Social Sciences Courses

The study of Italian culture helps the student to acquire a deep awareness of both cultural unity and regional diversity. This course is intended to provide students with an in-depth introduction to Italian culture and to broaden one’s awareness and understanding of the role of cultural heritage in customs and lifestyles. Lectures will provide students with an organized, focused, and academic understanding of Italian history, art, architecture, food, religion, and culture. The course provides additional enrichment through basic notions of Italian language and terminology along with assigned readings and a final paper. On-site teaching is a significant part of this course and is aimed to provide the student with an incomparable experience of studying important sites of artistic architectural and social relevance in present-day Italy. Students are encouraged to observe the sites through active participation and to discuss their observations using specific and analytic social assessment skills.

This course includes an Italian language component for beginning-level students.

Prerequisites: a background in politics/ international relations/ history

The European Union started in 1951 as an attempt to prevent a new World War in Europe. No other region has displayed similar willingness to give up important parts of national sovereignty in pursuit of a stronger global competitive positioning.

The European Union keeps pressuring the integration-process at a pace which is too fast for some and too slow for others. This integration has a direct impact on the daily lives of all citizens in Europe. The accession of the new Central and Eastern European Member-States poses new challenges for the EU. The East-West labour migration, which is driven by wage differentials creates both opportunities and problems. The free movement of people, and the current refugee crisis, has strained social welfare systems in some of the richer Member-States. Political pressures and the credibility of the EU integration system question the present forms of integration. Pressure such as Brexit, the Eurozone crisis and the related high-unemployment figures make national sovereignty more attractive for some voters.

The course offers a comprehensive coverage of the key political and economic policy areas of the European Union with analysis of the different approaches to regional integration throughout the history of the European Union. The course analyses the historical, political and economic bases for the rise of the European Union from its origins in the post-World War II recovery, to its historic enlargement in 2004 and 2007. Most of the present tensions inside the EU directly relate to the economic integration process and reflect on all other fields of European integration.

Further attention is paid to the protection of human rights within the European integration process. A comparison between the European and UN-framework for the protection of human rights will be made and practically applied to specific cases.

The course will give students an in-depth look at the European legal, economic and political landscape. The course contains academic classes around these themes, as well as field trips to a number of relevant institutions.

This intensive course includes two course related field trips to Brussels and The Hague.

This course is a survey of Japanese popular culture with particular topics covered such as anime manga, fashion, music, art and food. Part of the course will focus on Japanese animation within a historic and popular cultural perspective. Both anime and manga will be examined with particular emphasis on the art, culture and national and international popularity.

This course will examine various aspects of the relationship between food, culture and society in the Mediterranean basin, where eating is not a simple act of survival but rather a cultural and social activity. Looking at the local culture through the lens of food allows us to discover and understand social constructs, values and even the history of Europe, from ancient Greece to the great chefs of the 21st century such as Ferran Adrià. Through this we will discover the similarities and differences between how the Spanish, Italian and Greece societies work.

In this course we offer a cross-cultural perspective that will focus on history, anthropology, sociology, literature, gastronomy and the business that works behind the food industry.

Italian destination cities immediately conjure up images of the art, food, fashion, wine, and culture in which their fame lies: fashion shows and La Scala in Milan, Renaissance art in Florence, Brunello wine in Montalcino, the Biennale and Carnevale in Venice. This course will explore how creative advertising strategies have been produced and implemented, their effect on city identity, the proliferation of creative areas in destination cities, and the future of creativity and creative marketing. Case studies of both well-established metropolises and developing destinations will be examined.

The study of Italian culture helps the student to acquire a deep awareness of both cultural unity and regional diversity. This course is intended to provide students with an in-depth introduction to Italian culture and to broaden one’s awareness and understanding of the role of cultural heritage in customs and lifestyles. Lectures will provide students with an organized, focused, and academic understanding of Italian history, art, architecture, food, religion, and culture. The course provides additional enrichment through basic notions of Italian language and terminology along with assigned readings and a final paper. On-site teaching is a significant part of this course and is aimed to provide the student with an incomparable experience of studying important sites of artistic architectural and social relevance in present-day Italy. Students are encouraged to observe the sites through active participation and to discuss their observations using specific and analytic social assessment skills.

This course includes an Italian language component for beginning-level students.

This course examines the context in which the Italian fashion system was born. Topics begin from the evolution of fashion from the post-WWII period to the present and address the role and influence of media and culture on factors such as economic and social status, the arts, and other issues that influenced fashion. Students explore fashion’s connection to identity, body, politics, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, class, and how fashion and media are interrelated with these aspects of culture.

This course focuses on different aspects of regional food in Italy. Emphasis is placed on how food relates to the local lifestyle. Regional economy and local resources are analyzed and compared. Students are introduced to a diversity of local products. Lectures will be complemented by student cooking labs and/or tastings.

