Spring 2023

Students will gain understanding of basic messages in simple oral and written material containing standard phrases (questions, high-frequency commands, and courtesy formulae) and some sentence-length expressions, supported by proper context and presented in a clear and plain language. They will be able to acquire key information in the listening and reading of brief, simple, authentic material (i.e. directions, maps, timetable and advertisements), and have a fair understanding of messages of short standard Italian conversations in a limited number of content areas, presented in a clearly audible (and occasionally slowed) speech. Their understanding will include present events and very simple events in the past, presented clearly and in the context of familiar topics.

Students will be able to engage in basic conversation relying mainly on ready-made expressions and on short phrases and to respond to open-ended questions as well as to initiate communication on familiar topics, even without being able to continue the conversation in an autonomous way. Stronger emphasis will be given on communicative situations involving first and second person; writing activities will include simple autobiographical information, brief messages, simple forms and lists, where pertinent vocabulary and structure are provided.

Extensive Elementary Italian I - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Extensive Elem I

Students will gain understanding of oral and written communication on a variety of topics, ranging from personal routine, taste and hobbies to include family, fashion and food. 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 standard Italian conversations on a variety of familiar topics, including present and past events, presented in a clearly audible speech.

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 to initiate communication on these topics, despite not having the skills to continue the conversation in an autonomous way. They will be able to give and follow directions, instructions and commands. Stronger emphasis will be on communicative situations involving first and second person, while 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.

Extensive Elementary Italian II - Sample syllabus

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.

Intensive Elementary 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, ranging from basic routine tasks to travel, shopping, cultural customs and events in the past, present and future. They will appreciate the increasingly elaborate expression of personal wishes, feelings and hopes. Students will recognize key information in the reading and listening of authentic material, provided it is clearly presented and structured, and will begin to understand advanced texts featuring narration and description of events.

Students will be able to handle a large range of conversation tasks and standard
social situations. They will be able to interact beyond their mere immediate needs, discussing in some depth topics such as leisure activities, professional goals and personal taste; skills in oral presentation will begin to solidify, as students will sustain a general conversation and be understood. Narrative skills are limited but begin to emerge. Students will be able to write short letter

Extensive Intermediate Italian I - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Extensive Interm I

Students will gain understanding of oral and written material on various topics, 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 with a clear structure, and will also be able to some extent to infer and extract from the material information which at first is only implicit. The understanding of material focusing on the expression of personal thoughts and feelings will progress to include increasingly sophisticated nuances.

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 and make comparisons and hypotheses. Presentation skills will solidify; skills in narrating in paragraphs will emerge and develop in a creative direction. Students will be able to write letters and short stories and demonstrate limited command of sentence syntax.

Extensive Intermediate Italian II - Sample syllabus.

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.

Intensive Intermediate Italian - Sample Syllabus

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

The course is an intensive review of Italian grammar. Classes are three times a week. The aim of the course is to develop the knowledge of morphosyntactic structures of the Italian language, and to also reinforce intercultural competence. Class work consists of both written and spoken activities, conversations, and papers and readings related to a wide range of different genres (newspaper articles, magazines, extracts from contemporary Italian literature). All of the activities are primarily aimed to promote the usage of Italian language in real situations. Conducted in Italian.

Advanced Review of Modern Italian - ITAL-UA 9030 - Sample Syllabus

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

Conversations in Italian may be taken in conjunction with Italian Language through Cinema or Creative Writing.

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.

Conversations in Italian - Sample Syllabus

Pre-Requisite: Advanced Review of Modern Italian ITAL-UA 30 or equivalent.

Creative Writing may be taken in conjunction with Conversations in 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 writing present-day Italian. Conducted in Italian.

Creative Writing in Italian - Sample Syllabus

We are constantly reminded by current events that the assumption about Man being endowed with the unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is far from self-evident for a large number of people. Humans still experience refugee crises, forced migration, war crimes, genocide, indiscriminate prison regimes, forms of contemporary slavery, torture, censorship, violation of privacy and free speech, discrimination based on individual attributes such as education, income, gender, race and disabilities in spite of two hundred and fifty years of Universal Rights discourse. Yet would we be able to identify these plights of Man in the absence of universal human rights principles? And to what extent the universalistic scope of these rights is the result of a common ground among different cultures or is a beacon of domination? This course focuses on Human Rights in principle and the current international Human Rights regime that is being criticised for its apparent ineffectiveness in handling humanitarian crisis.

