Fall Courses

This course studies the market behavior of firms with market power. Topics like oligopoly, price discrimination, vertical relations between firms, product differentiation, advertising and entry barriers represent the core of the course. These concepts will be applied to the specific case of European firms, which live in an economic and monetary union. Students will study the principles of European competition policy and some famous European antitrust cases. A comparison with American antitrust will be made.

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This course is designed to help students further develop the critical thinking and writing skills so important in academic writing. It looks at best practices for research and use of information, including evaluation and effective incorporation of outside sources through paraphrases, summary, and correct citation formats, and addresses the development of structure and expression in academic writing and techniques for effectively sharing information in both written and oral forms. Upon successful completion of EAP 130 (with a minimum final grade of C), students must take WTG 100 the following semester.

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This entry-level course in economics covers the fundamentals of macroeconomics and is aimed at students who choose it as an elective or plan to continue their studies in economics. Together with ECN 101, it provides the necessary prerequisites for any other upper-level course in economics. The course is a program requirement for the majors in International Banking and Finance, International Economics, International Relations, International Management, and Environmental Science. It is also a prerequisite for Economics as a combined major as well as a minor. This course introduces students to the study of economics as a field of knowledge within the social sciences. In the first part, focus will be on the definition, the explanation, and the significance of national income, business fluctuations, the price level, and aggregate employment. In the second part, special attention is devoted to the functioning of a payment system based on currency and bank money. Finally, students will discuss the instruments and the functioning of public policy aimed to stabilize prices and maintain high levels of output and employment within the current macroeconomic context. Current economic news will be regularly scrutinized.

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The development of the modern nation-state is analyzed from a variety of theoretical viewpoints. The approach and methods of major social theorists are examined in detail. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.) Formerly POL 400. Students who have previously earned credit for POL 400 cannot earn credit for POL 300.

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This course examines the principles and practices of fund management in organizations. Attention is given to managerial financial decisions in a global market setting concerning such questions as how to obtain an adequate supply of capital and credit, and how to evaluate alternative sources of funds and their costs. Topics include the management of assets and liabilities, working capital management, capital budgeting, equity versus debt financing, capital structure, and financial forecasting.

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This course focuses on the understanding of the consumer as fundamental to marketing efforts. The course includes observational research in the community where students develop a greater understanding of consumers' consumption and decision-making behavior. Areas of focus include the consumer decision making process, research techniques, learning and motivation, segmentation and targeting, the impact of lifestyle and values, the role of society and culture in consumption, and ethical issues in consumer relationships.

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The course provides a platform for scholarly exploration of the concept of happiness as articulated across a variety of cultures and from multiple disciplinary perspectives: psychology, sociology, linguistics, philosophy, religion/spirituality, literature, and film. Students enrolled in this class will work collectively to analyze and reflect on the ideological implications and possible cultural bias implicit to diverse texts that purport, through various means, to render happiness more accessible to and sustainable for the general public. What can be learned about happiness discourse through guided efforts in close reading, focused critical thinking, theoretical reflection, and comparative textual analysis? Widely popularized theories of happiness frequently merge with compelling stories of a hero's inward and outward journey; the individual pursuit of an inalienable and self-evident right. This seminar invites students to consider this heroic journey in terms of a symbolic construct, assessing its possible strengths and weaknesses; the certain promises it holds, and the likely consequences it may also engender. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental skills considered necessary for succeeding at university.

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This entry-level course in economics covers the fundamentals of macroeconomics and is aimed at students who choose it as an elective or plan to continue their studies in economics. Together with ECN 101, it provides the necessary prerequisites for any other upper-level course in economics. The course is a program requirement for the majors in International Banking and Finance, International Economics, International Relations, International Management, and Environmental Science. It is also a prerequisite for Economics as a combined major as well as a minor. This course introduces students to the study of economics as a field of knowledge within the social sciences. In the first part, focus will be on the definition, the explanation, and the significance of national income, business fluctuations, the price level, and aggregate employment. In the second part, special attention is devoted to the functioning of a payment system based on currency and bank money. Finally, students will discuss the instruments and the functioning of public policy aimed to stabilize prices and maintain high levels of output and employment within the current macroeconomic context. Current economic news will be regularly scrutinized.

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Climate change has been named one of the most important issues facing our society and globe today. At particular risk are regions at high latitudes and altitudes, including the Alps. This course examines the complex issue of climate change, considering the scientific background of climate and how it changes, the impact of those changes on ecological and human systems, and possibilities for mitigating these impacts. The course will focus on the situation in the Alps, but will also examine climate change in a global context. An integral and required part of the course will be a weekend visit to the Rhone glacier. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental critical and academic skills necessary for succeeding at university.

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This course is designed for students who do not have any knowledge of the Italian language. 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 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. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community.

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Understanding politics is key to analyzing contemporary (world) events and to meaningfully participate in societies. At the same time, the key ideas that inform our political debates and decisions are seldom critically analyzed and discussed outside of University departments. This course seeks to familiarize students with the development and content of (some of the central) ideas of political thinking. We will focus on contemporary debates (e.g. limits of free speech, taxation, environmental protection, democracy, legitimacy of whistle-blowing, limits of sovereignty, ect.) to a) provide an overview of the discipline of political science and to b) further develop the skills needed to enter into critical debate and studying at a university level.

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This First Year Seminar course explores ethical reasoning through our complex and problematic relationship with the environment. The course examines introductory philosophical concepts in ethics and applies them to major environmental concerns of our time, among others: water use, sustainable consumerism, vegetarianism, animal rights, social justice, climate change, environmental refugees, and population growth. Students will engage with a variety of media to examine these issues, from texts to films, blogs to actual policy. Several off-campus trips will also be required. The main goal of the course is to provide students with an "ethical toolbox" that they can use to consider environmental issues from an informed, engaged, and analytical point of view. We will pay particular attention to environmental issues that affect Franklin as a community and students will discover the Franklin campus through the ethics and environment lens. As with all First Year Seminars, this course will also cultivate the fundamental critical and academic skills necessary for succeeding at university.

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This course is an introduction to the tools and concepts used in the marketing process for consumer and industrial products as well as for services. The focus is on the basic marketing concepts (product, place, price, promotion) as they relate to the field of global marketing. Emphasis is placed on the increasingly important role of interdisciplinary tools to analyze economic, cultural and structural differences across international markets. Specific consideration is given to the development of integrated marketing programs for a complex, global environment.

