Italian Studies

This course will introduce the cultural identity of Florentines and the history of Florence, covering four main periods: the Renaissance, foreign rule, 1815 - World War I, and fascism through to the present day. Students will investigate key patterns of the Florentine cultural identity paradigm, including a variety of aspects within topics such as politics, economy, religion, law, arts, and language; and examine lines of continuity and discontinuity between Florentine, Tuscan, Italian, European, and world cultural patterns.

This course will introduce the impact of globalization on Florence. Using the city as a research field, students will explore the complex dynamics that shape the identity of Florence by applying a critical perspective on the notion of globalization, and by analyzing the socio-cultural forces at play both historically and presently; observe the cultural variability in Florence; discuss the relativity of cultural values; and investigate how the multicultural aspect of Florence’s identity has been discursively constructed, and by which social actors.

This course will introduce contemporary Italy’s major issues (immigration, acceptance of diversity, relationships with politics, and racism) through recently released films. Students will analyze 20 films from the late 1990s to the present day; develop an understanding of contemporary Italian society through the image that some of the most valuable Italian filmmakers of the youngest generation have given of the cultural, political, and working environment they live in; and explore the ways in which contemporary Italian cinema has followed, mirrored, and sometimes even anticipated, cultural and social transformations in Italian society.

This course will explore the complexities of cultural identity and migration, and the impact they have on intercultural conflict and cooperation. There will be a particular focus on migration in Italy and on the marginalized communities of contemporary Italy, such as migrants, their Italian-born non-citizen children, and the Roma. We will examine the fluidity of cultural boundaries across time and space, and how ingroup and outgroup dynamics contribute to the manufacturing of fear and prejudice among populations. During their semester abroad, students will reflect on the various elements that define a culture while gaining an increased understanding of how culture shapes individuals and how our cultural identities interact in shared social spaces such as the piazze of Florence. 

This course will introduce a broad range of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Florence from the great projects of the Middle Ages that defined the religious and political centers of the city, with a special focus on major monuments of the Renaissance period. Students will examine issues of social, political, and economic context, as well their function, which was integral to artistic production of the period; conduct related scholarly research; deepen their appreciation of Renaissance civilization; and analyze the interrelationship between people’s creative achievements and their society.

This course will introduce the cultural identity of Florentines and the history of Florence, covering four main periods: the Renaissance, foreign rule, 1815 - World War I, and fascism through to the present day. Students will investigate key patterns of the Florentine cultural identity paradigm, including a variety of aspects within topics such as politics, economy, religion, law, arts, and language; and examine lines of continuity and discontinuity between Florentine, Tuscan, Italian, European, and world cultural patterns.

This course is designed for students who master the grammatical structure of the Italian language and are ready to achieve a higher degree of proficiency in the four basic language skills (reading, listening, speaking, and writing). Emphasis will be given to oral and written exercises, practicing with various kinds of texts and genres (reports, historical and literary texts, expositions and data analyses, movies) giving particular attention to their textual type (narrative, descriptive, argumentative). Students are required to write reports, short essays, plot summaries and reaction papers about movies. 

The course combines several integrated approaches aimed at developing advanced language skills. Classroom time is devoted mainly to speaking and practicing Italian through a combination of group-based and individual activities, focusing on grammatical structures, language functions and vocabulary. Sessions also address a range of contemporary cultural themes using newspaper articles, advertising material and short film clips. In addition, onsite activities, regular practice and conversation exchanges with peers and locals will give students the opportunity to rapidly implement in real local-community situations their linguistic advances and newly acquired intercultural competences. 

Extra-curricular activities, such as public lectures or film nights organized by various local institutions, will be announced at the start of the semester to foster the knowledge of Italy and the Italians, and develop sensitivity towards cultural differences.

Prior to Spring 2023, the course code was ITA 303.

This course will introduce the impact of globalization on Florence. Using the city as a research field, students will explore the complex dynamics that shape the identity of Florence by applying a critical perspective on the notion of globalization, and by analyzing the socio-cultural forces at play both historically and presently; observe the cultural variability in Florence; discuss the relativity of cultural values; and investigate how the multicultural aspect of Florence’s identity has been discursively constructed, and by which social actors.