The course aims to familiarize the students with the mechanisms by which Human Rights emerge, are advocated, implemented, enforced, and criticised highlighting open questions as to the future of the current international Human Rights regime. The underlying ambition of the course is to provide the students with a critical framework to address Human Rights from the perspective of the Social Sciences rather than the dominant legalist frame on this topic.

Topics in Law and Society:  International Human Rights - 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.

The Politics of Organized Crime: Italian Mafias in a Comparative Perspective - Sample Syllabus

NOTE: Students should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

This course explores urban experience in Italy from two distinct perspectives, the historical and the theoretical.

We will start with a historical overview of the evolution of the urban environment in Italy.  This overview will extends from ancient and roman times to the (re-)birth of towns by the year 1000, when various towns identified themselves around their piazzas, churches, streets, and within their walls, to the evolution of Italian towns in modern times, the changes in size and organization, the emergence of new spaces and new functions, and the emergence of new institutions such as Cafes, Museums, Train Station.  The focus of these first lectures will be on the city of Florence.

The second dimension of the course, which will be articulated at two levels, will reflect upon the way in which we conceptualize, represent and construct discourses about cities in modern times. Firstly, we will make an exploration of some texts, concepts that have contributed to shaping our way to understand modern cities. We will also explore the various possible positioning of the self towards the city, the “seer”, the “Flaneur” the Stroller”, and we will investigate how the bodies of these subjects is then constituted.  Secondly, we’ll go through some discourses and representations of the city: maps, views, panoramas points, travel literature, tourist guides and narrative literature (e.g. detective novel) will provide with quite different ways to tell of (and relate to) the experience of the Italian and specifically Florentine urban environment."

Culture of the City: Italian Urban Life - 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).

Modern Italy - Sample Syllabus

NOTE: Students should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

Intro to Drawing I is a process-oriented studio art class that takes place in and around Villa La Pietra. Perception and gaze are the fundamentals for the production and reception of drawings. Students will learn to differentiate between ‘customary perception’ (what one thinks he sees) and ‘aesthetic perception’ (what one actually sees).

Students will develop basic drawing skills including the use of line, proportion, contrast and perspective while exploring mark-making with different drawing mediums such as pencil, charcoal and ink. Along with the production of drawings, students will discuss their own work as well as the artworks of fellow students. Readings, slide shows and museum visits support the studio practice and enhance critical reception. Groundwork for the development of an individual drawing style will be set. Regular drawing exercises and attendance are crucial to succeeding in the class.

Drawing I for Non-Majors - 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.

Prerequisite: ARTH-UA 0002 (History of Western Art II), or ARTH-UA 0005 (Renaissance Art), or AP Art History score of 5, or permission of the instructor. Students in the Art History Dept: This course counts for Advanced Renaissance/Baroque credit.

This course is conceived as a focused study of the works of Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo, the men whose careers largely defined the concept of Western artistic genius. Particular consideration will also be given to their Florentine contemporaries and followers in order to take advantage of the opportunity to the study these original works on site. Renaissance art cannot be divorced from its times; thus, much attention will be given to contemporary history, especially Florentine politics and politics in Papal Rome. Special attention will also be given to the evolution of drawing practice in sixteenth-century Italy, an essential development for the changes that took place in the conception of works of art over the course of the century.

The Age of Leonardo, Raphael, and Michaelangelo - 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 in the Art History Dept: This course counts for Urban Design credit and Art History elective credit.

To provide the student with an awareness and appreciation of gardens and landscapes of Tuscany from early Roman precedents to the 21st century. The design of the Italian landscape and garden is studied as a means of cultural communication--an expression of a society's values, philosophy and understanding of the environment. Emphasis is placed on historic precedent, sustainable design techniques utilized in Italian gardens and classic Renaissance design concepts. The format includes lectures, class presentations and field trips. Conducted in English.

The Gardens and Landscapes of Tuscany - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: Must be a second semester First-Year student or have sophomore or above standing to enroll. If you are a second semester First-Year student, email global.academics@nyu.edu for a permission number.

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.