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This intermediate-level course in macroeconomics builds upon the introductory two-semester (ECN 100 and ECN 101) sequence and, in conjunction with ECN 256, prepares students to study upper-level economics. It is a program requirement for the majors in International Banking and Finance and International Economics, as well as for Economics as a combined major. It is also one of the options towards Economics as a minor. Students must have taken ECN 100 and ECN 101, and are also recommended to have taken MAT 200. This course is designed to provide students with an appreciation of current economic issues and questions in modern macroeconomics, through the recognition of economics as a controversial subject. In the first part, we review some important measurement issues in macroeconomics that have policy consequences. In the second part, students will explore the competing theoretical frameworks developed in the twentieth century to explain growth cycles, employment and inflation. Finally, the acquired knowledge will be applied to the current policy issues in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

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This course is designed for students who do not have any knowledge of the Italian language. 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 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. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community.

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For students who have completed at least two years of college-level language studies or the equivalent. This course offers cultural readings from a variety of sources, including some literary pieces, as well as magazine and newspaper articles reflecting the contemporary scene in the countries where the language is spoken. Vocabulary expansion and development of techniques of expression are accomplished through oral and written exercises.

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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.

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The course will explore the manner in which art, material culture, and cultural heritage are interpreted through their display in public venues. Site visits and case studies will allow students to analyze critically both the theoretical and practical aspects of display. Topics will include theoretical approaches (phenomenology, semiotics, and aesthetics), the history and culture of collecting and display since the mid-19th century, as well as contemporary critiques of institutional ethics, exclusion, or misrepresentation. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental skills considered necessary for succeeding at the university level.

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Venice is different - from Florence or Rome or any other city. Surviving as an independent city-state for a thousand years, Venice at the height of its power, by the close of the fifteenth century, ruled an empire extending from the Aegean well into Lombardy. A center of trade and an embarkation point for pilgrimages to the Holy Land, it stood at the crossroads of east and west, north and south. This seminar will examine the major protagonists of the Venetian Renaissance-Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese-with respect to the international environment in which they lived and worked. Renaissance Venice will put Venetian art into its greater context and students will think about the implications of cultural exchange. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental skills considered necessary for succeeding at the university level.

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This course considers the nature, concepts, techniques, and ethics of the managerial accounting function, the preparation of reports, and the uses of accounting data for internal decision-making in manufacturing, retail, service, government, and non-profit organizations. Topics covered include a review of financial accounting, cost definitions and measurement, job-order and process costing, models of cost behavior, break-even and cost-volume-profit-analysis, activity-based costing and management systems, flexible budgeting methods, cost variance analysis, and a consideration of output & pricing decisions throughout the entire enterprise.

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This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and theories of communication and media studies as they apply to the ever-increasing intercultural interactions of a contemporary world. In particular, students will learn the basics of intercultural/international communication processes, gaining a foundation for developing intercultural communication competence.

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This course examines the various systems of the physical Earth, including the atmosphere, climatic regimes, landforms, soils, waters and life forms. This course includes several required field trips to local points of interest.

For students who have completed at least two years of college-level language studies or the equivalent. This course offers cultural readings from a variety of sources, including some literary pieces, as well as magazine and newspaper articles reflecting the contemporary scene in the countries where the language is spoken. Vocabulary expansion and development of techniques of expression are accomplished through oral and written exercises.

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This course is designed for students who have completed two semesters of Italian language study. The course provides a review and expansion of command 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 B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Students will be expected to be proficient in the written and spoken usage of intermediate linguistic structures. Students will be expected to deal with most situations likely to arise in the areas where the language is spoken. They will be able to: a) produce simple connected texts on topics, which are familiar or of personal interest; b) describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions; and c) briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community.

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This course introduces students to the language of cinema through close studies of and foundational readings on film theory, narrative/documentary structure, camera technique, lighting, sound, casting, and location. Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of film language through scholarly analysis of both canonical and contemporary cinema texts and two practical applications of film. Students will move beyond the passive reception of an image-based world by working towards increased intellectual adaptability in terms of engaged film reading skills that will call into question philosophical and culture-specific notions and norms. The learning outcomes will be developed through a number of concentrated modules lasting approximately three weeks each, including analysis, contemporary criticism, audience reception, and practical applications.

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The course begins with a review of functions and their graphs, after which students are introduced to the concepts of differentiation and integration. Understanding is reinforced through extensive practical work, with a strong emphasis on applications in economics, statistics and management science.

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The structure of the American polity is examined in theory and practice. Its salient characteristics are analyzed from historical, sociological and economic standpoints with a focus on current issues. (Formerly POL 104. Students who have previously earned credit for POL 104 cannot also earn credit for POL 201.)

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This course looks at poverty as it is portrayed in contemporary literature, film, television, painting, music and street magazines. Students will explore how these representations compare to economic and social indices such as income, Living Standards Measurement surveys, welfare statistics, poverty indexes and poverty determinants. For these latter determinants the class will take Switzerland, a country in which the extremes of poverty and riches are quite subtle, as our case study. The overall goals of this course are 1) to compare different forms of representation and to recognize and be able to distinguish among the many faces and facets of poverty in a wealthy nation and 2) to critically explore the ideologies underlying mainstream representations of "the poor" or "the marginalized" and to ask how effective such representations are in triggering social change.

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This course introduces students to quantitative and qualitative research methods as they apply to communication and media studies. Students will acquire skill in examining various communication and media issues by conducting an original research project.

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This upper-level course in economics is the first part of an ideal two-semester sequence including ECN 328. It is a program requirement for the major in International Economics, International Banking and Finance, and International Management with an “emphasis” in Finance. It also fulfils group requirements towards the major in International Economics with an emphasis in Political Economy, and Economics as a Combined major as well as a Minor.This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the monetary dimension of contemporary economies. This includes the nature of the means of settlement, the technology of monetary payments, the banking system and its pro-cyclical, crisis-prone character that requires control and regulation, the response of financial markets to changing policy conditions and perceived risks, and central banks’ operations and goals when setting interest rates. Special attention is devoted to current monetary policy issues with special reference (but not limited) to the practice of the U.S. Fed and the European Central Bank. Recommended prerequisite: ECN 225, ECN 256, BUS 326

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This course is an introduction to themes and trends in the political, economic, cultural, and social, history of pre-modern societies in global perspective. It covers the development of civilizations in Eurasia, Africa and the Americas from the Neolithic Revolution to the "Columbian Exchange" with emphasis on the emergence and diffusion of religious and political institutions, the role of the environmental context, as well as the impact of encounters between human societies. Students are introduced to the historiography of empire and global history/globalization, and attention is devoted to the reading and analysis of different categories of primary sources.