Why is there so much bad blood involved in the stories of artists and their artworks? Why did Michelangelo despise Raphael, even for decades after Raphae's death? How did Henry Matisse and Pablo Picasso balance their perpetual competition with a lifelong friendship? What transgression pitted the notorious titans of the London graffiti scene, Bansky and King Robbo, in a rivalry that ended with a tragic and unforeseeable death? Creativity as a result of rivalry has fascinated art historians since the 16th century. In fact, the publication of Giorgio Vasari's biographies in Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects helped establish Florence's place in the art historical world as one in which artists were continuously driven to outdo one another. In Florence and beyond, so many of the "composed" masterpieces from the Renaissance to the contemporary era owe their vitality, innovation, and success to backstage brawling. 

This course considers commissions, contracts, and artistic creation side-by-side with aspects of the artists' own human experience - envy, jealousy, and the simple need for competition - by analyzing examples of artists' rivalries through the centuries. The drama of these stories is brought to life through contemporary quotes from poems, letters, treatises, contracts, interviews, statements, and more. The recovery and reconstruction of historical and sociological elements through narrative describe how the rivalries that delight today's art fans helped to inform the way cultures approach art and artists. Our investigative journey will transform some of the big names of the art world into real people - grumpy, ornery, antagonistic and flawed - and better reveals how all of us respond to art.

This course will introduce students to fundamental approaches, techniques, tools, and mediums of drawing. Students will focus on various aspects of Florence as subject matter; enrich studio work with encounters with Florentine artists and through field studies; increase their visual awareness and perception; explore their creative potential and ability to make visual statements, while enjoying the challenge of drawing; and visually interpret examples of the impact of globalization in the urban environment through their artwork.

This course will introduce basic tools and techniques of figurative sculpture, focusing on skills and techniques necessary for clay modeling. Students will approach full three-dimensionality, starting with the copy of a detail of Michelangelo’s David and ending with the copy of the Bernini’s portrait of Costanza Bonarelli, following the entire process through a step-by-step demonstration. Following this, students will have the opportunity to develop an idea for a personal project, based on a theme, and present it with a proposal. They will also take part in a jewelry-making workshop.

This course will introduce students to the materials and techniques of the versatile medium of oil painting within the framework of Florence. Students will focus on various aspects of Florence as subject matter; enrich studio work with encounters with Florentine artists and through field studies; increase their visual awareness and perception; explore their creative potential and ability to make visual statements, while enjoying the challenge of painting; and visually interpret examples of the impact of globalization in the urban environment through their artwork.

This course will introduce students to the materials and techniques of the unpredictable medium of watercolor painting within the framework of Florence. Students will focus on various aspects of Florence as subject matter; enrich studio work with encounters with Florentine artists and through field studies; increase their visual awareness and perception; explore their creative potential and ability to make visual statements, while enjoying the challenge of painting; and visually interpret examples of the impact of globalization in the urban environment through their artwork.

This interdisciplinary course will explore the experiences of nineteenth-century Black American women in Italy. During the course students will examine the ways in which race, gender, class, age, nationality, and other social categorizations may intersect in Black women?s experiences. Students will come to understand how for Black women, travel equaled freedom and crossing the ocean meant leaving restraining norms of the home society behind.  Through in-class discussions, lectures, cultural experiences and field studies, students will learn and reflect on the experience of nineteenth-century Florence and its foreign visitors.

With the rise of global mobility and communication, encounters between people of diverse and multiple cultural identities are increasingly common. Less obvious are the reasons why these encounters can be challenging and, more importantly, the knowledge and skills necessary for overcoming communication barriers that arise from differences in communication styles and patterns. This course is designed to give students the tools needed to be competent global citizen in the interconnected world.

The study of intercultural communication requires not only grappling with broad concepts such as "culture", "communication", and "identity", but also learning how communication styles are patterned within cultural groups. This course thus explores the interaction between culture and communication and introduces students to the knowledge and skills requisite to building intercultural competence. More specifically, this course invites students to analyze and evaluate how their own cultural identity influences communication with others; encourages interaction with the host culture; and prepares students with knowledge and skills to be effective and ethical intercultural communicators.

This course will introduce contemporary Italy’s major issues (immigration, acceptance of diversity, relationships with politics, and racism) through recently released films. Students will analyze 20 films from the late 1990s to the present day; develop an understanding of contemporary Italian society through the image that some of the most valuable Italian filmmakers of the youngest generation have given of the cultural, political, and working environment they live in; and explore the ways in which contemporary Italian cinema has followed, mirrored, and sometimes even anticipated, cultural and social transformations in Italian society.

