Italian.

Sample Syllabus 

An introduction to the area of financial accounting. Encompasses accounting concepts from the point of view of the corporate investor and business management. Accounting procedures are discussed to facilitate the comprehension of the recording, summarizing, and reporting of business transactions. The basic principles of asset valuation and revenue and cost recognition are presented. Various asset, liability, and capital accounts are studied in detail with emphasis on an analytical and interpretive approach. The area of financial accounting is further analyzed through a discussion of the concepts and underlying financial statement analysis and the exposition of funds flow. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus 

Evaluates, from the management point of view, marketing as a system for the satisfaction of human wants and as a catalyst of business activity. Deals with the subject at all levels from producer to consumer and emphasizes the planning required for the efficient use of marketing tools in the development and expansion of markets. Concentrates on the principles, functions, and tools of marketing, including quantitative methods. Utilizes cases and projects to develop a problem-solving ability in dealing with specific areas.

Sample Syllabus 

Co-requisite: Enrollment in a screening time.

This course covers Italian film from the beginnings of the neo-realist movement to 1960, concentrating both on the aesthetic, theoretical development of neorealism and on its political, economic, social, and cultural context. Directors studied in detail include Rossellini, Visconti, de Sica, and Antonioni. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist writers in both Britain and the United States were fascinated by Italy. The "Italy and Italians" of the title refers not only to images and characters in the works of the British and American authors we will be reading but also to their affinities with Italian literature. Recurring themes in the course will be history and its uses in literature, gender and sexuality, democracy and aristocracy, language and power, and religion as an instrument of sexual repression.

Sample Syllabus

Although the Italian peninsula has been the site of some of the oldest and most significant
civilizations in Western history, the modern Italian state is relatively young, having been
established only in 1861. Italy’s geographical and cultural complexities have ensured that
regional identities throughout the country remain strong, to the extent that many Italians
still identify closely with their more immediate social, cultural, and political traditions.
Furthermore, Italy is positioned as a gateway of the Mediterranean world, making it both
the center (if one views it from the shores of North Africa) and the periphery (if one views
it from the countries bordering the North Sea) of Europe. This course will focus on the
tensions and ambiguities present in post‐unification Italian society, using the rich cultural
and social heritage of Florence as a starting point for the study of the delicate mixture of
regional and national elements that make up contemporary Italy.

Sample Syllabus

This course is not open to NYU Stern students.

Prerequisites: Pre-calculus or equivalent level of mathematical training

Introduction to the American economy, elements of supply and demand, and basic macroeconomic principles. Includes national income and employment, money, banking, inflation, business fluctuations, monetary and fiscal policy, the balance of payments, and comparative economic systems. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

This course is not open to NYU Stern students.

Prerequisites: Pre-calculus or equivalent level of mathematical training

Focuses on individual economic decision makers—households, business firms, and government agencies—and how they are linked together. The emphasis is on decision making by households and firms and how these decisions shape our economic life. Explores the different environments in which businesses sell their products, hire workers, and raise funds to expand their operations; the economic effects of various government policies, such as minimum wage legislation, rent controls, antitrust laws, and more. Conducted in English.

Prerequisites: ECON-UA 1 Economic Principles or ECON-UA 5 Intro to Economic Analysis or equivalents

The financial crisis that hit the global economy since the summer of 2008 is without precedent in post-war economic history. Although its size and extent are exceptional. the crisis has many features in common with similar financial-stress driven recession episodes in the past. However, this time there’s something different, with the crisis being global akin to the events that triggered the Great Depression of the 1930s. This crisis spread quickly and rapidly moved from the US to European countries that show the weakest economic indicators (PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland and Italy, Greece and Spain). This course will focus on the long run causes, consequences and EU responses to the crisis, conditionally on the characteristics of the countries involved. We will focus on the long process of European Integration and discuss whether it may represent a possible solution to the recent crisis.

Sample Syllabus

This course is not open to NYU Stern students.