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This course is designed for students who have completed two semesters of Italian language study. The course provides a review and expansion of command 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 B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Students will be expected to be proficient in the written and spoken usage of intermediate linguistic structures. Students will be expected to deal with most situations likely to arise in the areas where the language is spoken. They will be able to: a) produce simple connected texts on topics, which are familiar or of personal interest; b) describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions; and c) briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community.

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The first part of this course reviews the basic concepts of algebra, real numbers, first-degree equations and inequalities, rational expressions, exponents and radicals, and polynomials, systems of equations and inequalities. The second part strongly emphasizes graphs and functions. The most important functions for applications are introduced, such as linear, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic, and rational functions.

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This introductory course is designed to provide an overview of the field of psychology, including theoretical positions, major research areas and methods of gathering data. Subtopics of psychology, such as physiological processes, developmental, abnormal behavior and social psychology are discussed.

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This course course in digital photography introduces the beginner to the elements of digital photography. There will be two areas of concentration: 1. Image capture and manipulation using digital imaging technology (cameras and editing software). 2. Photograph design (crafting a photograph that reflects the photographer’s intention using composition, framing, lighting etc.). Throughout the course emphasis will be placed on the artistic value of photographs rather than the technicalities of digital imaging. Photography is one of the various artistic media available for self-expression and much emphasis will be put on precisely that. Students will synthesize these elements to create a portfolio of work that reflects not only their newly developed skills but also an appreciation and understanding of photography as an art medium.

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A more intermediate course where students who have completed STA 107 may take their work further. The course carries a fee for art supplies.

A more advanced course where students who have completed STA 207 may take their work further. The course carries a fee for art supplies.

This lecture and travel course is designed to provide students with a basic knowledge of financial accounting concepts, procedures, analysis, and internal reports as an essential part of the decision-making process. The focus is on the three basic steps of the accounting process: recording, classifying, and summarizing financial transactions. Emphasis is placed on the general accounting activities leading up to the preparation of financial statements. The travel section of the class will be to Barcelona where students will attend classes at a local partner-university, as well as attend professional presentations by associates at accounting and auditing firms, financial institutions, and financial staff at non-financial firms. (Note: Students may only earn credit for either BUS 115 OR BUS 115T.)

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In this course, students will explore the cultures that produce and are reproduced by our current food systems in Europe, touching upon the local, national and global dimensions. This course will examine the cultural, ecological, political, and geographic forces at work influencing the chain of production from farm to table. In particular, students will consider the contemporary food systems in Italy and Switzerland as well as their cultural and historical roots. Students will learn more about what it takes to become an active food citizen as the class considers where food comes from here in Europe and how the food we eat shapes who we are, both literally and figuratively. This course includes a travel component to Italy and Switzerland where students will study first hand some of the concepts discussed, including terroir, slow food, and local farm to table movements.

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The sense of taste, whether it refers to the metaphorical sense of taste (aesthetic discrimination) or the literal sense of taste (gustatory taste), is a fundamental part of human experiences. This Academic Travel course examines various ways that communication processes shape our sense of taste in the contemporary society. It will explore topics such as the taste for food, clothing and accessories, music, and other cultural activities applying key theories and concepts of communication, fashion, and taste. Ultimately, the course seeks to develop an understanding of how interpersonal, intercultural, and mediated communication in our everyday life plays a critical role in the formation of individual taste as well as collective taste. In order to achieve this objective, field observations and site visits will be planned during the academic travel period.

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This Academic Travel course seeks to explore urban development and urban planning of Central European cities from Antiquity to the Present. The course investigates the specific development of cities in Central Europe, both north and south of the Alps, with an emphasis on the legacies of Roman antiquity, the Christian (and Jewish) legacy of the Middle Ages, the role of princely residences, and of bourgeois middle classes. An important part plays also the various political movements of the 20th century, including the architectural fantasies of National Socialism, and the attempts post-World War II to deal with this legacy in a democratic society. The course asks in which way the interplay of tradition and modernity over time has structured not only the physical shapes of cities, but even the mindsets of the population. The travel component of this course features day trips to the Roman foundation of Como (Italy) and the oldest still standing structure in Switzerland in Riva San Vitale (Ticino), and a major excursion to the three most important cities in Bavaria: Nuremberg, Regensburg, and Munich (Germany).

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This course is designed for students who do not have any knowledge of the Italian language. 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 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. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community. For the travel component the class will visit Pianura Padana, which includes Verona, Padua, Vicenza and Venice. Students will have the opportunity to practice their Italian language skills.

People live in three-dimensional space but are restricted to the earth surface which is usually locally flat, two-dimensional. But when entering the Alps, the third dimension of height becomes important when describing location or movement. This is also expressed by the fact that in the mountains a map is not too useful---rather a topographic map is needed. Starting with a description of the Alps or any mountains by topographic maps, or mathematically as functions with two independent variables, students will investigate how certain well-known features are reflected by the topography of the area . Examples are the location of mountain brooks, watersheds, movement of glaciers, avalanches, and rockfall. Students will also investigate the question of visibility in the mountains, whether and how it is possible to predict what can be seen from where. A further aspect is GPS technology. During the travel, the class will visit various places in the Swiss, Austrian, and Italian Alps, such as Davos, Innsbruck, Villnoess. Students will hike and measure, but will also discuss questions relevant to Alpine life, such as glaciers, avalanches or rockfall forecasts. If possible, the class will also visit places where such research is conducted. The course includes one mandatory weekend hike in September in addition to the ordinary travel in October. Hiking boots are required.

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This course will introduce students to the contemporary politics of Italy and the issues that are confronting its policy makers and people. The focus is on the evolution of Italian society after World War II and the cultural, economic, and social trends that have shaped its political system. The goal of this course is to give the students a comprehensive picture of contemporary Italy and the political challenges facing Italians today. The travel component focuses on Puglia, a region that highlights the intersections of tradition and transformation in Italian society.

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This course will investigate the particularities of both documentary and street photography through readings and studio projects. It will shed light on the history of photography; how the visual world communicates, studying the interaction of photography with other visual media; and will pay specific attention to the semiotic potential and challenges of photography. Students will engage in a project that relates to the location of the travel component of the class, documenting a subject of their choice. The travel destinations will be Berlin and Munich.

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The course addresses itself to a comprehensive in-depth study of the following question: What is personality? The major theories of personality which are prominent and important today in the field of psychology are considered individually in detail, chronologically and comparatively. These include the classical psycho-analytical theory of Freud, Jungian theory, existential/phenomenological theories, cognitive theories and behavior psychology.

