(Course dates: 25 May - 4 June 2027) 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 ML 100) (Course dates: 25 May - 18 June 2027) 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 course must be taken in conjunction with CLCS 258T) (Course dates: 25 May - 18 June 2027) 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 course explores key business and entrepreneurship ideas through the lens of food and drink companies in the canton of Ticino. The class will combine readings, case studies, videos and company visits which together will examine the challenges and opportunities of founding and growing food related businesses. A central component of the course will be visits to a series of firms in Ticino that produce food stuffs or beverages including a brewery, a winery, a cheesemaker, and an organic farm: through these visits, we will discuss with the owners/founders a range of topics including a) how and why they founded the company, b) what challenges they have had to overcome and c) their vision for their firm over the next five to ten years. We will be combining these company visits with readings and class discussions regarding key topics on small business management. Some of the topics we will be exploring include: marketing and promotion strategies; funding strategies; legal issues & regulatory compliance, and market competition.

This course focuses on the theory and practice of place-based education, helping students build leadership skills that foster active civic engagement. Through this, students learn to become involved and committed members of their chosen communities, developing the skills needed to contribute meaningfully to community life throughout their lives. Building on Franklin’s goal “to prepare students to thrive in a diverse and interconnected world, and encourage them to explore and celebrate all voices and perspectives,” the aim of this course is to enable students to find their “sense of place” in the community organization of their choice. Through first-hand, personal experiences, students will develop a better foundation to interact with broader topics as they become active engaged members of their community. Effective oral and written communication are a fundamental part of the class, as students gain practical skills and tools to engage with their local community, and build learner-centered, interdisciplinary experiences.

This course examines literary texts in the American postwar era (1945-1980), engaging themes such as the rise of consumerism and popular culture, the Cold War, the 1960s' counterculture, and the civil rights and women's movements. Students will consider how a new generation of writers from multi-ethnic backgrounds were delving into topics of race, sexuality, identity, politics, and rebellion, within and against the conservative and conformist society around them. By examining the genres of short fiction, novels, and poetry by writers including Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Dorothy West, Tennessee Williams, Bernard Malamud, Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Betty Friedan, Allen Ginsberg, Joan Didion, and Maxine Kingston Hong, we will study the interconnections between cultural expressions and the search for belonging and self-definition in American society. Through focused writing activities and discussions, students will improve their analytical and interpretive skills and learn how to produce arguments about literary texts. The course challenges students to understand the function of literature and how it forms communities of conflict and mutual understanding. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)

(Course dates: 8 - 18 June 2027) This course examines how people, particularly young people, consume media technologies and their contents in contemporary media-saturated life. Employing essential readings on media consumption, fashion, and identity as the theoretical backbone, students will engage in active site-based research project throughout the course. By offering an opportunity to undertake a field study in Milan, the course seeks to develop in-depth theoretical knowledge of the intersections of media consumption, fashion, and identity, as well as to cultivate critical reflection of students’ own consumption of media technologies.

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.

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

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 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 pre-requisite POL 100.

The focused act of drawing is known to create a deeper understanding and connection to the world around you. In this class you’ll learn how to draw, paint and collage your experiences En Plein Air on campus and around Lugano. Each student will create a personal travel log/sketchbook as they learn skill-building rendering techniques, narrative questioning and prompts. Through this process, you’ll build your ability to create a deeper and more meaningful experience for your academic travel and life.

(This course must be taken in conjunction with ENV 280T) It seems almost a cliché to say that the literature of New Zealand feeds off its often wild and varied landscape. And yet - from the Māori creation narrative to Eleanor Catton’s 2013 Man Booker Prize-winning novel "The Luminaries" the ideas that define New Zealand's literary history are built around and shaped by the land. Against the backdrop of the narrated landscapes themselves, this course will draw on short and longer texts by authors such as Katherine Mansfield, Keri Hulme, Janet Frame, Owen Marshall, Hone Tuwhare, Catton and Kapka Kassabova, as well as on related visual culture (e.g. work by filmmaker Jane Campion), to explore the relationship between humans and the environment in New Zealand literature, focusing particularly on the central South Island and its East and West Coasts. How does this relationship negotiate notions of belonging and a "place to stand" in a postcolonial country where land is symbolic not only of internal, but also of external conflict? How do more recent migrants make critical use of these ideas (Kassabova)? How do the sharp edges and isolated spaces of the landscape convey the "small violences" of rural New Zealand (Mansfield, Frame, Marshall)? And how does literature raise the bigger questions about the destructive power of humankind (Tuwhare)?

In its most basic definition, sustainable development is described as “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” As countries around the world struggle to tackle the issues of climate disruption, water scarcity, resource exhaustion, population growth and socioeconomic conflicts, attention to methods of sustainable development is paramount, and financing those methods is increasingly important. In this context we posit the question: Is it possible for the current system of financial markets to facilitate the shift from an unsustainable world fueled by fossil hydrocarbons to a more desirable one powered by renewable energy? This course will examine how financial and capital markets operate on a transnational scale; and investigate the type of international governance over markets that would be needed to potentially produce fair and sustainable outcomes. The course will also examine the role individuals must perform as World Citizens motivated by a sense of responsibility towards the well-being of others beyond national boundaries.

(This course must be taken in conjunction with CLCS 275) This course examines the management of environmental resources in New Zealand and the discourse of sustainability from the island's perspective. It will focus on the challenge of conserving New Zealand's flora and fauna, as well as New Zealand's aggressive management of the non-native species that have arrived since human settlement. It will examine attempts to restore natural habitats through visits to the several restoration projects, and to Christchurch to study how environmental concerns are being incorporated into the city's recovery from the devastating 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. The course will also scrutinize the effects of tourism on the New Zealand environment and the opportunities that tourism also present. Lastly, the course will explore how the Maori culture influences environmental management in the country. (Previous coursework in environmental studies recommended.) This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: CHF 650/USD 865. Students should be aware that they are responsible for arranging and covering the costs of their travel to and from Christchurch, in addition to paying the supplement fee.

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 course focuses on the practical application of AI tools in filmmaking, offering students hands-on experience with AI-driven storytelling, scripting, and cinematic composition. By combining traditional film techniques with advanced AI tools, students will learn to conceptualize, produce, and edit short films, gaining skills in story structure, character development, and AI-enhanced visual composition. Through workshops and project work, the course examines AI's role in current film practices, with an emphasis on ethical considerations and creative possibilities. The course culminates in a short film project that integrates AI tools from pre-production to post-production stages.