Prerequisite: ECON-UA 1 (Economic Principals) or ECON-UA 5 (Introduction to Economic Analysis)

We offer a perspective on the workings of the monetary and financial system within a country and at an international level. The role of money and the tools to conduct monetary policy will be analyzed in detail. The concept of the value of money now and in the future helps in understanding the role of interest rates and of risk; various way to store wealth will take us into the structure of financial markets where financial instruments are created and traded to meet diverse needs. Some basic concepts on the role played by commercial banks will introduce the function of the Central Bank and of monetary policy in the overall goal of ensuring financial stability to the system. Current issues, such as the role of the European Central Bank and the instability created by the subprime mortgage crisis, will be discussed.

Sample Syllabus 

Prerequisites: Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, & International Economics (NYU ECON-UA 10, ECON-UA 12, & ECON-UA 238) or equivalents.

This course aims at offering a global perspective on development, long term change in the world economy, and the interaction between countries, regulatory systems and firms. Recent developments have changed completely the patterns of development and the relationships between developed and developing/emerging countries.
The focus of the course is on the shift of production to East Asia, on poverty and inequality, on the dynamics of international trade and investment, including changes in production patterns (outsourcing, offshoring, service offshoring), on the relationship between trade and economic growth, trade imbalances and protectionism, and on the impact of technological innovation on international competitiveness.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: Completion of Algebra and Calculus with a grade of C or higher or passing placement exam.

This course is only open to Economics Policy Majors and prospective majors.

Elements of calculus and linear algebra are important to the study of economics. This class is designed to provide the appropriate tools for study in the policy concentration. Examples and motivation are drawn from important topics in economics. Topics covered include derivatives of functions of one and several variables; interpretations of the derivatives; convexity; constrained and unconstrained optimization; series, including geometric and Taylor series; ordinary differential equations; matrix algebra; eigenvalues; and (possibly) dynamic optimization and multivariable integration.

This course introduces contemporary Italy in all its complexity and fascination. Reviewing politics, economics, society, and culture over the past two centuries, the course has a primary goal -- to consider how developments since the 1800s have influenced the lives and formed the outlook of today's Italians. In other words, we are engaged in the historical search for something quite elusive: Italian “identity”. Topics will include the unification of the country, national identity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the First World War, and Italian fascism, World War Two and the resistance, the post-war Italian Republic, the economic "miracle", the South, the Mafia, terrorism, popular culture, and the most recent political and social developments, including Italy and the European Union. Lectures combine with readings and films (taking advantage of Italy’s magnificent post-war cinema).

Sample Syllabus 

European cities are generally more sustainable in terms of resources and
waste management than their American counterparts. The ecological
footprint, that is, the proportion of material and energy consumed for the
daily needs of a single person, ranks a third to 50% less, while the quality of
life rates higher. This difference derives partly from the culture and density
coming from the pre-industrial origins of European cities and partly from a
conscientious effort by politicians and administrators to encourage
alternatives to reduce greenhouse gases.

On completion of this course, students should:
• A comparative knowledge of the issues and ethics of sustainability
• A critical purview of urbanism in 20th-21st-century Europe
• active research on the application of sustainable policies

Sample Syllabus

NOTE: This course meets in the center of Florence. Student should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

Students trace the birth, evolution, decline, revival, and most recent developments of Italian fashion from the Late Gothic Age to the present "made in Italy" design. Italian fashion styles are decoded in relation to art history in an international, social and economic context. Fashion and its connections with culture, subculture, gender and communication are emphasized. On-site visits also illustrate the dominating role of Florence in fashion from its origin until now. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist writers in both Britain and the United States were fascinated by Italy. The "Italy and Italians" of the title refers not only to images and characters in the works of the British and American authors we will be reading but also to their affinities with Italian literature. Recurring themes in the course will be history and its uses in literature, gender and sexuality, democracy and aristocracy, language and power, and religion as an instrument of sexual repression.