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Designed as a discussion/workshop seminar, this writing course develops students’ awareness of scholarly discourse and their participation in it: what makes academic discourse different from other kinds of writing, how different disciplines approach analysis and evidence, and what counts as effective communication within scholarly communities. Through the study of borders -- what they are, how they shape culture, politics and society, and why they change -- the course helps students develop academic communication strategies that are applicable across the curriculum at Franklin. The main focus of the course is to help students develop strategies for joining the academic conversation, covering skills such as close reading and responding to texts; generating, supporting and sharing ideas in both oral and written form; and scholarly researching. Drawing from a wide selection of texts and media about cross-border and cross cultural practices, which has recently garnered much attention among scholars and speaks to the Franklin mission, students will explore various academic responses to the phenomenon of border crossing, concluding with a research-based final project and defense. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing core requirement.)

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Designed as a discussion/workshop seminar, this writing course develops students’ awareness of scholarly discourse and their participation in it: what makes academic discourse different from other kinds of writing, how different disciplines approach analysis and evidence, and what counts as effective communication within scholarly communities. Through the study of borders -- what they are, how they shape culture, politics and society, and why they change -- the course helps students develop academic communication strategies that are applicable across the curriculum at Franklin. The main focus of the course is to help students develop strategies for joining the academic conversation, covering skills such as close reading and responding to texts; generating, supporting and sharing ideas in both oral and written form; and scholarly researching. Drawing from a wide selection of texts and media about cross-border and cross cultural practices, which has recently garnered much attention among scholars and speaks to the Franklin mission, students will explore various academic responses to the phenomenon of border crossing, concluding with a research-based final project and defense. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing core requirement.)

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This course examines the interactions of organisms with their environment and each other, the dynamics of populations, the structure and functions of ecosystems, the role of biogeochemical cycles, and biodiversity. Required laboratory sessions. MAT 201 and BIO 102 are strongly recommended prior to taking this course. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)

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Strategic management is the study of firms and the political, economic, social and technological environments that affect their organization and strategic decisions. This course considers the external market environment in which firms operate, and provides theoretical foundations, focusing on economic and strategic theories of the firm and introducing key concepts of organizational theory. Practically, the course looks at the creation of competitive advantage of a firm in the global arena. The readings and class discussions include both theoretical concepts and practical case studies. (Junior status recommended)

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This course studies the internal environment of firms and organizations, namely how to organize and manage people in order to implement strategic plans effectively. Topics include: organizational structures and change, human resources, leadership, group dynamics and teamwork, motivation, and multicultural management. Special attention will be given to the study of leadership, which plays a critical role in increasingly complex and multicultural organizations. The readings and class discussions include both theoretical concepts, case studies and practical exercises.(This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirement.) (Junior status recommended)

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This course surveys key concepts, issues and theories surrounding the interactive relationship between politics and media from early communication research to the recent digital revolution. In addition to providing a background for the field of political communication, the course explores a number of key issues including: the important role of communication in diverse political contexts, cultures and institutions; the functions, processes and influences of the media and journalism in political processes; the ways in which diverse stakeholders (politicians, candidates, journalists, citizens, and advocates) engage in strategic and mediated communication; and debates and dilemmas in contemporary political communication (democracy versus post-democracy). A special section will be dedicated the relationships between social media and new forms of political branding (parties, leaders, movements), with a particular focus on: grassroots political processes, the disintermediation between leaders and electors, and the radicalization of political perspectives in new forms of populism.

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This course undertakes an in-depth discussion of the origins and development of nationalism as an ideology, as a political movement, and as a source of internal and international conflict in Europe. Following an introduction to important approaches in the theory of nationalism, special attention is devoted to the periods of the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War and its impact, and the period after the end of the Cold War in 1989. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)

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Students in their Senior year who wish to graduate with a major in History (stand alone or combined) need to take this capstone version of HIS 351 (see course description). Students in HIS 451 attend all meetings of HIS 351 and are responsible for additional and more in-depth work, to include an oral presentation and tutorials with the instructor. The additional work and the tutorials are geared towards preparing the student for the successful completion of their Senior Thesis. Students who have earned credit for HIS 351 in a previous year may not enroll and earn credit for HIS 451.

The human head is one of the most fascinating subjects in the history of art, and frequently perceived as one of the most difficult problems to tackle. The head is the basic unit of human proportions, and the key to human identity. This course will investigate the human head and human proportions in art - in painting and sculpture; in all periods and cultures. Through lectures and presentations, visits to museums or other places of interest and studio sessions, students will have the opportunity to study this subject in depth and to experiment with it using various techniques in the studio. Studio sessions and lectures will deal with the following topics: 1. Human proportions: fundamental concepts. 2. Ideal canons in the Western European tradition. 2.1 The head as basic unit. 2.2 Famous canons: the Golden Ratio, Polykleitos, Praxiteles, Vitruvian man, Leonardo, Le Corbusier. 2.3 Alignment of facial features: likeness. 2.4 Men, women and children; the ages of man. 2.5 Larger than life: comics and caricature. 2.6 The twentieth century. 3. Non-Western Ideals. 4. Beyond art and aesthetics: medicine, forensics and other applications. Studio assignments will be organized in the following media: drawing and related media, painting, clay modeling. Visits to Ticino museums will be organized according to relevance for the course (in Lugano: Museo delle Culture, Museo d'Arte, Bernasaconi home museum, Museo Cantonale; Museo Vela in Ligornetto).

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Advanced - The human head is one of the most fascinating subjects in the history of art, and frequently perceived as one of the most difficult problems to tackle. The head is the basic unit of human proportions, and the key to human identity. This course will investigate the human head and human proportions in art - in painting and sculpture; in all periods and cultures. Through lectures and presentations, visits to museums or other places of interest and studio sessions, students will have the opportunity to study this subject in depth and to experiment with it using various techniques in the studio. Studio sessions and lectures will deal with the following topics: 1. Human proportions: fundamental concepts. 2. Ideal canons in the Western European tradition. 2.1 The head as basic unit. 2.2 Famous canons: the Golden Ratio, Polykleitos, Praxiteles, Vitruvian man, Leonardo, Le Corbusier. 2.3 Alignment of facial features: likeness. 2.4 Men, women and children; the ages of man. 2.5 Larger than life: comics and caricature. 2.6 The twentieth century. 3. Non-Western Ideals. 4. Beyond art and aesthetics: medicine, forensics and other applications. Studio assignments will be organized in the following media: drawing and related media, painting, clay modeling. Visits to Ticino museums will be organized according to relevance for the course (in Lugano: Museo delle Culture, Museo d'Arte, Bernasaconi home museum, Museo Cantonale; Museo Vela in Ligornetto).