This course provides you with an interactive experience of contemporary life in Italy, by exploring a range of defining features of this country and its people.  In-class and on-site lectures will alert you to salient socio-political and cultural phenomena in current Italian life, triggering critical analysis and evaluation of your surroundings. In particular, you will observe and reflect on practices of identity formation, as these are expressed in class, gender, and community relations; political allegiance and conflict; cultural alignment or dissent; social solidarity and artistic innovation.  

You will actively and independently deploy the primary modes of sociological research to directly engage the host society: participant observation, interviews, and field-notes. These will provide opportunities to compare your own direct experiences with scholarly literature on contemporary Italy in an attempt to identify specific local expressions of broadly identified social patterns.

This course is taught in English and requires no prior study of Italian language, but your direct engagement with Italian society will expose you to the Italian language in a variety of contexts, and you will be encouraged to extend and apply your developing language skills at whatever level they are.  

This course was previously offered under the title: Living Italy: Contemporary Culture & Society
*This course is cross-listed as ANT320

This course will explore the field of cross-cultural psychology through a focus on Italy and its inhabitants. Students will discuss aspects of cross-cultural analysis from the field of cross-cultural psychology, including cultural influence on human behavior, attitude, values, communication, and societal organization; examine topics of ethnocentrism, individual vs. collective societies, plural societies, cultural views on mental health, and intercultural communication; and investigate methodical issues of cross-cultural research, with the opportunity to be participant-observers of their own experiences in Italy, including through field work.

The course will begin by defining what is meant by Family Business and its importance to all economies, both developed and developing. Students will firstly become familiar with the entrepreneurship process through which a small business is created. This occurs when individuals identify opportunities, evaluate whether they are viable, and then assemble the resources needed to build a new venture. In the course, some of the unique issues faced by entrepreneurial firms and family businesses will also be presented.

Students will be guided through an examination of the challenges of managing small firms and an exploration of the realities of achieving growth. For instance, the following topics will be covered: family ownership (FIAT), family involvement in management (Ferrero) and the influence of a family over a business (including the legacy of a Family Business)(Gucci). Family Businesses have a significant part to play in economies; in Europe 67% of employees are employed in Family Businesses (Pozza, 2009). Performance, Ethics, Innovation and Quality will be proposed and critically evaluated as advantages of family controlled businesses. The course will also address the anatomy of Family Businesses looking at Management Structure, Control Mechanisms, Strategy Formation, Growth Strategy, Supply Chain Relationships, Financial Structure and Culture of Family Business.

The course will look at the specific issues surrounding a Family Business from birth and entrepreneurship, through growth stages (including red flags), into continuation to next generation ownership, partial ownership, corporate governance in Family Businesses, into devolvement of control of the business, including the termination strategies for a Family Business.

The course will be reinforced with case studies and visits to Family Businesses located in the Florence surroundings. Students will be encouraged to explore and in-bed themselves into the local Family Business tradition by means of site visits and meetings with representatives from such businesses.

This course will explore the Florentine literary world, focusing on great masterpieces from the 14th century, such as Dante’s "Vita Nuova" and "The Divine Comedy" and Boccaccio’s "The Decameron". Students will take a multidisciplinary approach to English translations of these texts, examining their social, political, historical, and philosophical implications, while giving special attention to the impact that the Medieval/Renaissance city of Florence had in their writing. Students will develop an understanding of why certain forms of artistic expression are peculiar to certain ages, at times to the exclusion of others.

This course introduces Italian gastronomy while focusing on the complex value codes and beliefs related to Italian local products and their consumption. The course is divided into four parts. In the first part, students will be encouraged to define the concepts of food and culture, explore the role of cuisine in collective and individual identities, and examine how cultural food habits are created and change. This part covers the broader context that includes and sustains the way food is produced, prepared and consumed in Italy: The Mediterranean diet. 

The second part of the course explains the theoretical and ideological aspects of cuisine in Italy and identifies the particular characteristics of traditional Italian cuisine. The third part of the course presents historical events that have shaped the cultural food model in Italy by exploring the many influences of the modern Italian diet. The final part focuses on some of the foods that comprise the core of the Italian diet. The course includes a number of experiential learning activities that may vary from term to term. These range from visits to local markets and wineries to a variety of workshops, including olive oil tasting, a bread workshop, and a cooking workshop.