Sample Syllabus

This course is for Global Liberal Studies students only.

Course description coming soon.

The Renaissance began and reached maturity in Italy between 1350 and 1500. This course closely examines the political, economic, and social situations in Italy during this period, emphasizing the special conditions that produced Renaissance art and literature. The relationship between culture, society, and politics is studied in the case of Florence, in which the hegemony of the Medici house and its patronage brought the city to cultural leadership in the Western world. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

The course will illustrate the fundamental steps that marked the development of science and technology from the ancient world to the affirmation of modern science during the Scientific Revolution.

Sample Syllabus

This course introduces contemporary Italy in all its complexity and fascination. Reviewing politics, economics, society, and culture over the past two centuries, the course has a primary goal -- to consider how developments since the 1800s have influenced the lives and formed the outlook of today's Italians. In other words, we are engaged in the historical search for something quite elusive: Italian “identity”. Topics will include the unification of the country, national identity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the First World War, and Italian fascism, World War Two and the resistance, the post-war Italian Republic, the economic "miracle", the South, the Mafia, terrorism, popular culture, and the most recent political and social developments, including Italy and the European Union. Lectures combine with readings and films (taking advantage of Italy’s magnificent post-war cinema).

Sample Syllabus 

The first part of the course provides a general chronological overview of immigration history on both sides of the Atlantic from World War II to the present, including the legacy of World War II, the rise of the UN minority protection regime, the reform of discriminatory immigration law opening immigration to more diverse countries of origin, and the contribution of European decolonization and the US Civil Rights movement to transforming the political, juridical and cultural framework for immigration. The second part of the course the focus will shift away from macro-trends and meta-narratives to look more closely at the diverse mechanisms of integration of immigrant populations at the local level in selected US and European cities, investigating concrete examples of how the integration of immigrants took place in local education systems (inter cultural education curriculum, religious accommodation in the classroom) and the local labor market (specific attention to textile industry).

In addition to the Seminar, students will attend lectures in preparation for the conference, the conference itself and a special discussion/question and answer session with panelists. By the end of the semester students will have developed a better understanding of the historical factors that have contributed to the contemporary immigration debate and how the similarities and differences in the experience of and response to immigration in Europe and the United States has shaped the transatlantic dialogue on immigration.

NOTE: This course meets in the center of Florence. Student should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

The course will explore the unusually rich artistic and textual record of medieval holy people and places in Tuscany, and one site Umbria, Assisi. The goal of the course is to consider the intersection of popular religious expression, individual extraordinary lives, and the art and architecture produced by the society to celebrate its spiritual heroes. Students will be immersed in Italian medieval texts, art, and architecture as a means of understanding a vivid past which illuminates medieval civic pride and served as a springboard to the Italian Renaissance. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Next to many archives covering past centuries, Florence also hosts one of the most important archives for the study of contemporary history, namely the archive on the European Union. It is organizationally and academically linked to the European University Institute (EUI), also located in Florence, a top-level interdisciplinary graduate institute and think tank.

An archive on the EU represents a welcome challenge for history students, since it is not completely clear "what the EU is". It is neither a state in the traditional sense, nor is it limited to being an international organization. Whereas most forms of stateness in Europe and in the rest of the democratic world can be considered more or less stable, the EU is still a political actor in the making - and there is evidence that it will remain a moving target for historians, political scientists, law experts and economists for still many years to come. Thus, different from other archives, the archive on the EU does not contain documents and information on a historical process which is already completed, but which is and will still be ongoing.

Sample Syllabus

The course is a voyage through the fascinating and complex history and culture of the
Italian South, from the first half of the Nineteenth Century to the present day. Adopting
an interdisciplinary approach we will explore the rich patrimony of southern history, as
well as the violence of a society with neither rules nor justice.