This course aims to help students improve their academic writing skills. Particular attention is given to awareness and development of academic writing structures, from essay organization to paragraph development to sentence-level detailing. Students also learn the basic conventions of evaluation and incorporation of outside resources. This course is taken in conjunction with EAP 125. A student who successfully completes EAP 120 (with a minimum final grade of C) must take EAP 130 the following semester.

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The first part of this course reviews the basic concepts of algebra, real numbers, first-degree equations and inequalities, rational expressions, exponents and radicals, and polynomials, systems of equations and inequalities. The second part strongly emphasizes graphs and functions. The most important functions for applications are introduced, such as linear, quadratic, exponential, logarithmic, and rational functions.

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Designed as a discussion/workshop seminar, this writing course develops students’ awareness of scholarly discourse and their participation in it: what makes academic discourse different from other kinds of writing, how different disciplines approach analysis and evidence, and what counts as effective communication within scholarly communities. Through the study of borders -- what they are, how they shape culture, politics and society, and why they change -- the course helps students develop academic communication strategies that are applicable across the curriculum at Franklin. The main focus of the course is to help students develop strategies for joining the academic conversation, covering skills such as close reading and responding to texts; generating, supporting and sharing ideas in both oral and written form; and scholarly researching. Drawing from a wide selection of texts and media about cross-border and cross cultural practices, which has recently garnered much attention among scholars and speaks to the Franklin mission, students will explore various academic responses to the phenomenon of border crossing, concluding with a research-based final project and defense. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing core requirement.)

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An introduction to the biological sciences. Topics include the principles of genetics, evolutionary theory, ecology, and conservation biology. Course includes occasional afternoon laboratory sessions.

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This course is an introduction to quantitative decision making. Problems covered include production scheduling, transportation problems, project management, media selection, optimum decision strategies, portfolio construction and inventory management. Theoretical methods include linear programming, integer linear programming, sensitivity analysis and complex decision trees. Case problems based on the software "Management Scientist" stress real world applications. Students are asked to write a research paper based on the real data analysis.

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Media pervades our social and private lives. We make it and in turn it makes us. This course offers an introduction to media studies, a field which seeks to understand and use media in complex and intentional ways. The course explores media as content, as an industry and as a social force. In this way, media is understood as both as an artifact (constituted by many parts) and as a set of complex processes (including production, distribution, regulation and consumption). In this course, students will learn key vocabularies and concepts in and approaches to media studies that will help them to define, describe, and critique media artifacts and processes in a variety of written and spoken formats. In addition to equipping students with the skills to understand and critique media, this course encourages and provides students with the building blocks to produce media content. Students who successfully complete this course will be prepared to take advanced courses in media studies.

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The aim of this course is to help students improve their analysis and comprehension of academic texts, and to develop strategies for efficient intake, processing and interpretation of information. Special emphasis is placed on notetaking strategies and on the critical analysis of texts. This course is taken in conjunction with EAP 120

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The course will introduce students to the evolution of theory and practice in economic development in three stages. First, models of economic growth and development including work by Harrod-Domar, Robert Solow, Arthur Lewis, and Michael Kremer are compared to provide students with a feeling for how economists have conceived of the development process. The class then proceeds to examine particular development issues such as population growth, stagnant agriculture, environmental degradation, illiteracy, gender disparities, and rapid urbanization to understand how these dynamics reinforce poverty and deprivation. In the final stage, students will read work by supporters as well as critics of international development assistance and use the knowledge and perspective they have gained thus far to independently evaluate efficacy of a specific development intervention.

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This course focuses on fictional works written by authors whose identities straddle the Mediterranean. Whether they immigrated from Algeria, Tunisia or Morocco to France or were born in France to immigrant parents, these writers have found an outlet for the expression of their personal experience in writing. These fictions gives rise to a number of issues such as the important role French people of Maghreb origins have played in the cultural shaping of France since the independence of the countries mentioned above, the subsequent interior colonialism they were and are still subject to, the topographical and social divides that separate the different ethnic strata of French society, the gender issues that have developed since the "regroupement familial" in 1974. As a complement to the readings, students will see different documentaries and / or films that will sociologically, historically and culturally frame these issues.

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This survey course is an introduction to the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of the west from the Neolithic to the voyages of discovery in the sixteenth century. Our knowledge and understanding of the past is contingent and contested. The course explores areas of contestation to give students a better understanding of the forces and events which shaped the ancient and medieval worlds and continue to shape the modern world.

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In this course, students will examine different conceptions of home in a variety of fictional works as they consider the social, political, emotional, and ideological implications of the categories of “house,“ “home,” and “belonging.” The course will consider constructions of home as an architectural, domestic, and often gendered space. It will explore whether our bodies are our first and last homes. It will question what it means to define home more broadly as, for example, a homeland or native tongue, and, in so doing, consider how modern migration and the processes of globalization have changed our relationship to our homes. Finally, as students read about homes that are on the move (caravans, nomads, etc.) or otherwise in flux, they will be provoked to rethink the binary that posits staying at home as the natural counterpart to journeying. Throughout the course primary and secondary readings will invite students to reflect upon the links between home and belonging, and ask what it means to be at home in the world. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental skills considered necessary for succeeding at the university level.

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Basic concepts of the discipline are discussed in this class with a focus on the evolution of the state and the role of the individual from historical, ideological, and comparative perspectives.

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Designed as a discussion/workshop seminar, this writing course develops students’ awareness of scholarly discourse and their participation in it: what makes academic discourse different from other kinds of writing, how different disciplines approach analysis and evidence, and what counts as effective communication within scholarly communities. Through the study of borders -- what they are, how they shape culture, politics and society, and why they change -- the course helps students develop academic communication strategies that are applicable across the curriculum at Franklin. The main focus of the course is to help students develop strategies for joining the academic conversation, covering skills such as close reading and responding to texts; generating, supporting and sharing ideas in both oral and written form; and scholarly researching. Drawing from a wide selection of texts and media about cross-border and cross cultural practices, which has recently garnered much attention among scholars and speaks to the Franklin mission, students will explore various academic responses to the phenomenon of border crossing, concluding with a research-based final project and defense. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing core requirement.)

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The course offers an introduction to the history of art and visual culture from antiquity to the Renaissance. It studies painting, sculpture, architecture, and prints within their historical, social, and cultural contexts, as well as their representation in modern media (film, documentary, etc).

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The course introduces the global business system in the context of the economic, political, social and technological environments, relating business to society as a whole. Topics covered include the international scope, function, and organization of firms, and other fundamental concepts of multinational business. The course also addresses functional areas such as the value chain, production, marketing, human resources, and accounting.