Principles of Financial Accounting - ACCT-UB 9001 - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: Requires sophomore and above standing

This course evaluates marketing as a system for the satisfaction of human wants and a catalyst of business activity. It presents a comprehensive framework that includes a) researching and analyzing customers, company, competition, and the marketing environment, b) identifying and targeting attractive segments with strategic positioning, and c) making product, pricing, communication, and distribution decisions. Cases and examples are utilized to develop problem-solving abilities.

Introduction to Marketing - Sample Syllabus

Prerequisite: Requires sophomore and above standing

Investigates the nature, functions, and responsibilities of the management of organizations. Develops an analytical approach to the identification, structuring, analysis, and solution of organizational problems. Introduces the student to organizational policies and structures, functional areas, and production processes (including resource allocation, measurement and evaluation, and control), leadership style, and organizational adaptation and evolution. Teaching methodologies include lectures, case analysis, and class discussion.

Management and Organizations - Sample syllabus

This course is only open to Stern students.

Prerequisite: Requires sophomore and above standing

In this course, students learn how to increase their communication effectiveness for business and professional goals. During the semester, students focus on the strategic implications of communication for modern organizations. A variety of assignments are given to stress the following communication competencies: written, spoken and nonverbal communication basics for business; effective team communication strategies; informative, persuasive and collaborative presentations; communication techniques for required junior and senior year projects. Students regularly receive personal feedback about their writing and their oral presentations from instructors and staff.

Organizational Communication and its Social Context - Sample Syllabus

Co-requisite: Enrollment in a screening time.

The Italian Cinema is a good way to study the whole Italian history, society, ideology and behaviours. The students will have the opportunity to know such authors as Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini, Antonioni, Visconti, Pasolini, Bertolucci, who are well known in the US.

The course will also focus on the difference between auteur films and genre films (comedy, roman-mythological, western, melodrama); it will stress the gender point of view, the problem of a national identity, the role of the film industry. Strong attention will be paid to the relationship between Italian film and literature, art history, television and other disciplines. Conducted in English.

History of Italian Cinema (Lecture and Screening) - Sample Syllabus

The course explores various historical periods that are essential for understanding current debates about Italian national identity. Starting with the emergence of Florence as an independent commune in the Middle Ages, the course explores various “revivals” of antiquity, to identify the distinct ways in which ancient culture was made to serve social and political ends. Special attention is given to the exploitation of antiquity during the Risorgimento and the Unification of Italy and subsequently during the Fascist period, especially in relation to the transformation of Rome into the nation’s capital during the Risorgimento and subsequently by the Fascists.

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.

Topics in 19th Century Literature: Italy and Italians in English Literature from the Romantics to Modernism - Sample Syllabus

This course is not open to NYU Stern students.

Prerequisites: Pre-calculus or equivalent level of mathematical training

This introductory course provides students with a basic understanding of fundamental (macro)economic theories. The course is concerned with the definition and the theory of determination of national income, employment, business fluctuations, and price level. It also introduces students to the functions
of money in a fractional-reserve banking system. The concepts of economic "circular flow”, national income accounting, unemployment, inflation, government taxation and spending and money will be defined, explained and discussed. Finally instruments, functioning and effectiveness of both monetary and fiscal policy aimed to stabilize prices and maintain high levels of output and employment are discussed in the current macroeconomic context of major world economies.

Introduction to Macroeconomics  - Sample Syllabus

This course is not open to NYU Stern students.

Prerequisites: Pre-calculus or equivalent level of mathematical training

This course provides a survey of microeconomic issues at introductory level. We will make use of theories and empirical examples to understand key aspects of the significant changes that take place in the world economies. We will explore a wide range of economic phenomena including poverty and income distribution, firms' market power and costs structure, firms' investments and business strategies, the role of antitrust law and regulation. Every piece of theory is related to applications so as to offer a continuing sense of the relevance of theory to reality. Conducted in English.

Introduction to Microeconomics - Sample syllabus.

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. We shall also examine the discussion on the EU- US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and EU development policies since EU is the main donor worldwide.

Economics of European Integration - Sample Syllabus

This course is not open to NYU Stern students.

Prerequisites: Introduction to Macroeconomics (ECON-UA 1) and Introduction to Microeconomics (ECON-UA 2), or Introduction to Economic Analysis (ECON-UA 5) or equivalents.

