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.

The relationship between strategy, defense, and the dynamics of the nation state is examined in light of international political developments since 1939 and the consequences of armed conflict for the configuration of power in the international system. The course will focus on some of the conflicts of the second part of the 20th century and will go on to examine asymmetric and hybrid war, especially cyberwar after 9/11 and its impact on the political stability of the international system in the 21st century.

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 will be focused on providing students theoretical knowledge and practical tools for digital entrepreneurship with a specific focus on the fashion industry. Students will learn the main impacts of digital innovation on companies operating in the industry of fashion and by leveraging on the basic rules of digital entrepreneurship, they will explore different types of business models, of audience experiences and of digital storytelling. An introduction to the newest tools and approaches in the industry of fashion such as blockchain and eco-sustainability will be provided.

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 will look at various topics related to white-collar crimes, and its impact on enterprises and society. The course aims to prepare students to become more aware and resilient to criminal challenges in a modern, globalized work environment and as future leaders. The lecture will introduce the phenomenon "Economic Crime" as a considerable and not only financial risk in business activity. Future managers need to be sensitized in order to prevent themselves and their companies from damage.

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 will provide students with knowledge and tools on brand storytelling from a business perspective. With an outlook on both the physical and the digital environment, students will learn how to enhance the economic value of a brand and the reputation of the company by engaging on brand storytelling practices. The course by building on the analysis of best (and worst) companies' practices, combines marketing storytelling and brand management theories with a specific focus on the data storytelling for business purposes.

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.

The goal of the course is to introduce students to the origins of transatlantic cooperation, the creation of common European economic and political structures and the development of transatlantic economic and security policy. The course will also analyze multiple dichotomies of the EU-US relations. The transatlantic framework is being challenged as a result of rapidly shifting national and global political, economic and cultural forces. This definition lends itself to the analysis of the strained framework from several distinct theoretical perspectives, namely realism, liberalism and constructivism, each shedding its own light on the configuration of material and ideational factors driving the EU-US relations.

What is a disaster? How do disasters affect us? In this course, students will review the psychological effects of natural and human cause disasters. Using clinical research and case histories, students will examine the methodological issues involved in disaster research, and will learn about the normal and abnormal psychological reactions to a disaster. The class will also cover the research on the recovery process following disasters. Finally, the impact of disasters on women and children, as well as the differential impact of disasters based on race and class, will be topics for class discussion.

(This travel 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: TBA.

This immersive Academic Travel course will take place in Arezzo, Italy. It engages closely with contemporary Italian culture, with the aim to perfect language skills at an advanced level. Students will be expected to sign a pledge to use only Italian in and outside of the classroom. Students will enhance the acquired communicative skills by exploring and discussing texts, films and media by contemporary authors about a variety of current social and cultural issues and phenomena. Students will be reading texts and watching videos of various genres and will be conversing about the themes and topics that arise, conducting basic research in Italian, preparing oral presentations and crafting writing assignments. Topics to be discussed in relation to the readings include: literature, cinema, art, economy, environmental challenges, migration and immigration, the North-South divide, the evolutions of Italian traditions and demography, gender and organized crime. ITA 302T is designed as a transition from language classes focusing on grammar acquisition and everyday communicative skills to advanced Italian classes that develop students’ ability to use the target language at degree or work level. This course will replace ITA 300 in the student's academic plan. Upon successful completion of the course, students will reach the B2/C1 level of the European Common Framework of Reference for Languages.

(This travel course must be taken in conjunction with POL 376) This interdisciplinary course explores the politics and practice of sustainable development in the industrial North and developing South. Through a series of problem-based case studies, students will explore the political, social, economic, environmental, and cultural relationships that encompass the important field of sustainable development. Students will come to better understand how developed, as well as lesser developed countries, approach sustainability and natural resource management. Student research projects will include team-based analyses of the politics of sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable design within the broader context of global environmental issues such as deforestation, desertification, habitat degradation, and conventional models of development. This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: TBA.

(Interim Session. Course dates: July 31 - August 11.)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. The course travels alternately to Urbino in Central Italy and to Lodz, Poland, to participate in the PATA summer workshops at the Strzeminski Academy of Art.

(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)?

(This 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.