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This course explores media from the lens of ecology, using ecological concepts and thinking to both explore media as ecosystemic and reflect upon media production and consumption in terms of sustainability. Ecology is evoked because it is one of the most useful and expressive contemporary discourses to help articulate both the dynamic interrelations and interactions that characterize all forms of community as well as the ethical and political implications of their maintenance, management and/or disruption. The ultimate goal of this course is to put media in its place; situating prominent media forms within their unique cultural, historical, and geographical places and putting media in its appropriate place in our own lives and communities.

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This intermediate-level course in microeconomics builds upon the introductory two-semester sequence and, in conjunction with ECN 225, prepares students to upper-level economics. It is a program requirement for the majors in International Banking and Finance and International Economics, as well as for Economics as a combined major. It is also one of the options towards Economics as a minor. This course completes the theoretical background on microeconomics and introduces students to more advanced topics, with an emphasis on the practical relevance and application of theory. The essence of the course is, in particular, the study of the interaction between rational individual decision-making (e.g. consumers, firms, the government) and the working of economic institutions like markets, regulation and social rules. Topics covered include an introduction to game theory, strategic behavior and entry deterrence; analysis of technological change; the internal organization of the firm; economic efficiency; public goods, externalities and information; government and business.

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This course provides an introduction to the essentials of French grammar, vocabulary, and culture. The acquisition of aural/oral skills are stressed right from the beginning, and as such, the predominant language of instruction is French. In this course, students will acquire basic knowledge of written and spoken structures so that they will be able to read and comprehend short passages in French and write simple compositions and dialogues.

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The beginning courses stress the understanding and speaking of the language. As students progress through elementary conversation, more grammar study is introduced and reading and composition skills are developed.

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This course is designed for students who do not have any knowledge of the Italian language. 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 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. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community.

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In this course, students will engage with representations of travel produced across time and in various forms and genres, from the exploration novel to travel journalism to the road movie. They will consider how travelers negotiate and adapt various tropes of travel (such as quest, exploration, exile, and pilgrimage) as models for their own journeys. They will explore how the ephemeral experience of travel can be translated onto the page or screen, and question what we, as readers or viewers, gain from experiencing travel second hand. And, finally, students will analysis the particular narrative features that shape the form and content of travel writing. In this writing intensive course, students will also get the chance to practice the forms that they study. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)

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This course reviews basic concepts and attempts to enhance competency in problem solving. Topics include linear equations and inequalities, polynomials, factoring, exponents and radicals, fractional expressions and equations, and quadratic equations. (0 Credit)

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This introductory course will explore basic watercolor painting techniques. Starting with exercises aimed at understanding the nature of the medium, students will then move on to investigate various aspects of watercolor painting (direct methods, tonal and color layering, color theory, sketching and painting en plein air, sources of inspiration). Visits to museums, exhibits or ateliers may be organized if possible. The course carries a fee for art supplies.

Intermediate course aimed at further developing the basic skills learned in STA 112. More emphasis will be placed on developing individual projects and exploring watercolor-related media. The course carries a fee for art supplies.

A higher course aimed at further developing the basic skills learned in STA 212. More emphasis will be placed on developing individual projects and exploring watercolor-related media. The course carries a fee for art supplies.

This course sets out to chart and discuss the development of painting in France from the emergence of Romanticism in the early 19th Century to the critical recognition of post-impressionist practices at the turn of the 20th Century. It looks at the changing relations to reality that were developed by the impressionist group, leading to the emergence of a new visual understanding of the world in cubists practices that resolutely abandoned the aesthetics space inherited from the Renaissance. The course considers both the continuous evolution of a classical tradition sustained by state institutions and its progressive superseding by an avant-garde relying on the growth of the private commercial sector. Throughout this course, the relationship between the visual arts and other forms of cultural expression will be highlighted.

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This computer based course covers statistical estimation theory as applied to dynamic and volatile business systems. It addresses sampling distributions, population parameter estimation, hypothesis testing, statistical quality control, statistical model building, multiple regression analysis, Box-Jenkins autoregressive models, seasonal models and dynamic forecasting. Ultimately students are asked to write a research paper: "Dynamic Statistical Modeling in Business and Economics using Web based Resources".

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This course aims at (re)-defining masculinity, in other words at exploring what it is to be/ exist as a man in today's society. To paraphrase Simone de Beauvoir, is one born a man or does one become a man? (Re)-defining masculinity focuses on the recent developments of gender studies, namely the study of masculinity to include male power, sexualities, intimacy, families, language, sport, rap culture, etc.

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Human-mediated introductions of species outside of their native range have long been part of human history. While initially the introduction of non-native species to new habitats was seen mostly positively and even as advantageous for the local biodiversity, to date, biological invasions are widely recognized as one of the major threats to biodiversity and native species. Yet, the rate of introductions of non-native species worldwide is still increasing. Using, among others, the story of the introductions of rainbow trout in the United States and examples from Ticino and the Alps, this seminar will explore the history of human-mediated biological invasions, the reasons behind the introductions of non-native species, and the effects of non-native species on the local species, the local ecosystems, and on us. Field trips, including possibly a weekend in the Alps, will be integral and required parts of the seminar. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental critical and academic skills necessary for success at the university level.

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This course is designed for students who have completed one year of French language study. It reviews and expands on grammar, vocabulary, and culture acquired in FRE 100 and FRE 101. The acquisition of aural/oral skills are stressed, and as such, the predominant language of instruction is French. By the end of the course, students are expected to be proficient in the written and spoken usage of intermediate linguistic structures. Further, students are introduced to short literary texts, inviting conversation and some initial literary analysis

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On the morning of 6 August 1945 an entire city was almost entirely destroyed by an attack from a single plane. How humanity reached such a point of destruction and the ways people have dealt with this tragedy ever since are the focus of this course. Topics to be explored include Japan’s rapid modernization from the nineteenth century and its twentieth century military culture, scientific advances, the difficult decisions of wartime, popular memory and commemoration, Japan’s enduring ‘nuclear allergy’ and its effects on politics and popular culture, the prospect of imminent destruction throughout the Cold War and the continuing diplomatic standoffs regarding the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The course makes use of a variety of sources including texts, original documents, manga, films (including Japanese anime) and other media. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental critical and academic skills necessary for succeeding at the university level.

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This course is designed for students who do not have any knowledge of the Italian language. 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 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. Whenever possible, the written assignments will be designed to foster practical communication skills and encourage efforts towards increased student integration in the local Italian-speaking community.

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The focus of this course is the development of supra-national and international agencies and entities. The United Nations, the European Union, the IMF, the World Bank, trading blocs, and other specialized agencies are studied as examples-in light of increasing economic interdependence in the international system.

