SPRING 2027 Travel Course Offerings
| Course | Topic and Destination | Leader |
|---|---|---|
| BUS 251T | Sustain Luxury Management (Med Region) | Schultz |
| This course aims to bring clarity to the paradoxical nature of the luxury industry, where excess and indulgence stand in sharp contrast to the concept of sustainability. Students will be introduced to the peculiarities that make the luxury sector distinct from conventional management environments. Thus, the course will teach students about the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the luxury industry. Students will learn about the peculiar social and environmental challenges faced by luxury corporations due to their focus on experiential and hedonic products and services. Furthermore, the course teaches students how luxury corporations can effectively handle diverging stakeholder demands and create a long-term sustainability strategy. The course outlook spotlights cutting edge topics related to emerging industry trends. Luxury corporations are under pressure to meet expectations from younger consumer generations who prioritize social and environmental practices throughout supply chains and have different ideas about what luxury means in the digital age. To address this, the course outlook offers insights into the role of new technologies. The travel component of this course will take place in the Mediterranean Region (cruise). | ||
| CLCS 251T | Reading Moroccan Culture | Saveau |
| This course examines gender, ethnic, class, family, age, religious relationships within contemporary Morocco. It first provides students with a historical overview of Morocco since its independence in 1956, focusing on the monarchies of Hassan II and Mohammed VI the current king. It explores the power dynamics that exist in a society that is predominantly patrilinear and where gender roles are mostly divided along a binary system; it studies the place of the individual in a society where the collective ego prevails; it considers the place of Berber identity within Moroccan society and finally it explores Sufism as a counter-power to any form of Islamic rigorism. All the themes studied are substantiated with presentations by Moroccan scholars working in the fields of sociology, gender, ethnic, religious, and music studies. (Knowledge of French recommended.) NOTE: This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: CHF 450 (for students invoiced in CHF) or USD 590 (for students invoiced in USD). | ||
| COM 235T | Food Journalism and Culture (Italy) | Martinisi |
| The importance of food is clear: we eat food to stay alive and thrive. Food, its production, commodification, preparation and consumption is and it has long been a place of cultural formation, negotiation and mediatization. In this sense food journalism plays a crucial role in today's journalism practice around the world in attracting a larger and diversified readership. The course will introduce food through its mediated representation involving journalism but also film, television and the Internet. The topics include the politics of celebrity chefs, food TV shows, restaurant reviews, lifestyle journalism, and other food media's place in the "world of goods". It will also include the social dimensions of food in media by engaging with issues of multinational power, globalization and inequality. The travel component to Italy will include visits to Milan, Parma, and Bologna. This will offer a great opportunity for students to develop insights into the field of food journalism and to experience the excellence of the Italian food with the aim of connecting food texts, culture and writing. | ||
| ECN 105T | Economic Growth & AI (Med Region) | Dianova |
| Recent decades have been characterized by unprecedented rates of economic growth that have brought millions of people across the globe out of poverty. Growth dynamics are likely to change even more rapidly as artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become increasingly sophisticated and integral to the process of production and distribution of goods and services worldwide. However, rapid growth and increasing reliance on sophisticated production technologies come with costs and risks that must be considered alongside the evident benefits. How will the nature of work change in the age of AI? Some professions, production processes and tasks may be, by nature, more resistant to the incursion of technology, raising important questions that society will need to answer in the coming years. What is the future of artists, artisans and tradition in an age of highly-sophisticated technologies capable of replicating creative work at a fraction of the time and cost? Should there be a 'human-made' premium on handcrafted creative output? Should economists focus on alternative measures of growth that give greater weight to quality of output rather than quantity, or to the benefit that such production brings in terms of societal wellbeing? This course will prompt contemplation of these and other important issues. Craftsmanship will be the focus of the week-long Mediterranean Cruise, which will take students to a number of different cities, all of which boast rich histories and traditions of artisanal production. | ||
| ENV 232T | Marine System Conservation (Cape Verde) | Della Croce |
| This course examines various aspects of marine and coastal systems. First, it provides an overview of the major physical, chemical and ecological processes that control and shape these systems. Then, it explores how society interacts with marine systems, how human activities alter them, and what these changes could mean for humanity's future. Lastly, the course looks at different protection and conservation approaches. During Academic Travel, students will visit and study coastal and marine ecosystems and will gain hands-on experience in marine medicine (in conjunction with University of Colorado School of Medicine). The Academic Travel component of this course will take place in Cape Verde. (Good swimming abilities required.) NOTE: This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: CHF 800 (for students invoiced in CHF) or USD 1,050 (for students invoiced in USD). | ||
| HIS 275T | History of Modern Ireland | Hoey |
| Ireland has undergone profound social, economic and political changes over the last two centuries. Its history has been largely defined, for better or worse, by its relationship with its larger neighbor, Britain. This course critically examines the contours and effects of this often troubled relationship which can largely be defined as the struggle between union and dis-union, that is, either strengthening or severing the link with Britain. Going beyond these constitutional issues it also examines wider social and cultural changes; the famine and its legacy, the land revolution of the late nineteenth century, emigration, the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy and Ireland’s delayed sexual revolution. | ||
| POL 216T | Contemporary Global Challenges (Vienna) | Bucher |
| To better understand (some of) the major challenges humanity faces today, this course introduces students to the underlying structures and the key actors that shape global relations. As such, this travel course provides an opportunity to engage with the main building-blocks of the contemporary international order and to inquire into the interactions among states, international organizations and non-governmental actors. Some of the key topics covered in class (and on travel) include: understanding the prospects for cooperation and conflict and the role which International Organizations and diplomatic (language) practices play at the global level; mapping the diverging (political, economic and cultural) perspectives at the intersection of energy security, climate change, and sustainable development; and analyzing the developing discourse on state sovereignty, intervention practices and human rights. | ||
| PSY 232T | Psychology and Technology (Finland) | Toivonen |
| This course introduces students to research and practice connecting technology to psychology and aims to spark an interest in exploring what technology can give to the discipline of psychology, and vice versa. The classes open your eyes to the everyday impact of technology on our psychological functioning and wellbeing. We will explore questions such as how can technology be used in psychological research and what is the potential of technology in psychological interventions and therapies. Can Virtual Reality innovations help us alleviate psychological suffering? Are mobile apps and social media only a source of digital addiction and suffering, or can they be used in ways that support human well-being and flourishing? The students develop their own concept for a technological product to support wellbeing. During the Academic Travel portion of the course, students will travel to Finland to learn first-hand about the interconnectedness of psychology and technology by e.g. visiting technology companies and interacting with students and researchers active in various technology-related fields. Tentatively, the Academic Travel portion of this course will take place in the cities of Helsinki and Tampere. | ||
No one-credit courses are scheduled for SPRING 2027.