This course 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 will help us understand 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.

Money and Banking - Sample Syllabus

This course is not open to NYU Stern students except for students in the BPE Program.

Prerequisites: ECON-UA 1: Intro to Macroeconomics (or equivalent course or AP MACROECONOMICS WITH SCORE OF 4 OR 5) and ECON-UA 2: Intro to Microeconomics (or equivalent course or AP MICROECONOMICS WITH SCORE OF 4 OR 5)

The field of International Economics is traditionally divided into two parts. First,“International Trade,” the microeconomic part, attempts to answer questions arising from trade in goods and services. For example: how does trade arise among nations? Which nations will trade with each other, and which goods and services will they trade? How does trade impact different groups within a country, and how does government policy alter these impacts? Second, “International Finance,” the macroeconomic part, attempts to answer questions arising from global financial markets and their impact on macroeconomic activity. For example, how are currency exchange rates determined? How do changes in exchange rates affect economic aggregates, such as a country’s trade deficit? This course will cover both parts and give a broad picture of economic interdependences among nations.

International Economics - 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).

Modern Italy - 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.

Topics in 19th Century Literature: Italy and Italians in English Literature from the Romantics to Modernism - Sample Syllabus

This course is linked via video conference with a section  running concurrently in NYC (HBRJD-UA 200). 

This course explores the interactions of Jews and other Western Europeans after World War II, noting their interlocking histories and memories even after the Holocaust. Students will learn about Western European Jewish life from Emancipation through the early 20th century, the Holocaust and the immediate postwar turmoil especially in Germany, Italy and France. They will analyze how Italians, Germans -- East and West – and French citizens did or did not come to terms with the Fascist and Nazi past. They will study Jewish perspectives on their lives in Europe, including those of the Displaced Persons, but also those of Jews who chose to stay in their homelands. The class will learn why these Jews remained, how they experienced their citizenship, and how they interacted with non-Jews. Readings will analyze Jewish memories and memory cultures in a variety of nations and segments of society. Assignments look at conflicting European and Jewish historical memories, including the general silence about the Holocaust of the early postwar years, the Jewish demand for reparations, the attractions of Israel for some Jews, and the growing acknowledgement of the Holocaust in political culture as well as the building of museums and monuments about Jewish history and the Holocaust.

History of the Jews in 20th Century Europe: Comparative Perspectives-Italy, Germany, and France - Sample Syllabus

This course presents an overview of the political, social, and cultural history of Italy from roughly 1300 to 1600. Its aim is to provide students with a basic understanding of the forces and processes that shaped the states and the societies of the Italian peninsula in an era of extraordinary changes: from the developments of urban civilization and the rise of humanism in the fourteenth and early fifteenth century, to the political and religious crisis of the late Quattrocento and early Cinquecento, and finally to the establishment of a new balance of power and a new cultural climate in the course of the sixteenth century. Conducted in English.

Italy During the Renaissance - Sample Syllabus

This four-credit course explores the interplay between migration history and the environment. By adopting a theme-based approach, the course will tackle some of the most compelling issues pertaining to the various ways in which migrants transform nature and, conversely, are influenced by the environment. Identity and belonging, gender and race, healthy and disposable bodies, landscapes and cultures: all these themes, examined in their interplay with nation-states’ and supernational entities’ politics and policies regulating human mobility are at the center of migration processes. By adopting a transdisciplinary approach, such as the one offered by the environmental humanities, the course will offer an overview of the latest research on modern and contemporary Environmental History of Migration (EHM).

The positioning of Italy in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the central import of both emigration and immigration in the history of the Bel Paese — especially from its unification in the 1860s onwards — constitute a privileged standpoint from where to globally scrutinize the role of migration and its interplay with environmental change and socio-cultural transformation up until the present-day. Through the lenses of EHM, the course will touch upon settler and colonial environments, ruderal natures, urban political ecology, scientific and medical discourses pertaining to labor and political migrants, processes of racialization, and gender discrimination. Furthermore, the course will discuss the complex links between climate change, environmental depletion and migration processes and the role of globalization in agricultural and ecological crises, as well as policies and political discourses regulating cultural heritage and memory in the context of the Anthropocene.

