Session 2 Courses

This is an entry-level course in economics, covering fundamentals of microeconomics and aimed at students who choose it as an elective or plan to continue their studies in economics. This course helps students develop basic analytical skills in economics and microeconomics. It provides students with a basic understanding of the market system in advanced capitalist economies. It examines the logic of constrained choice with a focus on the economic behavior of individuals and organizations. After a theoretical analysis of the determinants and the interaction of supply and demand under competitive conditions, alternative market structures will be investigated, including monopolistic and oligopolistic forms. The course examines the conditions under which markets allocate resources efficiently and identifies causes of market failure and the appropriate government response. The introduction to the role of government includes its taxing and expenditure activities as well as regulatory policies.

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.

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.

In this course students will discover the power of digital media and how social media, content creation, and influencers are shaping the fashion industry. Students will examine social media campaigns and how brands and influencers create impactful storytelling through content creation to connect with their followers and boost sales. Students will work on creative pieces of digital content to add to their portfolio.

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.

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.

At its core, drawing is a problem-solving tool that fosters close observation and analytical thinking. Renaissance masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Brunelleschi and Michelangelo as well as countless modern designers, from the Bauhaus school to Ed Moses, use it as the language to create and explain their visions of the future. Today, drawing is at the core of modern design thinking methods. In this class, students of all skill levels will learn how to harness this powerful tool by exploring core drawing principles such as volume, space, value and color and rendering the world around them in a variety of mediums. In the process, student will also take away skills to enhance focus and memory. This course carries a supplemental fee:TBA.

This course introduces students to the technical, conceptual, and aesthetic skills involved in video production through the single camera mode of production. Still the most dominant mode of film and video production, the single camera mode places an emphasis on using the camera to fullest capacity of artistic expression. In addition to the multiple skills and concepts involved with the camera, the course also introduces students to the principles and technologies of lighting, audio recording and mixing, and non-linear digital video editing. Special focus is given to producing content for successful web distribution. This course will provide students with an intensive overview of the entire filmmaking process as they work with a production unit to produce a short narrative or documentary film for web distribution. Learning outcomes include understanding how a film is made from conception through distribution, and how to develop a story for maximum audio-visual impact. The course carries a fee for art supplies and equipment:TBA

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. (Additional fee: TBA, for transportation and related activities in Milan)

This course provides the basic analytic tools necessary for the understanding of international relations. After a brief introduction to the realist and liberal approaches to the study of international relations, the course covers various fundamental concepts, such as national power, foreign policy, conflict, political economy, international trade, and international organizations.

The three most influential religions of the world all originated within a small geographical area that we now call the Middle East. To many it is the Holy Land; to others still it is the root of modern wars. This course surveys the rise and historical development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from their modest beginnings to their global influence, with particular emphasis on the historical and intellectual forces that made these growths possible. Readings in primary and secondary sources will consider the ancient kingdom of Judaea, the Jewish origins of Christianity, the philosophies of medieval Christianity and Islam, the earliest conflicts between Christianity and Islam (including the Crusades), and the search for religious identity in a globalized and pluralistic modern world.

This advanced writing course consolidates students’ academic communication skills through the theme of business and work ethics. Students will engage with philosophical texts and case studies dealing with various aspects of business and/or work ethics -- distributive justice, social responsibility and environmentally conscious business practices among others -- in order to improve critical reading, argumentative writing, and oral presentation/debating skills. The course helps students understand that academic communication primarily involves entering a conversation with others and particular emphasis will be placed on responding to other people’s arguments as well as developing their own arguments based on those responses. Using the broad theme of business and work ethics as a medium for discussion, students will not only explore what it means to join an academic community and their role in that community as purveyors of knowledge but also work towards entering the job/internship market with polished application materials. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)

This course examines the intersection of language and culture: how language shapes our perception of the world and vice versa. Students will reflect on their own experiences with language and view that experience in light of readings that engage themes such as technology, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic class, bi/multilingualism, dialect, and political power. Readings will include essays from major publications, ethnographic studies, memoirs, and literary texts.

Since the Black Death in the fourteenth century, quarantines and limitations on social contact have played an important role in mitigating and ending the spread of contagious diseases. City states such as Venice and Milan and the Swiss cantons played pioneering roles in controlling epidemics. This course examines changing views of pandemics and public health policies throughout global history through the lens of the successes and failures of measures and policies designed to fight pandemics from antiquity to the current COVID-19 crisis.

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the multiple European realities and to provide the necessary tools for understanding how the EU can face these challenges in an ever-changing world. This interdisciplinary course will allow students to approach these major issues through the lenses of political science, economics, and history. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify the main competences of the European Union as well as the current challenges.

(This travel course must be taken in conjunction with POL 376 International Environmental Politics for a total of 6 credits.) This interdisciplinary course explores the politics and practice of sustainable development in Africa (Namibia). Through a series of on-site explorations in the host countries, problem-based exercises, service learning and presentations by local university professors, public policy makers (to include NGOs) and experts in sustainable development, students will learn about the political, social, economic, environmental and cultural relationships that encompass the important field of sustainable development. Students will come to better understand how each country approaches sustainable development and natural resource management through participation in on-site expeditions and visits. Student research projects will include team-based case studies in the areas of sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, water and natural resource management, and sustainable housing in light of global environmental issues such as deforestation, water resource and human habitat degradation, threats to biodiversity, and conventional models of development. Please note: The field portion of the course will include traveling in overland vehicles with experienced guides. Accommodations will be in either backpacker lodges (dormitory style beds) or in safari tents at campgrounds with hot showers and toilets. This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee TBA.

(Course dates: 1 - 14 August 2022.) This experimental, introductory course will explore the creative possibilities of media which have largely been considered mechanical, reproductive processes. Brief introductory lectures will introduce and demonstrate the following techniques: simple printing methods that do not use the printing press (direct stamping, stenciling, monotype, frottage); relief printing methods using linoleum, wood blocks and other surfaces; intaglio techniques (dry point). As time permits, collograph and silkscreen printing will also be introduced. The course has the following goals: to gain knowledge of printing materials, equipment and techniques; to produce prints using the techniques introduced during the course; to understand printing techniques in an art historical perspective and acknowledge of printing as a fine art; to construct a basic art vocabulary and develop the skills necessary to critical visual analysis. In 2022, the course will travel to Łódź, Poland, to participate in the PATA summer workshops at the Strzemiński Academy of Art. This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee:TBA.

(This travel course must be taken in conjunction with POL 281T.) It has become increasingly apparent in recent years that environmental problems have been proliferating and nation-states are not able to cope with them individually. International cooperation is essential to finding and applying solutions. This course will first examine the nature and the sources of the main environmental problems affecting the lives of nations, such as climate change and its effects, including the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect, acid rain, desertification, pollution, disposal of radioactive and chemical waste material, etc. Students will investigate the environmental problems connected to trade globalization and the question of sustainable development and will study how states have tried to deal with these problems and the role of international organizations such as the UN and the EU and non-governmental organizations such as Greenpeace, etc. The effectiveness of international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol and the problems in their application will also be examined.