This course will explore a range of theories and debates that surround the issue of gender in both Florence and international contexts. Students will develop an understanding of key concepts and ideas that have been applied to the study of gendered identity; critically analyze gendered identity in both Florence and the United States; and examine historical and contemporary case studies in order to investigate how and why gender is such a critical element of past and present identity politics.

This course will provide students with an integrative framework for understanding the business and legal challenges associated with effective workforce management on a global scale. Students will compare international labor markets in terms of labor costs, labor supply, and workplace culture; and analyze case studies from developed and emerging economies to investigate the complex cultural and regulatory environment that multinational firms face in such areas as talent management, performance management, offshore outsourcing, downsizing, and industrial relations.

This course will explore the complexities of cultural identity and migration, and the impact they have on intercultural conflict and cooperation. There will be a particular focus on migration in Italy and on the marginalized communities of contemporary Italy, such as migrants, their Italian-born non-citizen children, and the Roma. We will examine the fluidity of cultural boundaries across time and space, and how ingroup and outgroup dynamics contribute to the manufacturing of fear and prejudice among populations. During their semester abroad, students will reflect on the various elements that define a culture while gaining an increased understanding of how culture shapes individuals and how our cultural identities interact in shared social spaces such as the piazze of Florence. 

This course will examine how theories, experimental research, and current issues in the field of organizational behavior apply in the context of the international workplace. Students will focus on the application of core management theories and strategies, base their studies on interdisciplinary research from fields including psychology, sociology, economics, political science, and anthropology; develop an understanding of human behavior within a global work environment and across historical and current issues; and reflect critically on how theoretical frameworks can be applied and developed within the organizational setting.

This course will explore key economic issues in the global business environment. Students will develop an understanding of how global businesses are impacted by real world developments in economics, politics, and finance; critically examine the global economic landscape with an emphasis on the interaction between international economics and business through discussions of current economic and political development; and explore topics such as globalization, country differences, cross-border trade and investment, the global monetary system, and competing in a global marketplace.

This course will examine the topic of finance in the international context. Students will explore historical perspectives and foundations of international finance, international capital flows, foreign direct investment, the exchange rate determination and exposure management, international capital markets and institutions, and financial management of a multinational firm; examine the current economic landscape through topical discussions of current economic and political developments and their impact on international finance; and develop an understanding of the opportunities and risks associated with international finance.

This course will explore terms, concepts, and theories of marketing in the international context, as well as its scope and challenges. Students will examine how global dimensions technology, research, capital, investment, and production impact marketing, distribution, and communication networks; gain insight into the increasingly interdependent global economic and physical environment and its impact on international marketing; analyze current international marketing issues and their implications; and develop an understanding of how companies create competitive strategic plans that enable them to survive and succeed in global markets.

This course will introduce technical digital SLR camera skills, focusing on compositional elements and photography’s narrative possibilities. Students will explore the history of photography through analysis of projects and images realized by famous photographers; create personal visual tales of their experience of a new, unknown reality; develop an understanding of the relationship between technical skills and creative purposes; and examine the ways in which photography can be used as a tool of documentary record, cross cultural understanding, artistic expression, and self discovery. Students will be required to have a digital SLR camera for this course.

This course will focus on Italian Art from the Middle Ages to the Rococo period and its social, political, and cultural implications. Classes, lectures, and field studies will cover a period of time that lasts from the 14th century to the end of the 18th century. Through the study of defining masterpieces by the most famous Italian artists during those 600 years, this course will consider the historical and cultural context of the main artistic centers in Italy: Florence, Rome, and Venice.

Art in various forms - painting, sculpture, and architecture - will be explored, emphasizing the complementary relationships between the artistic disciplines. Students will be introduced to some of the main theories of art in their historical development from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. A brief political history of each period will be presented in order to set the artists and their works in their contexts. 

Starting with the transition from Medieval to Renaissance art, the course will examine artistic movements, patrons, and individual artists' works and contributions. Artists explored will include Giotto, Masaccio, and Masolino from the beginning of the period, culminating in Michelangelo and Titian. Discussion will then turn to the phenomenon of Mannerism and the development of Baroque art, including an analysis of artworks from Giambologna, Cellini, and Tintoretto to Caravaggio, the Caravaggisti, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Finally, the period of Rococo and its particularly ornamental and theatrical artworks will be explored through the works of Giambattista Tiepolo and Rosalba Carriera, the most famous female artist in Europe in the 18th century.