Sample Syllabus

Obiettivo principale del corso è lo studio del panorama letterario dell’Italia del XIX e del  XX secolo con particolare attenzione alla lettura e all’analisi di alcune opere che rivestono un ruolo di particolare rilievo nella storia della letteratura italiana.  Il corso, condotto interamente in lingua italiana, prevede  lo studio dei principali scrittori e poeti della letteratura italiana dell’Ottocento e del Novecento e del contesto storico-culturale in cui sono inseriti.  Conducted in Italian.

Italian instruction will be offered for Italian Immersion students.

This course analyzes Dante's poetry in itself and as an object of translation and adaptation. The text of the Divine Comedy, a 14,000-line journey through the afterlife, will be studied in terms of its transmission and reception in contemporary culture. Emphasis will be put on Dante's influence on literature, art, music, media and film. The text is read in translation with references to the original Italian facing text. Conducted in English. 

Sample Syllabus

Italian instruction will be offered for Italian Immersion students.

Presents a study of post-World War II Italian politics and society in comparative and historical perspective. Seeks explanations of Italian political development in specific historical factors such as the 19th century patterns of state formation and the experience of fascism. Comparative analysis seeks to show how the social structure, political culture, and party systems have shaped Italy's distinct development. Current and recurrent political issues include the problem of integrating the south into the national economy and state response to social movements, particularly terrorism. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus 

This course introduces contemporary Italy in all its complexity and fascination. Reviewing politics, economics, society, and culture over the past two centuries, the course has a primary goal -- to consider how developments since the 1800s have influenced the lives and formed the outlook of today's Italians. In other words, we are engaged in the historical search for something quite elusive: Italian “identity”. Topics will include the unification of the country, national identity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the First World War, and Italian fascism, World War Two and the resistance, the post-war Italian Republic, the economic "miracle", the South, the Mafia, terrorism, popular culture, and the most recent political and social developments, including Italy and the European Union. Lectures combine with readings and films (taking advantage of Italy’s magnificent post-war cinema).

Sample Syllabus 

Urban culture is complex, fantastic, frightening, and a part of daily life, encompassing everything from the opera to street musicians, the public library to the piazza, the theater to local cafes and social clubs. This course, where cities are considered to be sources of cultural invention, explores through literature, history, social science and student experience, the evolution of high and popular culture, both modernist and post-modern. Emphasis will be placed on how cultures create bonds between specific interest groups, and how culture becomes the arena for acting out or resolving group conflict. This course will focus on Italian cities, including Florence. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

The course covers the evolution of Italian opera from its beginnings in Florence to the early 20th century with special emphasis on Monteverdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. The approach is multidisciplinary and aims at a comprehensive survey of the music theatre in the context of the Italian cultural heritage. Literary sources, musico-dramatic features, vocal styles are studied in connection with major works that best represent trends and genres in the Italian operatic tradition. Students are expected to master the distinctive characteristics of such genres as favola in musica, intermezzo, opera seria, opera buffa, grand opera, dramma lirico, and the basic elements of Italian versification. Students listen to and watch recorded operas and attend performances in Florence or other Italian cities. Conducted in English

Sample Syllabus

NOTE: This course meets in the center of Florence. Student should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

Students trace the birth, evolution, decline, revival, and most recent developments of Italian fashion from the Late Gothic Age to the present "made in Italy" design. Italian fashion styles are decoded in relation to art history in an international, social and economic context. Fashion and its connections with culture, subculture, gender and communication are emphasized. On-site visits also illustrate the dominating role of Florence in fashion from its origin until now. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

This course presents an investigation on the transformations of political communications in period between the so-called Italian "Second Republic", dominated by the larger-than-life and ubiquitous presence of media tycoon and sports entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi, and the recent emergence
of Internet-based political movement Movimento Cinque Stelle (Five Stars Movement), led by former stand-up comedian and prominent blogger Beppe Grillo. In the course, students will be introduced to the main political and cultural features of this period, spanning two decades, that has witnessed a high level of interpenetration between the political sphere and the media sphere, with a constant interchange of cultural, financial and institutional dynamics. 

