FST300.2 Vine to Table: Italian Wines in Context (Fall, Spring)

FST300.2 Vine to Table: Italian Wines in Context (Fall, Spring)

Enrollment priority to nutrition/food studies majors who may request two of the following: FST 300-Vine to Table, FST 304, FST 402, NSD 452; non-majors may register for only one. 

Increase your understanding of the history, culture, cultivation, production, business, and aesthetics of wine, from ancient to contemporary times, and from the vineyard to the winery to the table. Analyze the components of wines, the importance and influences attributed to terroir, and how to distinguish the qualities of Italian wines.

This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.

ARC500.1 Mediascapes of Architecture (Fall, Spring)

Open only to students in the Florence Architecture Program. This course investigates the relationship of media and architecture, and its ability to problematize the political, social, and ecological status quo. We are going to read, converse, visit buildings, and reflect on the entanglements between modes of vision, representation, and design. Mobilizing Florence as a speculative site of investigation, students will be assigned a series of case-study buildings from different periods and will be asked to develop a coherent analysis and a critical representation of each.

Accompanied by the instructor and an invited guest lecturer, the course is structured as a colloquium-based, design-oriented series of workshops. At the end of the semester, each student will have a detailed survey of their building, in the most appropriate form: either a 3D hologram, or a booklet, or a video, a set of photographs, an axonometry, a script, a section, a text or a physical model.

This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.

CRS383.1 Rhetoric in Popular Culture: Italian Popular Culture (Fall, Spring)

Introduction to twentieth-century Italian popular culture applying the theories of cultural studies plus the use of history and sociology. We focus on the influence of mass culture on young people during the last century and using the lenses of media in order to investigate the Italian “pop market” and its impact on society. Magazines, cinema, radio, television, music, arts will be analysed, and we will pay special attention to their contribution in shaping young people’s identities. We will also focus on cultures of revolt and the relationship between young people and political institutions and parties.

Meets with LIT 300.1.

This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.

LIT300.1 Italian Popular Culture (Fall, Spring)

Introduction to twentieth-century Italian popular culture applying the theories of cultural studies plus the use of history and sociology. We focus on the influence of mass culture on young people during the last century and using the lenses of media in order to investigate the Italian “pop market” and its impact on society. Magazines, cinema, radio, television, music, arts will be analysed, and we will pay special attention to their contribution in shaping young people’s identities. We will also focus on cultures of revolt and the relationship between young people and political institutions and parties.

Meets with CRS 383.1.

This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.

HOM300.1 The Art of Sound: The History of Experimental Music and Sound Art (Fall, Spring)

Survey of the main movements, composers and themes in the European and American Experimental Music Traditions and their influences on music and art today.  Examine a multitude of movements, approaches, and individual composers, including John Cage and The New York School, Fluxus, Minimalism, The European Avant-Garde, Musique Concrète, Electronic Music, Experimental Pop/Rock, the use of alternative scores, sound sculpture, sound installation, field recordings and Sound Art. Apply what you learn by creating your own music, using diverse recording and composing techniques and Florence as a source of sonic inspiration, exploring the city through soundwalks, refining listening skills and experiencing this unique and exciting location.

PSC300.1 Famine, War and Other Disasters: European Security in the 21st Century (Fall, Spring)

Europe is at the same time an object, a theatre, and an actor in foreign and security policy. As such, European security lies at the crossroads of the strategies and actions of European states, international organizations—NATO and the EU—and external powers, including China, Russia, and the United States. This class offers to introduce students to the foreign policies of key European states as well as the inner workings of the European Union and NATO, while surveying a number of key debates and risks surrounding Europe’s security.

Meets with IRP 300.1.

IRP300.1 Famine, War and Other Disasters: European Security in the 21st Century (Fall, Spring)

Europe is at the same time an object, a theatre, and an actor in foreign and security policy. As such, European security lies at the crossroads of the strategies and actions of European states, international organizations—NATO and the EU—and external powers, including China, Russia, and the United States. This class offers to introduce students to the foreign policies of key European states as well as the inner workings of the European Union and NATO, while surveying a number of key debates and risks surrounding Europe’s security.

Meets with PSC 300.1.

CRS318 Fashion in Focus: Discourses and Meaning (Fall, Spring)

Fashion in Focus offers a unique experience in the world of fashion, combining history, contemporary trends, and sustainability. In Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance and original Italian capital of fashion, you will explore the evolution of the fashion industry and its luxury production district, considered the most important in the world. In addition to meeting talented artisans and understanding the fusion of tradition and innovation, you will also examine the latest trends and sustainability in the industry. Through the analysis of the various professional profiles involved, you will have the opportunity to understand the skills necessary to succeed in this fascinating field.

This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.

PSC300.2 Making Up Machiavelli (Spring)

Niccolò Machiavelli, Florence-born author of The Prince, is the mastermind of the global political game, the founder of political science who understood how to manipulate human affairs to achieve any desired end. Though he never put it on paper, the famous maxim that °the ends justify the means° is attributed to him. But do they? And does he really mean it? For him, politics is the realm of appearances, the place for inventing ideas and identities, the theatre of dissimulation–where truth is subjected to power, power is mingled with lies, and propaganda, both written and visual, is the principal tool of power. It would appear that Machiavelli is the original evil genius, and his name In adjectival form is used to describe any self-serving dictator. On closer inspection, however, perhaps Messer Niccolò Is less ruthless than usually portrayed. His work raises important issues of morality in politics and provides lessons about how best to govern–if you know how to interpret them. This course will examine those issues and lessons, and analyze the multifarious, high- and low-brow reactions to the 500-year-old Prince, one of the most influential works of political theory and practice ever written. We will take full advantage of being in Machiavelli’s hometown, and evoke the environment of his life and career, from his office in the Palazzo Vecchio, to his countryside villa in San Casciano and his tomb in the church of Santa Croce, as well as the artworks depicting both him and the lessons he offers to the rulers of Florence. We will also “play” with many levels of “pop culture” including Machiavelli’s presence in the videogame Assassin’s Creed In order to discern the man and his Ideas from the myth.

This course has an associated course fee. See the Course Fees webpage for more information.

PSC300.3 Contemporary Politics and the Return of Religion: A Global Perspective (Fall, Spring)

Modernity and the “age of reason” was characterized by the secularization of the socio-political space, and the gradual decline of the influence of religion in daily life. However, contemporary political events have forcefully and sometimes dramatically marked a reversal of this trend: religion has returned and its influence has played an increasingly crucial role in the public sphere. This has had several consequences for the shape and nature of democratic public spheres and for international politics, notably for the role it has played and in violent conflicts. Why has religion returned with such a vengeance? Why did secularization fail? What are the implications of this for contemporary politics? What does a post-secular political framework look like? To explore these questions, we will draw from a variety of disciplines, including political science, sociology, and international relations. You will gain a theoretical basis to discuss the significance of the return of religion in diverse geo-political and cultural contexts.