Learn how the camera can be used in a foreign environment as an exciting tool of documentary record, cross-cultural understanding, artistic expression and self-discovery. After an introduction to the fundamentals of photography, both traditional and digital, your camera will be constantly trained on the city of Florence itself, its architecture, history, people, and rich culture. As you develop your technical, compositional and critical skills as a photographer you will create a portfolio of images that will both showcase and celebrate your whole unforgettable study abroad experience.  Throughout the course you will be able to post your best work on the GlobalCampus website to record and display your experiences. 

Your in-class workshops will develop your practical and theoretical skills, and your photographic trips throughout the streets, squares and gardens of the city center will be complemented with a guided in-depth visit to the Florentine museum of the famous Alinari Brothers, the world's oldest photographic firm, with a spectacular archive of 3,500,000 photographs.

Throughout the course your instructor will frequently deliver critical reviews of your work, but you will also be actively involved in analyzing and evaluating your own work and the work of others in a collaborative atmosphere of constructive reflection and criticism. You'll have the opportunity to post your work on the GlobalCampus blog in order to record and display your experiences, and your most successful shots will be exhibited at the school during a special digital end-of-semester show (the 'GlobalCampus Award for Artistic Insights into Florence will be presented to the best works). If you are enrolled in any other electives there may be the possibility of executing a photographic project as part of your work requirements for those courses.

Photography in Florence Q&A 
PLEASE NOTE: THIS COURSE DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY WORK IN A DARKOOM.
Q: What kind of camera is suitable for this course?
A: An ordinary digital camera without manual mode will NOT suffice! Your camera MUST be either a digital single lens reflex camera (full manual functions, minimum of 4 megapixels), or a 35mm single lens reflex camera (full manual functions) and/with 50mm or equivalent lens (or a zoom lens including the 50 mm). If you do not understand these terms or descriptions you can contact your CEA Advisor at (800) 266-4441. 
Q: Do I need to bring my camera's instruction manual? 
A: Yes!
Q: Can I share a camera during this course? 
A: No. It will be impossible to get your work done properly if you don't have constant access to your own camera.
Q: What kind of film is recommended if I do not have a digital camera?
A: I recommend color slides / transparencies. It is better that you do not buy them in the US since they can be fogged and damaged by the x-ray machines at the airport. Instead, you should wait to buy them here in Florence (we will go to the photo store together during the first lesson.)
Q: How much will I need to spend on film and developing? 
A: You will be required to spend between $200 and $250 on film and developing during this course, if you have a non-digital SLR camera. If you have a digital SLR, you will be required to buy only CDs for your assignments. 
Q: Is there a darkroom? 
A: No. This course focuses on shooting and interpretation, and does not include the use of a darkroom or hands-on developing.
Q: What happens if I arrive without the right camera but I am enrolled on the course? 
A: If you don't have the right kind of camera you will have a chance to purchase one after you arrive, as your professor will guide you in your purchase.

This course examines gender from psychological, sociological, and cultural perspectives. It explores how and why social expectations, norms, and opportunities are systematically linked to gender and the impact this has on society and people's experiences. 

In addition to gender, this course takes an intersectionality approach to examine how race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, age, and physical ability interact to transform experiences at the individual, interpersonal, and cultural levels. The course is designed to help students recognize the impact of gender on human experiences and relationships and to understand that assumptions about gender have social implications. Students will learn to understand the complexity and diversity of gendered experiences in the social environments of their own and other cultures.

This course will introduce a broad range of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Florence from the great projects of the Middle Ages that defined the religious and political centers of the city, with a special focus on major monuments of the Renaissance period. Students will examine issues of social, political, and economic context, as well their function, which was integral to artistic production of the period; conduct related scholarly research; deepen their appreciation of Renaissance civilization; and analyze the interrelationship between people’s creative achievements and their society.

It is easy to admire the beauty of great works of art, yet without certain interpretive skills, the modern viewer may not understand their precise meanings as they are often disguised in symbols. Learning the 'secrets, signs, and symbols' of art provides the key to artistic interpretation. The Italian Renaissance is especially rich in meaningful imagery - firmly rooted in both classical and Christian heritage - this symbolic language can sometimes seem a mysterious code to modern eyes. This course provides an examination of the signs and symbols that can help us to decipher artwork produced in Florence during the Renaissance (late-14th century until the mid-16th century). Our review of signs and symbols will be driven by the critical analysis of key art historians such as Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky, and Michael Baxandall.