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“For me, drawing is a way of navigating the imagination, and it remains the fundamental vehicle of my practice. Drawing allows me to be at my most inventive” - Shahzia Sikander. Contemporary artist Shahzia Sikander’s notion of “navigating the imagination” truly encompasses the many forms, uses and meanings that fall under the process and practice of drawing. From our own personal beginnings as children making marks on various kinds of surfaces to the highly articulate drawings of architects and engineers, from prehistoric cave art to the supreme draftsmanship of the world’s great artists, from our distracted doodling to computer graphics and 3-D printing, this FYS will investigate drawing from many points of view, including art history and criticism, studio practice, communication, cognitive and developmental psychology, and aesthetics. Participants will set out on a project-based course of study organized according to different themes and articulated into assignments covering a wide range of media. In learning about the many facets of this fundamental human activity, students will develop a greater awareness of their surroundings, hone their skills of observation and communication and work together on a final comprehensive fine arts project. Like all First Year Seminars, this course will cultivate the fundamental critical and academic skills necessary for succeeding at university.

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This course deals with financial problems of multinational business. Topics include sources of funds for foreign operations, capital budgeting and foreign investment decisions, foreign exchange losses, and evaluation of securities of multinational and foreign corporations. Particular emphasis is placed on international capital and financial markets. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.) Recommended: BUS 306.

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. Together with ECN 100, it provides the necessary prerequisites for any other upper-level course in economics. It is a program requirement for the majors in International Banking and Finance, International Economics, International Management, International Relations, and Environmental Science. It is also a prerequisite for Economics as a combined major as well as a minor. 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.

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For students who have completed at least two years of college-level language studies or the equivalent. This course reinforces and expands on grammar, vocabulary, and culture learnt in previous years of French language study. It introduces students to different literary and cinematic genres reflecting the contemporary scene of the Francophone world. Development of techniques of expression are accomplished through oral and written exercises.

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The sequence completes and expands upon students' command of the structural foundation of the language. Communicative and meaningful use of the lan- guage is stressed through interactive activities using short texts, scripting and videotaping of presentations, etc.

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This survey course is an introduction to the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of the west from the Neolithic to the voyages of discovery in the sixteenth century. Our knowledge and understanding of the past is contingent and contested. The course explores areas of contestation to give students a better understanding of the forces and events which shaped the ancient and medieval worlds and continue to shape the modern world.

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Stories are everywhere. We use them, consciously or unconsciously, to make sense of identities, experiences, and desires. And, at the same time, we are shaped by the stories that we absorb and interpret. This course explores how storytelling both reflects and shapes our lives. It introduces students to keywords and terms for reading and reflecting upon stories, both in the pages of books and in everyday life. The course considers a variety of narrative forms, including short stories, novels, fairy tales, self-help manuals, comics, films, podcasts, and political discourse. The course introduces students to fundamental questions about the nature of storytelling, while developing the vocabulary and critical skills for analysing and discussing stories. This is a writing intensive course in which students read as they learn to write. Students practice applying a critical vocabulary to textual forms as well as becoming familiar with the skills of drafting and editing. The course also introduces students to some of the professional pathways open to writers and storytellers. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)

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Basic concepts of descriptive statistics, such as random variables, random sampling, histograms, central tendency measures, variance and standard deviation, probability rules, and correlation coefficients, are presented in this course. The most important probability distributions, binomial and normal, are introduced. Inferential statistics and sampling distributions are briefly covered in order to introduce statistical model building and linear regression analysis.

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This introductory course presents three significant historical periods, based upon the works of their most important composers – from Haydn and Mozart to Mahler and Stravinsky. It explains the various genres from chamber music and symphonic music to opera. Combining guided listening, live performances and technology, the course explores the multitude of styles of the different epochs. It also presents at each stage the cultural and political contexts in which music evolved.

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In an increasingly digital age, books have experienced a renaissance as a privileged channel of independent creative expression. This course takes this resurgence as a starting point to investigate the historical forms and contemporary opportunities offered by the book medium to artists, writers and activists. First, students will be introduced to the history of the printing revolution in Europe, the development of typography and their impact on intellectual and political history. Second, the course will look at the production of artists’ books in the 19th and 20th century, in parallel with the advent of modernity, where numbered editions signalled a printing alternative to the rise of mass culture. Third, a strong emphasis is placed on exploring a range of models and opportunities offered by contemporary independent publishing. In that vein, the course will consider both material and virtual channels, taking into account the surge of digital technologies and their implications in both the return to the book as a physical object, and the connections the latter nurtures with its electronic parent. Students will look at the aesthetic, social and political remit of contemporary publishing practices, and will be asked to develop a personal publishing project. Recommended prerequisite: AHT 102 or AHT 103 or LC 100 or COM 201

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This course is designed to provide an understanding of how to manage both products and services over their life cycles. This course is designed to build on the conceptual tools covered in the introductory marketing course by applying them to management issues related to products and services. The course will be divided into two parts. The first half will focus on issues related to product management, moving from new product design and development to product line and product category decisions. The second half will focus on services marketing strategies to increase customer satisfaction, improve customer retention and create dominant service brands.

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Managerial challenges for non-profits are often more complex than those in the pri-vate sector: leaders need to navigate and address the needs of multiple stakeholders while balancing core values with effective delivery of activities. This course exam-ines the context, issues, and skills associated with the leadership and management of high impact, international organizations. Students will gain an understanding of civil society and the nonprofit sector; strategic planning; collaboration and partnerships; and adaptive leadership in the social sector. Through the presentation of case studies, assignments, readings, class guests, and interactive workshops, students will work up to a pro-bono consulting project with a Swiss-based non-profit or an independent feasibility study for starting a mission driven organization.

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The course investigates in a simple but rigorous way some of the fundamental issues of modern microeconomics, exploring the main concepts of game theory, as well as the basic elements of the economics of information, and of contract theory. A solid background on these topics is essential to the investigation of strategic decision making, the assessment of the relevance of asymmetric and/or incomplete information in decision processes, and the design of contracts. These, in turn, are among the most important issues that firms and individuals commonly need to face in all situations in which the consequences of individual decisions are likely to depend on the strategic interactions among agents' actions, and on the signaling value of information. Proceeding from intuition to formal analysis, the course investigates the methodological approach of game theory (allowing for a systematic analysis of strategic interaction) and the main concepts of the economics of information (allowing to assess the effects of asymmetric or incomplete information on agents' decisions). Further, it combines both game theory and economics of information to provide an introduction to the essential elements of contract theory.