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. In Italy and in Italian Studies, the 'Southern Question' evokes the powerful image of two profoundly different Italies. We will investigate the disparities between the North and the South, devoting special consideration to the origins, causes and the consequences of this divide as well as to the economic and political interests of the elite who ruled the country.

The Italian South - 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).

Modern Italy - 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.

Italian Politics - Sample syllabus

NOTE: Students should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

This course explores urban experience in Italy from two distinct perspectives, the historical and the theoretical.

We will start with a historical overview of the evolution of the urban environment in Italy.  This overview will extends from ancient and roman times to the (re-)birth of towns by the year 1000, when various towns identified themselves around their piazzas, churches, streets, and within their walls, to the evolution of Italian towns in modern times, the changes in size and organization, the emergence of new spaces and new functions, and the emergence of new institutions such as Cafes, Museums, Train Station.  The focus of these first lectures will be on the city of Florence.

The second dimension of the course, which will be articulated at two levels, will reflect upon the way in which we conceptualize, represent and construct discourses about cities in modern times. Firstly, we will make an exploration of some texts, concepts that have contributed to shaping our way to understand modern cities. We will also explore the various possible positioning of the self towards the city, the “seer”, the “Flaneur” the Stroller”, and we will investigate how the bodies of these subjects is then constituted.  Secondly, we’ll go through some discourses and representations of the city: maps, views, panoramas points, travel literature, tourist guides and narrative literature (e.g. detective novel) will provide with quite different ways to tell of (and relate to) the experience of the Italian and specifically Florentine urban environment."

Culture of the City: Italian Urban Life - 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 in the Art History Dept: This course counts for Urban Design credit and Art History elective credit.

To provide the student with an awareness and appreciation of gardens and landscapes of Tuscany from early Roman precedents to the 21st century. The design of the Italian landscape and garden is studied as a means of cultural communication--an expression of a society's values, philosophy and understanding of the environment. Emphasis is placed on historic precedent, sustainable design techniques utilized in Italian gardens and classic Renaissance design concepts. The format includes lectures, class presentations and field trips. Conducted in English.

The Gardens and Landscapes of Tuscany - Sample Syllabus

This course presents an investigation on how civil society activism evolved in Italy and in Eastern and Western political regimes over the last 30 years, with a special emphasis on the use that civil society activists made of media outlets (i.e. television, radio, newspapers, and digital media). In the course, students will be introduced to the transformations introduced in current political regimes (both democratic and authoritarian) by media activism, and they will develop a closer understanding and a critical view of the Italian and international media-politics-civil society conundrums.

Global Media Seminar: Media Activism and Democracy - 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).

Modern Italy - Sample Syllabus

We are constantly reminded by current events that the assumption about Man being endowed with the unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is far from self-evident for a large number of people. Humans still experience refugee crises, forced migration, war crimes, genocide, indiscriminate prison regimes, forms of contemporary slavery, torture, censorship, violation of privacy and free speech, discrimination based on individual attributes such as education, income, gender, race and disabilities in spite of two hundred and fifty years of Universal Rights discourse. Yet would we be able to identify these plights of Man in the absence of universal human rights principles? And to what extent the universalistic scope of these rights is the result of a common ground among different cultures or is a beacon of domination? This course focuses on Human Rights in principle and the current international Human Rights regime that is being criticised for its apparent ineffectiveness in handling humanitarian crisis.

The course aims to familiarize the students with the mechanisms by which Human Rights emerge, are advocated, implemented, enforced, and criticised highlighting open questions as to the future of the current international Human Rights regime. The underlying ambition of the course is to provide the students with a critical framework to address Human Rights from the perspective of the Social Sciences rather than the dominant legalist frame on this topic.

Topics in Law and Society:  International Human Rights - Sample Syllabus

This course presents an investigation on how civil society activism evolved in Italy and in Eastern and Western political regimes over the last 30 years, with a special emphasis on the use that civil society activists made of media outlets (i.e. television, radio, newspapers, and digital media). In the course, students will be introduced to the transformations introduced in current political regimes (both democratic and authoritarian) by media activism, and they will develop a closer understanding and a critical view of the Italian and international media-politics-civil society conundrums.