The course will begin with an introduction to iconographic methodology and the meaning of recurrent symbols, including attributes, personifications, and allegories. Our investigation will then turn to specific themes and concepts through an analysis of images, stories, allegories, motifs & context, creation, Mary & Jesus, saints & symbols, and mythology & gods. 

Lessons and assignments will draw upon a selection of Italian art that best lends itself to specific methodological approaches and key concerns (political, historical/contextual, gendered, etc.). By the end of this course, students will have developed the skills to apply the most significant approaches within art history to critically analyze an Italian Renaissance artwork. Ultimately this will enable students to interpret the symbolic messaging as it was meant to be "read" by the artists' contemporaries.

This course traces the historical development of sexual categories, norms, and behaviors in Europe from the 18th century to the present. We will examine how understandings of sexuality have changed from the emergence of Western notions of sexual identity in the 19th century, through the politics of sexuality in the early 20th century and the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, to contemporary debates about LGBTQ rights in a multicultural Europe. 

The construction of normativity, such as heteronormativity, will be discussed, as well as the intersections of gender and sexuality with other fields of power, including race and class. The course also traces the evolution of the term "queer" from its early contestation to its current use as a broad framework for non-normative forms of knowledge, cultural practices, and political activism. 

This course provides students with insight into the social and cultural dimensions of human sexuality and offers opportunities to trace the historical roots of current attitudes toward gender and sexuality.

Beginning with a short history of food globalization, a concept born of colonization but which has equally dark political implications today, this interdisciplinary course explores how contemporary production and consumption of world-sourced foods challenges the diet, nutrition, and health of world populations, requiring us to re-evaluate the local food choices we make as well as the ethical basis we use to make them. The notion of cheap food (so sophomorically captured by school cafeteria food fights of the 20th century) is at an end and food scarcity is now a reality, as the 2009 food riots from east to west sadly attest. To appreciate the complex global forces at work leading to today's food wars, you investigate how agro-industrial engineering and lobbying, food marketing and advertising, and governmental regulatory and aid policy all determine who eats what and who goes hungry.

You will explore today's food supply chain from farmer to plate, discovering the hard realities of contemporary "nutrition"; how food is produced; the effect agricultural practices have on the environment as well as on human and animal health; how global supermarkets affect food choice and freshness; why cultures react differently to GMO foods; and what consequences result from concentrating food in the hands of a few large industrialists (e.g. Nestle, Kraft, Coca Cola, Unilever, etc.) You will also analyze public reaction to food scares (salmonella, BSE, infected poultry, etc.) and the consequent rise of both organic foods and the movement towards farmer's markets, local produce and seasonal eating.

You will identify and evaluate the critical role technology plays in food production. The heated GMO debate in Europe, where consumers are highly sceptical if not downright terrified, contrasts sharply with US shoppers who either take them for granted or who remain oblivious to their presence. What cultural reasons account for this?  Are nutraceutical and functional foods a fad or a biological necessity? Through cross-cultural comparisons and country reports, you will analyze impassioned debates about how much technology should be allowed onto our plates. 

The social ills of global food chains will be an important issue for you to diagnose as well. On one hand, starvation, malnutrition, food subsidies and their attendant deleterious effects on developing countries is a common reality. On the other, anorexia amidst plenty and bulimia and obesity in global epidemic proportions characterize entire national populations. You will consider the extent to which these pathologies reflect our troubled relationship with food and the nutritional conflicts it provokes. 

Through focused research and personal exploration--each supported by onsite investigation of local food market cultures, agro-industry practices, and consumer nutritional behaviour--you will learn that the business, politics & ethics of eating are more complex, more culturally contingent, and more deadly than we once thought.

Previously titled as Food Fight! The Business, Politics & Ethics of Eating
Course cross-listed as SOC313

Beginning with a short history of food globalization, a concept born of colonization but which has equally dark political implications today, this interdisciplinary course explores how contemporary production and consumption of world-sourced foods challenges the diet, nutrition, and health of world populations, requiring us to re-evaluate the local food choices we make as well as the ethical basis we use to make them. The notion of cheap food (so sophomorically captured by school cafeteria food fights of the 20th century) is at an end and food scarcity is now a reality, as the 2009 food riots from east to west sadly attest. To appreciate the complex global forces at work leading to today's food wars, you investigate how agro-industrial engineering and lobbying, food marketing and advertising, and governmental regulatory and aid policy all determine who eats what and who goes hungry.