This course provides a thorough introduction to the international system for the protection of human rights and the preconditions under which it functions at international and national levels. The course aims to develop the students' interest in, and knowledge of, international human rights; to explore human rights theory and practice; to introduce various human rights conventions and mechanisms, particularly the United Nations system; and to provide advanced instruction in several key aspects of international human rights, including the effects of globalisation on human rights, the question of the universality / cultural-specificity of human rights, and the so-called 'interdependence' of various human rights.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: Completion of Algebra and Calculus with a grade of C or higher or passing placement exam.

This course is only open to Economics Policy Majors and prospective majors.

Elements of calculus and linear algebra are important to the study of economics. This class is designed to provide the appropriate tools for study in the policy concentration. Examples and motivation are drawn from important topics in economics. Topics covered include derivatives of functions of one and several variables; interpretations of the derivatives; convexity; constrained and unconstrained optimization; series, including geometric and Taylor series; ordinary differential equations; matrix algebra; eigenvalues; and (possibly) dynamic optimization and multivariable integration.

This course presents an investigation on the transformations of political communications in period between the so-called Italian "Second Republic", dominated by the larger-than-life and ubiquitous presence of media tycoon and sports entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi, and the recent emergence
of Internet-based political movement Movimento Cinque Stelle (Five Stars Movement), led by former stand-up comedian and prominent blogger Beppe Grillo. In the course, students will be introduced to the main political and cultural features of this period, spanning two decades, that has witnessed a high level of interpenetration between the political sphere and the media sphere, with a constant interchange of cultural, financial and institutional dynamics. 

The Renaissance began and reached maturity in Italy between 1350 and 1500. This course closely examines the political, economic, and social situations in Italy during this period, emphasizing the special conditions that produced Renaissance art and literature. The relationship between culture, society, and politics is studied in the case of Florence, in which the hegemony of the Medici house and its patronage brought the city to cultural leadership in the Western world. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Popular cultural themes and theology in the Middle Ages will be explored. We will study the shaping of the concept of witchcraft from the Canon episcopi to the bull "Super illius specula". We will go on to the Inquisition: from the repression of Catholicism to the attack of the "sect of Diana," the bull "Magnis desiderantes" (1484) and the Malleus maleficarum (1486). The foundations of the witch hunt of the 16th Century will be explored, as well as the exercise of political virtues and the divine mission of the individual. We will conclude with the decadence of religious life and of civic liberties in the second half of the century. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Urban culture is complex, fantastic, frightening, and a part of daily life, encompassing everything from the opera to street musicians, the public library to the piazza, the theater to local cafes and social clubs. This course, where cities are considered to be sources of cultural invention, explores through literature, history, social science and student experience, the evolution of high and popular culture, both modernist and post-modern. Emphasis will be placed on how cultures create bonds between specific interest groups, and how culture becomes the arena for acting out or resolving group conflict. This course will focus on Italian cities, including Florence. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

The course covers the evolution of Italian opera from its beginnings in Florence to the early 20th century with special emphasis on Monteverdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. The approach is multidisciplinary and aims at a comprehensive survey of the music theatre in the context of the Italian cultural heritage. Literary sources, musico-dramatic features, vocal styles are studied in connection with major works that best represent trends and genres in the Italian operatic tradition. Students are expected to master the distinctive characteristics of such genres as favola in musica, intermezzo, opera seria, opera buffa, grand opera, dramma lirico, and the basic elements of Italian versification. Students listen to and watch recorded operas and attend performances in Florence or other Italian cities. Conducted in English

Sample Syllabus

 A digital SLR camera is required.

NOTE: This course meets in the center of Florence. Students should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

The course Photojournalism: Exploring Italian Society focuses on the contemporary life of Florence, a city best known as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but that is also a European city attempting to rise to the challenges that currently confront other urban environments throughout Europe and the world. The course draws its strengths from the unique resources of the program and the city of Florence. From Italian labor protests, to commemoration of historic events, to immigrant populations, mass transit and tourism, Florence has many compelling contemporary visual stories to tell. Students have the unique opportunity to capture these issues in images.