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This course offers an innovative look at Italian filmmakers, novelists, journalists, television actors, philosophers, photographers, translators, singers, contemporary internet personalities, who refuse to be defined by one category of artistry and, instead, view work across genres and media as an important means to amplifying the scope and range of their unique message, while commonly embracing the value of cross-fertilization and hybridity. Franca Rame and Dario Fo, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Dacia Maraini, Umberto Eco, Amelia Rosselli: these are just a few of the Italian cultural icons of hybridity to whom students will be introduced. There is a significant project production component to this class which asks students to venture into multimedia assignments (merging digital photography with fiction writing, for example; or exploring the concept of liminality in both music and the prose poem).

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This course serves as a capstone for departmental majors. It focuses on classical and contemporary contributions in our fields and directly addresses the methodologies which students need to write their final theses. Students will be required to actively prepare and discuss class readings. They will also have the opportunity to work on their thesis projects and to discuss these in class.

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Criminology deals with crimes and their authors through a multi-disciplinary lens, one that includes psychology, medicine, law and sociology. After introducing several of the fundamental theoretical frameworks upon which criminology is based, this course will focus on the analysis of single psycho-pathologies and how they relate to crime, in particular homicide, sex crimes, abuse, and white-collar crimes. The course will include lectures as well as the analysis of criminal cases and the participation of local experts in the field.

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This experimental, introductory course will explore the creative possibilities of media that have often been considered largely mechanical and reproductive processes. Comments on the history of printing will be integrated in lessons on relief and intaglio printing processes (monoprints, linoleum cuts, wood block prints, embossing, drypoint). Visits to museums, exhibits or ateliers may be organized if possible. (This course carries a fee for art supplies.)

Intermediate course aimed at further developing the basic printing skills learned in STA 106. More techniques of printmaking may be explored, for example, silkscreen or collagraph. (This course carries a fee for art supplies.)

A higher course aimed at further developing the basic printing skills learned in STA 206. Emphasis will be placed on developing individual projects, and more techniques of printmaking may be explored, for example, silkscreen or collagraph. (This course carries a fee for art supplies.)

This course examines the ecology and the management of the European Alps. It introduces students to the natural history and functions of these important ecosystems. It examines how the climate, fauna, flora, and landscapes have interacted and evolved over time. Further, it provides students an overview of threats facing these systems today, such as climate change, human use, and non-native species. It introduces students to research methods used to study mountain environments and impacts of management activities. The travel portion will visit sites in the Central and Western Alps to study natural environments in situ and connect students with local researchers and organizations active in the field. Students will spend significant time outdoors in the field in a variety of weather. Access to some sites will require moderate amounts of hiking in mountainous terrain. Previous coursework in biology or environmental science encouraged.

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Colonialism has left its traces not only very obviously on the former colonies themselves but also on the face of the cities of the colonisers. Host of the “Congo Conference” that carved up the continent in 1885, Germany was late into the “scramble for Africa.” However, it has long been implicated in colonialism through trade, scientific exploration, and Hamburg’s position as a “hinterland” of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Seeking to explore colonial echoes in less obvious places, namely in contemporary Berlin and Hamburg, the course asks how we can remember colonialism in the modern world, become conscious of its traces, and encourage critical thinking about the connections between colonialism, migration and globalization. As an Academic Travel, this course will include an on-site component where the class will team up with postcolonial focus groups in Berlin and Hamburg, going onto the street and into the museum to retrace the cities’ colonial connections, and to experience and engage with the colonial past through performance-based activities.

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This travel course will focus on forced migration and refugees, with a travel component that takes the class to Greece, one of the major European nodes of the current refugees crisis. The course offers an interdisciplinary approach to the political, social and cultural contexts of forced migration and is coupled with the study of a number of imaginative responses that help to shape attitudes and positions towards refugees. Throughout this course, students will study ideas of human rights as they relate to refugees, political and theoretical concepts that help to think through notions of belonging, sovereignty, welcome, and a range of cultural narratives, including films, public art, theater and literature, that bring their own critical interventions to bear on the emergent discourses surrounding refugees.

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The interplay between political and economic issues has been central to the study of international relations in the modern world. This course examines the traditional theoretical foundations of International Political Economy (the views of the liberals, the Marxists, the nationalists, etc.) and their applicability to today’s world. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the course investigates the problems of development and North-South relations, to include an academic travel component to South Africa and Botswana where course topics will be applied in the field. International trade issues, post-colonial dependency theory, environmental and human rights concerns, and the role of institutions such as the WTO, the IMF and Multinational Corporations (MNCs) will be studied. Finally, the course considers issues of global governance, the global financial and energy crisis, geopolitics, histories of regime change, and issues and methods of maintaining national security. (Formerly POL 277. Students cannot earn credit for both POL 277 and POL 377/POL 377T.) This travel course will carry a supplemental fee: CHF 1,590 (for students invoiced in CHF) or USD 1,720 (for students invoiced in USD).

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Georgia was an independent kingdom in the Middle Ages. It came under Russian influence at the beginning of the 19th Century and briefly declared independence during the Russian Revolution. In the early 1920s it was annexed by the Soviet Union and was a Soviet republic until its breakup. Independence and the radical changes that began in 1991 have created tremendous challenges and opportunities for this country. The focus of this academic travel is to try to understand the history of Georgia, and the changes taking place today. The group will visit the capital, Tbilisi, as well as other significant towns. Lectures, meetings with local officials and visits to cultural landmarks will provide the basis for understanding the recent history and present situation.

This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamental concepts about being an entrepreneur, especially in the high-tech area, and the related concept of risk taking in order to stay competitive in a fast-moving economy. Students will explore preeminent thinkers in the field of entrepreneurship and risk taking, as well as today's leading minds, entrepreneurial visionaries and landmark ideas that have established this innovative area of business. Students will look at the basis of entrepreneurship and at fundamental approaches to creating and building a startup business. Students will explore and discuss case studies, articles published in business-related periodicals and sections of published works on entrepreneurship. This course includes an Academic Travel component to private and public entities that sponsor entrepreneurial activity generally in Switzerland, France and Italy.

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This course focuses on the basic concepts of value and risk, and explores the principles that guide strategic investment decisions. Major emphasis is placed on the notion of net present value, the evaluation and pricing of bonds and stocks, and the definition and measurement of risk. The concepts of portfolio risk and expected return, as well as the role of portfolio diversification are carefully investigated. Students are then introduced to market efficiency, portfolio theory and the relationship between risk and return in the context of alternative theories, mainly the capital asset pricing model and the arbitrage pricing theory. (Recommended: ECN 225, ECN 256; Strongly Recommended: MAT 200)

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