You will explore today's food supply chain from farmer to plate, discovering the hard realities of contemporary "nutrition"; how food is produced; the effect agricultural practices have on the environment as well as on human and animal health; how global supermarkets affect food choice and freshness; why cultures react differently to GMO foods; and what consequences result from concentrating food in the hands of a few large industrialists (e.g. Nestle, Kraft, Coca Cola, Unilever, etc.) You will also analyze public reaction to food scares (salmonella, BSE, infected poultry, etc.) and the consequent rise of both organic foods and the movement towards farmer's markets, local produce and seasonal eating.

You will identify and evaluate the critical role technology plays in food production. The heated GMO debate in Europe, where consumers are highly sceptical if not downright terrified, contrasts sharply with US shoppers who either take them for granted or who remain oblivious to their presence. What cultural reasons account for this?  Are nutraceutical and functional foods a fad or a biological necessity? Through cross-cultural comparisons and country reports, you will analyze impassioned debates about how much technology should be allowed onto our plates. 

The social ills of global food chains will be an important issue for you to diagnose as well. On one hand, starvation, malnutrition, food subsidies and their attendant deleterious effects on developing countries is a common reality. On the other, anorexia amidst plenty and bulimia and obesity in global epidemic proportions characterize entire national populations. You will consider the extent to which these pathologies reflect our troubled relationship with food and the nutritional conflicts it provokes. 

Through focused research and personal exploration--each supported by onsite investigation of local food market cultures, agro-industry practices, and consumer nutritional behaviour--you will learn that the business, politics & ethics of eating are more complex, more culturally contingent, and more deadly than we once thought.

Previously titled as Food Fight! The Business, Politics & Ethics of Eating
Course cross-listed as BUS353.

This unique course will allow you to explore High Renaissance art and architecture in Florence like an insider, exploiting onsite access to High Renaissance artworks in museums, restorations laboratories and many areas normally closed to the general public. You'll learn about the landmark works of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael through onsite discussions in front of their masterpieces, in Florentine galleries like the Uffizi, the Academy (the David), Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens, and the Medici Chapels.

As a follow-up application you'll also get a chance to try fresco painting employing the same materials and techniques of Renaissance artists (like Leonardo). You will also get a rare opportunity to tour historic spaces normally closed to the public including the secret routes, rooms, grottos and gardens of the Medici family's Ducal residences at Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti. A benefit of these special activities will be the presence of guest lecturers who will give you practical insights into their work and their careers.

Your own critical understanding of the spectacular artistic legacy of the High Renaissance will develop through a sequence of independent looking assignments, group discussions in class, multi-media presentations, and short research reports on various aspects of iconography, style and technique. 

In the final sessions of the course you will consider the legacy of the High Renaissance and look ahead to the Baroque masterpieces of Bernini, Borromini and Caravaggio.

The term 'Mafia' is one of the few Italian words that are known worldwide, a catch-all concept embracing a wide range of phenomena associated with criminality and violence. However, defining the concept is no easy task as the term has systematically attracted stereotypes that tend to portray it as an elusive phenomenon, often typical of backward societies, and which have influenced and often shaped perceptions of it. Real-world data such as investigations, proceedings, and criminal statistics, in fact, dismiss many of the accepted myths about Italian Mafia during recent decades. 

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to this complex phenomenon by demystifying most of the stereotypes on the subject, which derive from popular culture, especially films. This course analyzes the organization of Mafia groups in Italy, their codes and symbols, activities both in legal and illegal markets, relationship to politics and society, the policies designed to control them, as well as the grassroots initiatives to reduce their risk and combat their infiltration of local economy and society. Our analysis covers the myths, theories, and realities of the Mafia, its ideology and stereotypes, government responses from a comparative perspective, as well as its developments towards transnational crime and its relation to terrorist groups.

The term 'Mafia' is one of the few Italian words that are known worldwide, a catch-all concept embracing a wide range of phenomena associated with criminality and violence. However, defining the concept is no easy task as the term has systematically attracted stereotypes that tend to portray it as an elusive phenomenon, often typical of backward societies, and which have influenced and often shaped perceptions of it. Real-world data such as investigations, proceedings, and criminal statistics, in fact, dismiss many of the accepted myths about Italian Mafia during recent decades. 