Sample Syllabus

This course will introduce students to the study of comparative politics, which is defined as the study of domestic politics anywhere in the world.  As a way of cutting into this vast topic, we specifically focus on the process of democratic transition by analyzing the democratic revolution that has swept the globe during the last thirty-five years. In turn we will explore the causes of democratization, threats to democratization, and factors that may aid in a successful consolidation of democracy. As part of this process, students will be exposed to a wide range of topics in comparative politics, including theories of democratic transitions, the politics of economic reform, voting, parties, and electoral systems, and theories of ethnic conflict.

Please note: this course fulfills the requirement for a “core” course for Politics majors, the first time such a course has been offered at NYU-Florence, and is taught by Professor Tucker, who normally teaches the course in New York. As such, it is to date the only opportunity *anywhere* to take a politics core course in a small class format.  As an introductory course, it is also perfectly appropriate for non-politics majors as well.

Sample Syllabus

Comparative study of the main features of Western European political systems, with a special attention to current politics. Analyzes both political institutions and societal groups, referring to the social and political history of the single countries. Presents challenges and changes in today’s Western European democracies. Attempts to introduce the basic concepts and categories of comparative political analysis. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus 

The European Union is a unique and strange entity.  It has 27 states and 500 million people. Its GNP is more or less equal to that of the USA. Many of its members share a common currency and a common monetary policy.  Yet it is a union without a state. The spectacular progress in the area of economic integration has not been matched by the creation of a common government and a common identity.  The economic giant is still a political dwarf as it has been confirmed time and again whenever there is an international crisis,. Yet so far this strange entity has been working. Its achievements in the economic arena have been remarkable. The course will analyze in an interdisciplinary fashion the making of the Union, its institutions, its policies and its prospects in the very challenging environment of today.  Probably more so than in any other period in its history the survival of the Union, as we have known it, will be tested by the impact of the most serious crisis of the post-war period.  Particular attention will be given to the new economic governance established by the Union in responding to the problems posed by the poor economic and financial performance of some of its members, i.e. the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain). Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Italian instruction will be offered for Italian Immersion students.

Presents a study of post-World War II Italian politics and society in comparative and historical perspective. Seeks explanations of Italian political development in specific historical factors such as the 19th century patterns of state formation and the experience of fascism. Comparative analysis seeks to show how the social structure, political culture, and party systems have shaped Italy's distinct development. Current and recurrent political issues include the problem of integrating the south into the national economy and state response to social movements, particularly terrorism. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus 

In our society the need for deep understanding of what is going on translates into a need to keep track what has happened, how to outline trends, plan the future knowing the present or the past. We have all heard about demographic pressure, social policies, health care planning, inflation, market volatility: these are all concepts which rely heavily on statistical information. Changes have to be managed properly and in an informed way: scientific experiments be they on a medicine, on fertilizer or airbags must be planned as to ensure their validity. Total quality in production is a statistics-based philosophy of management, and if you like a commercial it is also because a statistician has provided information about consumer tastes and behaviour. In this course we will provide an introduction to the tools of statistics but most importantly we will try and understand the rationale behind statistics.

Sample Syllabus

This course explores the role of the US in Europe from the end of World War II to the present with a particular emphasis on understanding the sources of cooperation and conflict. The topics covered in the first part will include the US vision of the new international order, the end of the old European balance of power, the Cold War and the division of Europe, the building of the Western alliance, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. The second part of the course will concentrate on contemporary issues ranging from the evolution of NATO to trade relations and the role of the dollar and the euro in the international monetary system. Particular attention will also be given to the challenges posed by the ‘war on terror’, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus 

NOTE: This course meets in the center of Florence. Student should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

