Session 1 Courses

(This course must be taken in conjunction with ML 100) Experiential learning is the main focus of this Academic Travel course that takes place in the capital of Morocco, Rabat. In this full immersion program, students will experience what they learn in the classroom throughout the whole session by acculturating themselves to the norms and expectations of Moroccan culture on a daily basis during their stay, visiting different places, engaging in various interactions with the locals, and exchanging with scholars specialized in their fields. The course first provides students with a historical overview of Morocco since its independence in 1956, focusing in particular on the monarchies of Hassan II and Mohammed VI, the current king; examines gender relations in the light of the Mudawana; explores the ethnic make-up of Moroccan society, in particular its Amazigh component; considers Sufism in its relationship with Islam, in particular as a counter-power to Islamic rigorism; studies the place of the individual in a society where the collective ego prevails. All the themes studied are substantiated with presentations by Moroccan scholars working in the field of sociology, gender, ethnic, religious and music studies, and field trips to Fez, Meknes, and Essaouira. This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: TBA

Designed for students with no prior knowledge of Italian. ITA 100 employs immersive experiential learning pedagogy, providing an introduction to the essentials of Italian grammar, vocabulary, and culture. The acquisition of aural/oral communication skills will be stressed and, as such, the predominant language of instruction will be Italian. By the end of the course students will achieve proficiency at the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Students are expected to acquire the basic knowledge of the written and spoken structures. Students are expected to read and comprehend short passages in Italian and to draft simple compositions / dialogues. Project-based assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community. Whenever possible, students will be encouraged to participate actively in local initiatives, festivals, events and to apply the skills they are mastering in class to their co-curricular learning on and off campus

This course aims to investigate the origins of the Eastern Question, its developments and its influence on contemporary global society. Starting from the Congress of Vienna (1815), the course analyses the causes and the consequences of that complex set of political, economic and social phenomenon that was the Eastern Question. It emphasizes its importance in the emergence of global society of the 20th century, and the consequences it had on the development of the current geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe. The course teaches students to approach the historiographical method and its possible practical applications in the study of international relations through the use of new technologies (like map-making programs), relevant secondary sources (like online encyclopedias), and different kinds of original sources (like diplomatic documents and newspapers). Students will develop a deep understanding of the origins of contemporary global society, and develop the skills to critically and independently identify and use reliable information and sources. The course will focus on group exercises, the discussion of class readings, and group presentations.

This is a full immersion course that covers the material of ITA 200 and ITA 201 in four weeks, and prepares students for advanced language and literature study. Students will be expected to sign a pledge to use only Italian in and outside of the classroom. Students will develop the intermediate language competences in the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, while discussing and exploring cultural and social issues of Italy and Ticino. Upon successful completion of the course, students will reach the B1/B2 level of the European Common Framework of Reference for Languages. This course carries a supplemental fee: 700 SFR/820 USD.

This course will survey the history of Italy from the end of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. Topics covered in this nearly 1000-year stretch of time include, but are not limited to, the Germanic invasions of the fifth century, the rise of the papacy and the papal states, the Arab and Byzantine conquests of Sicily and southern Italy, civic government in the medieval city-states, political thought in the age of Dante, Humanism, and the early Renaissance fascination with Roman antiquity. This class takes advantage of FUS’s unique position on the doorstep of Italy and will include several guided visits to medieval churches, castles, towns, and abbeys in Ticino and the northern region of Italy. All reading are in English, a combination of medieval sources in translation and recent scholarship. This course carries a supplemental fee: 155 SFR/180 USD.

ITA 101 employs immersive experiential learning pedagogy, providing an introduction to the essentials of Italian grammar, vocabulary, and culture. This course is designed for students who have completed one semester of Italian language study. The course provides an introduction to the essentials of Italian grammar, vocabulary, and culture. The acquisition of aural/oral communication skills will be stressed and, as such, the predominant language of instruction will be Italian. By the end of the course students will achieve proficiency at the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Students will be expected to be proficient in the written and spoken usage of basic linguistic structures. Students will be expected to read and comprehend short passages in Italian and to draft simple compositions / dialogues. Project-based assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community. Whenever possible, students will be encouraged to participate actively in local initiatives, festivals, events and to apply the skills they are mastering in class to their co-curricular learning on and off campus.

This computer-based course presents the main concepts in Statistics: the concept of random variables, frequency, and probability distributions, variance and standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness, probability rules, Bayes theorem, and posterior probabilities. Important statistical methods like Contingency analysis, ANOVA, Correlation analysis and Regression Analysis are introduced and their algorithms are fully explained. The most important probability distributions are introduced: Binomial, Poisson, and Normal distribution, as well as the Chebyshev theorem for non-known distributions. Inferential statistics, sampling distributions, and confidence intervals are covered to introduce statistical model building and single linear regression. Active learning and algorithmic learning are stressed. Emphasis is put both on algorithms –methods and assumptions for their applications. Excel is used while calculators with STAT buttons are not allowed. Ultimately students are required to make a month-long research project, select the theoretical concept they want to test, perform a literature review, find real data from Internet databases or make their surveys, apply methods they studied in the class, and compare theoretical results with their findings. Research is done and presented in groups, papers are Individual. Selected SPSS or Excel Data Analysis examples are also provided.

The purpose of the course is to explore and understand the use of classical music in art movies. From Bach to Mahler and from D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation to Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey, classical music has been used as leitmotiv and supporting narrative in film. Based on the chronology of music history and the use of classical music in period movies, the course analyzes the way in which specific pieces of music have contributed to some of the greatest films of the past. Musical and film extracts will be viewed and discussed

This course introduces students to the basic concepts and tools needed to make wise and informed personal financial decisions. The content of this course is presented from a practical point of view and with an emphasis on the consumer as the financial decision-maker. The primary objective of this course is to help students apply finance practices to their own lives. For example, students will learn how to plan and manage personal finances, how to obtain credit to purchase a home or a car, and how to invest personal financial resources in stocks, bonds, and real estate. Students will also learn how to interpret financial and economic news that have an impact on personal finances.

(This course must be taken in conjunction with CLCS 258T) Designed for students with no knowledge of Arabic, this course provides an introduction to the essentials of Arabic grammar, vocabulary and culture. The acquisition of aural, oral and written skills is emphasized. By the end of the course, students will be able to engage in simple conversations, read basic texts in Arabic, write short dialogues and stories, and understand the syntactical and lexical structure of Arabic. This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: TBA.

This course examines the political processes that shape conflict and consensus in Middle Eastern societies. From this perspective, main regional conflicts are analyzed. The confrontation between (1)Iran and the Arab World and (2)Israel and the region at large are surveyed in light of intra-Arab antagonisms and the historical great power rivalry for hegemony in the area. Special focus is directed toward an understanding of the politics of modernization and the clash between tradition and modernity. Recommended POL 100.