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to this complex phenomenon by demystifying most of the stereotypes on the subject, which derive from popular culture, especially films. This course analyzes the organization of Mafia groups in Italy, their codes and symbols, activities both in legal and illegal markets, relationship to politics and society, the policies designed to control them, as well as the grassroots initiatives to reduce their risk and combat their infiltration of local economy and society. Our analysis covers the myths, theories, and realities of the Mafia, its ideology and stereotypes, government responses from a comparative perspective, as well as its developments towards transnational crime and its relation to terrorist groups.

This course investigates the value of art and the ways it has created profit from the past up to the present. Additionally it explores how art is marketed, sold, used, consumed, showcased and managed and how contemporary societies and nations (as the United Arab Emirates) see it as a new profitable sector for the economy of the state. 

It departs from the logical question: what is art in the first place and how is it turned into money?  Furthermore, in today's society, how does art define the lifestyle and identity of individuals? How does it add to social visibility or economic well-being? What is the business that artists make? Who are their agents? What happens to an art-work today?

As a powerful form of human expression, art has always been produced for multiple reasons and to various ends. However, beyond its significance as a visual record of our cultural history and the aesthetic appreciation it elicits, art has always been an investment. In the contemporary world, with an established collectors' market, the greater availability of visual culture and mass tourism on the increase, art has become a major business and a financial resource. Taken out of their context and moved into museums, old-masters are divested of their original meaning and have acquired a different purpose and a greater availability. Yet artworks are also privately collected, newly produced or re-produced, thus creating new profits, businesses and agendas, as well as new settings in which contemporary society moves. 

Issues of art management, art business, marketing and financial value as well as creativity, taste and patronage will be addressed in the very contexts where art is produced and consumed. Specific case studies and on-site lectures will further add to an understanding of business practices related to the art world. What, then, is the value of art? What leads individuals to spend astronomical sums to possess a particular piece? What attracts hordes of visitors to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence or the Sistine Chapel in Rome? Is art a commodity? If so what kind of art is produced today? These and other questions will be raised. Artists and art-professionals, art-historians, curators, gallerists, auctioneers, collectors, art-critics and the students themselves will provide the answers.

This course is an introduction to wine marketing strategies and an exploration of the dynamic nature of the wine sector, with particular attention given to the production and complexity of wine. Students will develop an awareness of the international business of wine and be able to identify some of the factors that affect the sector's macro-environment, as well as the aspects that influence competition.

Through experiential learning activities like wine tastings and visits to vineyards, wine retailers, or distribution facilities, students will develop a critical sense for wine characteristics and identify the essential elements of the marketing mix. Particularly focusing on the marketing dimension of the production process, the course will consider the complex supply and value chain for wine, exposing students to the process's most important stages. 

The course will present the practice of viticulture, wine production, and distribution as well as consumer demand research, communication, and sales. Lessons will include discussion of the fundamental role of territory, tradition, culture, history, tourism, viticulture, and winemaking methods to define strategies for wineries in today's global scenario. Lastly, the course will evaluate the role of communication and analyze the various factors that influence a wine's success.

This course will explore the role and status of women in connection to Italian Art from the late Middle Ages to the eighteenth century. After an introduction to key issues and theoretical approaches in the study of women in the arts, the course will proceed thematically and chronologically to explore what it meant to grow up female and what life was like for women from the late fourteenth century through the 1700s. 

The course will proceed by analyzing depictions of women including saints, personifications and the Virgin Mary as well as female portraits and the nude--both by male and female artists. We will furthermore discuss the role that women played as art commissioners. Famous aristocrats will serve as illustrious examples of female art patronage through three centuries of art history: Isabella d'Este of Mantua (1474-1539), and women closely connected to the Medici court in Florence such as Eleonora da Toledo (1522-1562), Vittoria della Rovere (1622-1694) and Anna Maria Luisa de'Medici (1667-1743). 

We will finally consider the historical and social prerequisites for the appearance of female artists in history and the socio-cultural conditions these women had to live and work under. Exemplary figures like Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625), Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757), Giulia Lama (1681-1747) as well as non-Italians Angelika Kauffmann (1741-1807) and Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) will be discussed in detail.

*This course is currently pending approval from the University of New Haven

This course will introduce creative writing in relation to the city and the particular challenges of writing about place. Students will examine how various subjects such as the river, urban spaces, solitude, ethnicity, particular boroughs, and characters (both fictional and real) function in Florence narratives; develop an understanding of the role of memory and experience in literary psycho-geographical accounts of the metropolis; utilize their observations of Florence to practice creative writing, and investigate the potential of place within the narrative of various genres.