The course will explore the unusually rich artistic and textual record of medieval holy people and places in Tuscany, and one site Umbria, Assisi. The goal of the course is to consider the intersection of popular religious expression, individual extraordinary lives, and the art and architecture produced by the society to celebrate its spiritual heroes. Students will be immersed in Italian medieval texts, art, and architecture as a means of understanding a vivid past which illuminates medieval civic pride and served as a springboard to the Italian Renaissance. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Popular cultural themes and theology in the Middle Ages will be explored. We will study the shaping of the concept of witchcraft from the Canon episcopi to the bull "Super illius specula". We will go on to the Inquisition: from the repression of Catholicism to the attack of the "sect of Diana," the bull "Magnis desiderantes" (1484) and the Malleus maleficarum (1486). The foundations of the witch hunt of the 16th Century will be explored, as well as the exercise of political virtues and the divine mission of the individual. We will conclude with the decadence of religious life and of civic liberties in the second half of the century. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus

Prof. M. Ciacci
One of the aims of this course is to prompt students to understand the workings of the many cultural rules that keep shaping their own personal identity. It will be a matter of trying to define oneself in a new cultural environment; finding the ordinary in the apparently exotic setting while disembedding its underlying patterns; assessing the extent to which being a “foreigner” may (or may not) help as an interpretive tool for cultural experience. The topic of food, its different meanings and varying relationships to the human body, is going to be used as a case-study through which cultural processes may be nicely seen at work. By the end of the semester, students are expected to develop an individual research project that should prove their skills at decoding some of the cultural phenomena to which they have been exposed during their stay abroad.

Sample Syllabus 

Course description coming soon.

In our society the need for deep understanding of what is going on translates into a need to keep track what has happened, how to outline trends, plan the future knowing the present or the past. We have all heard about demographic pressure, social policies, health care planning, inflation, market volatility: these are all concepts which rely heavily on statistical information. Changes have to be managed properly and in an informed way: scientific experiments be they on a medicine, on fertilizer or airbags must be planned as to ensure their validity. Total quality in production is a statistics-based philosophy of management, and if you like a commercial it is also because a statistician has provided information about consumer tastes and behaviour. In this course we will provide an introduction to the tools of statistics but most importantly we will try and understand the rationale behind statistics.

Sample Syllabus

This course will introduce students to the study of criminal organizations in Italy and abroad. Analysis of real-world data over the last decades, such as court proceedings and crime statistics, dismisses many of the accepted myths about Italian mafias. We will explore the organization of mafia groups, rules and codes, activities both in legitimate business and illegal markets, and their relationship to politics. This comparative approach will help students identify those factors facilitating the emergence, migration and persistence of organized crime across countries. The course will include a review of the legislative efforts and best-practices designed to prevent and control organized crime in Italy and in the United States.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: ITAL-UA 11, ITAL-UA 12, Intermediate Italian I & II; or ITAL-UA 20, Intensive Intermediate Italian

Intensive review of Italian grammar through written and oral exercises, conversations, compositions, translation, and readings from contemporary Italian literature. Conducted in Italian.

Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: ITAL-UA 30, Advanced Review of Modern Italian

Students entering the course should have mastered the fundamental structure of Italian. The course is designed to help students gain confidence and increase their effectiveness in speaking present-day Italian. Through discussions, oral reports, and readings, students develop vocabulary in a variety of topics, improve pronunciation, and learn an extensive range of idiomatic expressions. Conducted in Italian.

Sample Syllabus 

Italian instruction will be offered for Italian Immersion students.

Presents a study of post-World War II Italian politics and society in comparative and historical perspective. Seeks explanations of Italian political development in specific historical factors such as the 19th century patterns of state formation and the experience of fascism. Comparative analysis seeks to show how the social structure, political culture, and party systems have shaped Italy's distinct development. Current and recurrent political issues include the problem of integrating the south into the national economy and state response to social movements, particularly terrorism. Conducted in English.

Sample Syllabus