Global Media Seminar: Media Activism and Democracy - Sample Syllabus

This course presents an overview of the political, social, and cultural history of Italy from roughly 1300 to 1600. Its aim is to provide students with a basic understanding of the forces and processes that shaped the states and the societies of the Italian peninsula in an era of extraordinary changes: from the developments of urban civilization and the rise of humanism in the fourteenth and early fifteenth century, to the political and religious crisis of the late Quattrocento and early Cinquecento, and finally to the establishment of a new balance of power and a new cultural climate in the course of the sixteenth century. Conducted in English.

Italy During the Renaissance - Sample Syllabus

This course is made up of four sections. The first opens with an analysis of the intellectual foundations of the witch-hunt from late Antiquity to the early Renaissance. The second section concentrates on the most infamous handbook for witch-hunters, Malleus Maleficarum (“The Hammer of the Witches”) and on the roots of medieval misogyny. The third section looks at the mass witch-hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on the backdrop of the break between Protestant and Catholic Europe, and examines the connections linking witch-hunting to the momentous social, political and religious changes of the times. In the fourth part, the course will shift focus to the grassroots level, shedding light on the economic and social mechanisms which lead a community to “make a witch”.

Magic, Religion & Inquisition - Sample Syllabus

NOTE: Students should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

This course explores urban experience in Italy from two distinct perspectives, the historical and the theoretical.

We will start with a historical overview of the evolution of the urban environment in Italy.  This overview will extends from ancient and roman times to the (re-)birth of towns by the year 1000, when various towns identified themselves around their piazzas, churches, streets, and within their walls, to the evolution of Italian towns in modern times, the changes in size and organization, the emergence of new spaces and new functions, and the emergence of new institutions such as Cafes, Museums, Train Station.  The focus of these first lectures will be on the city of Florence.

The second dimension of the course, which will be articulated at two levels, will reflect upon the way in which we conceptualize, represent and construct discourses about cities in modern times. Firstly, we will make an exploration of some texts, concepts that have contributed to shaping our way to understand modern cities. We will also explore the various possible positioning of the self towards the city, the “seer”, the “Flaneur” the Stroller”, and we will investigate how the bodies of these subjects is then constituted.  Secondly, we’ll go through some discourses and representations of the city: maps, views, panoramas points, travel literature, tourist guides and narrative literature (e.g. detective novel) will provide with quite different ways to tell of (and relate to) the experience of the Italian and specifically Florentine urban environment."

Culture of the City: Italian Urban Life - Sample Syllabus

This course presents an overview of the political, social, and cultural history of Italy from roughly 1300 to 1600. Its aim is to provide students with a basic understanding of the forces and processes that shaped the states and the societies of the Italian peninsula in an era of extraordinary changes: from the developments of urban civilization and the rise of humanism in the fourteenth and early fifteenth century, to the political and religious crisis of the late Quattrocento and early Cinquecento, and finally to the establishment of a new balance of power and a new cultural climate in the course of the sixteenth century. Conducted in English.

Italy During the Renaissance - Sample Syllabus

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.

A DSLR or mirrorless camera with manually adjustable aperture and speed is required for this course.

Photojournalism: Exploring Italian Society - 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.

Italian Politics - Sample syllabus

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. We shall also examine the discussion on the EU- US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and EU development policies since EU is the main donor worldwide.

Economics of European Integration - 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.

United States & European Union Relations since WWII - Sample Syllabus

We are constantly reminded by current events that the assumption about Man being endowed with the unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is far from self-evident for a large number of people. Humans still experience refugee crises, forced migration, war crimes, genocide, indiscriminate prison regimes, forms of contemporary slavery, torture, censorship, violation of privacy and free speech, discrimination based on individual attributes such as education, income, gender, race and disabilities in spite of two hundred and fifty years of Universal Rights discourse. Yet would we be able to identify these plights of Man in the absence of universal human rights principles? And to what extent the universalistic scope of these rights is the result of a common ground among different cultures or is a beacon of domination? This course focuses on Human Rights in principle and the current international Human Rights regime that is being criticised for its apparent ineffectiveness in handling humanitarian crisis.

The course aims to familiarize the students with the mechanisms by which Human Rights emerge, are advocated, implemented, enforced, and criticised highlighting open questions as to the future of the current international Human Rights regime. The underlying ambition of the course is to provide the students with a critical framework to address Human Rights from the perspective of the Social Sciences rather than the dominant legalist frame on this topic.

