aCademiC Catalog 2013-2014 - Lorenzo de Medici

School of Arts & Sciences ROME
and the peculiar characteristics of European integration. The
course is organized in three parts. First, it reviews the ideas,
events, and actors that led to the foundation of the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic
Community (EEC) and to its enlargement from 6 to 27 countries.
Second, the course takes an in-depth look at EU institutions and
policies, casting a critical eye on the crucial period from 1985
to 1993 that led to the acceleration of European integration
through the Single European Act, further enlargements, and
the Maastricht Treaty. Finally, the course reflects on three major
questions facing the EU in the new millennium: What is the EU
as a political subject? What is its purpose? What should be
its role in a global world? To explore the resonances of these
questions the course considers practical policy dilemmas that
the EU faces in various fields such as economic and monetary
policy, regulatory and distributive questions, the democratic
deficit, the challenge of enlargement to the East, the Lisbon
Treaty, and common foreign and security policy.
Prerequisites: POL 288 International Politics, or equivalent
International Rome: a UN City
POL 328 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
Treating the United Nations in Rome as a case study, this
course explores the purposes, background, and operations of
international organizations in an age of globalization, the major
challenges they face at the international level, and the responses
to them of the international community. Studying in Rome
will allow students to integrate class learning with first hand
experience of the UN, participating in conferences, meeting
UN officials and diplomats and accessing key UN information.
Students will discover the policies undertaken by the United
Nations and the way they are implemented. The course will
survey the UN organizations in Rome: FAO, WFP and IFAD.
Students will familiarize themselves with the development
priorities of these organizations. They will analyze their work
and prepare project drafts that address their assigned issues
and goals. Through research, meetings and debate, students
will identify strengths and problems of these organizations
and develop solutions by evaluating probable consequences of
proposed actions.
Interest Representation and Lobbying in the
European Union
POL 332 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course introduces students to the system of interest
representation and lobbying at the European Union (EU) level.
The course will examine the structure and the functioning
of the system of interest representation and explain its
development in the EU. After a long process of European
integration, which has been mainly a process of delegation
of much public policy to the European Union, interest groups
have retargeted their strategies, and adapted them to the
new political situation. The variety of interests with a stake in
European public affairs is vast. It includes firms, associations,
federations and non-governmental organizations. There are
1,450 formally constituted EU level groups of all types. Over
250 firms have direct representation in Brussels, with, in
addition, approximately 140 lobbying consultancy firms and
120 law firms. First the course will describe the characteristics
of the EU policy-making that encourage the establishment of
many private interests in the EU arena. Then the course will
describe the different types of players who try to influence
EU policy-making. The second part of the module focuses on
the concept of lobbying as it is perceived in Brussels and its
real nature. The resources needed for being effective at the EU
level are described. The course will conclude by addressing the
relationship between lobbying, pluralism and democracy.
Prerequisites: POL 236 Modern European Politics, or equivalent
Psychology
Introduction to Psychology
PSY 150 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course introduces students to the major areas of psychology
through current empirical research and theoretical debate.
Scientific and non-scientific approaches to the explanation
of psychological phenomena are examined critically. Topics
include: anthropological assumptions and implications,
deontology, sensation and perception, cognitive processes,
consciousness, language, learning, personality, development
and psychopathology. Students will be introduced to the main
theories for each of these topics from different perspectives
(e.g. biological, behavioral, cognitive, and psychodynamic).
Students will also look at the different types of scientific
research (e.g. experiments, correlational research, review, metaanalysis),
and will analyze the typical structure of a research
paper (introduction, method, results, discussion, limitations
and implications).
Social Psychology
PSY 200 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course is about the study of human social behavior,
examining theories, findings and methods of social psychology,
viewed from an interpersonal perspective. What is the essential
nature of our personality, and what impact do social groups
(whether that group is the family, school, or society) have on
our development and everyday behavior? Topics include: social
cognition, the role of others in shaping self-concepts, as well
as the formation of person perception, attitudes, attribution
theory, obedience, conformity, interpersonal attraction, and
social relations. We will look at the causes and methods
of reducing prejudice and aggression, as well as exploring
altruism, the development of gender roles, stereotypes, nonverbal
behavior, and social influence. Students will acquire
a new framework for interpreting social behavior. Among
the topics explored in the course are socialization, language
acquisition, interpersonal behavior, and persuasion. Students
will also have the opportunity to develop the ability to analyze
their own and others’ behavior. In addition, since this course
is taught in Florence, Italy, it provides a natural opportunity to
compare and contrast the influence of culture on individuals.
Living even for a short period in another country helps you to
see and understand the relationship between the individual
(self) and society.
Prerequisites: PSY 150 Introduction to Psychology, or equivalent
Film: The Spectator’s Experience
PSY 274 R; Dual listed: MCT 274 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course approaches film from the point of view of the
spectator, that is to say an individual’s emotions, thought
processes, and psychology. The course seeks answers to such
natural questions as: how does the mind actually manage film
images and sounds?; what takes place when we are moved to
sympathize with a screen character, even a “villain”?; what is
implied psychologically in the physical situation of watching
a movie? The point of departure is a general consideration
of the way the human mind processes visual information,
and how it engages with media and mass media. Seeking to
isolate what is special about the film experience, students
explore psychological mechanisms and situations that may
come into play before the cinema screen, including role
models and identification, curiosity, and voyeurism. The course
builds student awareness that our reactions and responses to
film obey certain structures, and that in order to reach their
objectives scriptwriters, editors and directors manipulate those
structures. The class format includes guided screening of
movies and sequences and discussions.
Introduction to Art Therapy
PSY 285 R; Dual listed: PDM 285 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 60
At a time when concepts of education were being redefined
in the late 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci recommended that in
addition to reading, writing and arithmetic, all students be
taught to draw. He was ignored, to the misfortune of later
students. This course is an introduction to the vast area of the
therapeutic possibilities of art and specifically of drawing. The
course intends to transmit the experience of an artist to all
students. Students learn that drawing is a perceptive attitude
using all the senses, and dependant upon intuition and intellect.
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LdM Academic Catalog 2013-2014