Topics in Law and Society:  International Human Rights - Sample Syllabus

This course is made up of four sections. The first opens with an analysis of the intellectual foundations of the witch-hunt from late Antiquity to the early Renaissance. The second section concentrates on the most infamous handbook for witch-hunters, Malleus Maleficarum (“The Hammer of the Witches”) and on the roots of medieval misogyny. The third section looks at the mass witch-hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries on the backdrop of the break between Protestant and Catholic Europe, and examines the connections linking witch-hunting to the momentous social, political and religious changes of the times. In the fourth part, the course will shift focus to the grassroots level, shedding light on the economic and social mechanisms which lead a community to “make a witch”.

Magic, Religion & Inquisition - Sample Syllabus

NOTE: Students should allow for 30 minutes commute time between this class and their prior or subsequent class.

This course explores urban experience in Italy from two distinct perspectives, the historical and the theoretical.

We will start with a historical overview of the evolution of the urban environment in Italy.  This overview will extends from ancient and roman times to the (re-)birth of towns by the year 1000, when various towns identified themselves around their piazzas, churches, streets, and within their walls, to the evolution of Italian towns in modern times, the changes in size and organization, the emergence of new spaces and new functions, and the emergence of new institutions such as Cafes, Museums, Train Station.  The focus of these first lectures will be on the city of Florence.

The second dimension of the course, which will be articulated at two levels, will reflect upon the way in which we conceptualize, represent and construct discourses about cities in modern times. Firstly, we will make an exploration of some texts, concepts that have contributed to shaping our way to understand modern cities. We will also explore the various possible positioning of the self towards the city, the “seer”, the “Flaneur” the Stroller”, and we will investigate how the bodies of these subjects is then constituted.  Secondly, we’ll go through some discourses and representations of the city: maps, views, panoramas points, travel literature, tourist guides and narrative literature (e.g. detective novel) will provide with quite different ways to tell of (and relate to) the experience of the Italian and specifically Florentine urban environment."

Culture of the City: Italian Urban Life - Sample Syllabus

This course presents an overview of the political, social, and cultural history of Italy from roughly 1300 to 1600. Its aim is to provide students with a basic understanding of the forces and processes that shaped the states and the societies of the Italian peninsula in an era of extraordinary changes: from the developments of urban civilization and the rise of humanism in the fourteenth and early fifteenth century, to the political and religious crisis of the late Quattrocento and early Cinquecento, and finally to the establishment of a new balance of power and a new cultural climate in the course of the sixteenth century. Conducted in English.

Italy During the Renaissance - 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.

The Politics of Organized Crime: Italian Mafias in a Comparative Perspective - 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.

Quantitative Methods - POL-UA 9800 or Statistics for Social Research - Sample Syllabus

This course is only open to students admitted to the Gallatin Fashion Program.

Italian fashion is famous internationally for its combination of quality and elegance. This course explores the development of fashion as an integral part of Italian identity. It looks at four historical moments or movements that played a significant role in developing that identity: Renaissance Florence under the de Medici, Mussolini’s mandate for Italian-based fashion, the post-war Italian film industry in the 1950s and 60s, and, today’s global fashion industry where the image of Italian style is one of quality, luxury and sexy elegance. Conducted in English.

History of Italian Fashion - Sample Syllabus

This course is only open to students admitted to the Gallatin Fashion Program.

Global Fashion Industry: Italy will provide students with a deep understanding of the contemporary fashion industry in Italy, as well as of Italy's position in the global fashion arena. The course will drive students through the entire lifecycle of the fashion business, from forecasting trends to retailing, through design, sourcing, product development and production. Particular attention will be dedicated to different marketing aspects of the process, such as: identity building, brand positioning, merchandising, buying, costing, communication. All levels of retail, from luxury to mass market will be covered. The course will end with an analysis of the new challenges, such as sourcing globalization, emerging markets, sustainability and growing significance of technology.
A strong effort will be put into organizing site visits to studios, showrooms and factories, as well as meeting with professional players.

Each session will be structured to give students an overview of a particular stage of the Industry, through a mix of lectures from the course leader and visiting professionals, studio and showroom visits, walking tours, reading assignments and practical projects.  Conducted in English.

Global Fashion Industry:  Italy - Sample syllabus