Though food diversifies throughout the world according to local cultural backgrounds, there is a common ground in the universal approach to food: it is a part of everyday life and sharing food is still one of the greatest examples of humans acting as social creatures. Italy represents a unique case for now food is both celebrated and is involved in cultural celebrations that are still fundamental in Italian society. This course will provide students with a full immersion in the relationship between food and the local community in Italy, focusing on the many moments that represent conviviality in Italian culture and society. Coursework includes a wide variety of field learning activities through which students will be introduced to local and traditional crafts, food markets, typical street food vendors, local purchasing groups, community-supported agriculture, and countryside food festivals as fundamental milestones in the Italian gastro-social tradition. Through hands-on experiences and on-site activities students, will learn the fundamentals of community-geared food production and will acquire a deeper understanding of food as an essential element of society. This class includes experiential learning with CEMI.

This class includes food labs, food tours, and one aperitivo project per session. Uniform required for food labs, rental available upon arrival.

This course is targeted towards students with an interest in Italian food traditions, society, and culture. The main focus consists of what is generally defined as “made in Italy” culture and style in post-war Italy. Also covered are the relationships between Italian traditions, folklore and contemporary Italian society drawing from examples including festivals, food, tourism, and economy, and the influence of foreign civilizations. Students will be asked to regard the subject of food outside of the context of ingredients and the procedures used to create a dish; we will instead examine a large scale context in which food is either featured as a main component or an integral element in cultural situations. Thus the student is asked first and foremost to observe the presented material across an anthropologic lens that roves over the entire Italian peninsula. Lectures will be complemented by student cooking labs and/or tastings.

This course includes cooking labs, tastings, and visits.

This course is targeted towards students who are interested in the Italian traditions and the pivotal role that Italy has played in the evolution of food and wine culture. Italy is in fact the oldest wine-producing nation in the world where grapes are grown in almost every region of the country. This course will consider and analyze the various influences and cultural overlaps that this ancient tradition has brought to contemporary Italian culture. The course will also feature an Italian language component in order to better understand and appreciate the elements of contemporary Italian culture which will be discussed during the course. This course includes an Italian language component for beginning-level students and field learning activities. Field learning is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting and may include field activities, field research, and service learning projects. The field learning experience is cultural because it is intended to be wide-reaching, field-related content is not limited to the course subject but seeks to supplement and enrich academic topics. Students will have the opportunity to integrate theory and practice while experiencing Italian culture, art, and community within the Italian territory. Faculty will lead students in experiencing Italian culture through guided projects and field experiences as planned for the course. Field learning will be developed through classroom preparation, follow up projects, and guided learning outcomes. Field learning will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and appreciate the multifold components of Italian Culture through direct experience. Field education will advance student learning as a relationship-centered process.

This course is targeted towards students who are interested in the Italian traditions and the pivotal role that Italy has played in the evolution of food and wine culture. Italy is in fact the oldest wine-producing nation in the world where grapes are grown in almost every region of the country. This course will consider and analyse the various influences and cultural overlaps that this ancient tradition has brought to contemporary Italian culture. The course will also feature an Italian language component in order to better understand and appreciate the elements of contemporary Italian culture which will be discussed during the course.

This class includes field learning hours. Field learning is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting and may include field activities, field research, and service learning projects. The field learning experience is cultural because it is intended to be wide-reaching, field-related content is not limited to the course subject but seeks to supplement and enrich academic topics. Students will have the opportunity to integrate theory and practice while experiencing Italian culture, art, and community within the Italian territory. Faculty will lead students in experiencing Italian culture through guided projects and field experiences as planned for the course. Field learning will be developed through classroom preparation, follow up projects, and guided learning outcomes. Field learning will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and appreciate the multifold components of Italian Culture through direct experience. Field education will advance student learning as a relationship-centred process.

This course includes an Italian language component for beginning language students + 90 field learning hours.

Pre-requisite: Tradition of Italian Food I or equivalent.

The survey of the most representative Italian preparations and ingredients continues as well as a deep analysis and application of Italian cuisine. Traditional preparations, characterizing ingredients and culinary movements will be fully covered during this course. The aim of this course is also to give students a complete overview of Italian cuisine evolution through the knowledge of XIX and XX century cultural influences such as futurism, nouvelle cuisine and present day innovations. This course is meant to help students understand the current Italian culinary trends as a continuous evolution of the different regional cooking traditions. The course will include an overview of the major Italian cuisine chefs styles and how they contributed to the mentioned evolution thanks to creativity and knowledge. Students will learn how to compose a menu in order to express a cooking philosophy and will also experience Italian fine dining standards through the practical application of learned concepts. This class includes experiential learning with CEMI.

This module is an introduction to the visual culture of London, including painting, architecture, photography and contemporary media. Students will visit the major art galleries to examine how art works, exhibitions and cultural organisations can be understood within wider social contexts. The sessions also include museums and historical sites. The classes will explore how these institutions reveal the complex cultural identity and history of London.

Site visits: typical visits include the British Museum, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum of London, National Portrait Gallery, Wallace Collection, Tate Britain, Whitechapel Gallery, Serpentine Galleries, Wellcome Collection. Note: these visits are subject to change.

This module places communities of colour, often marginalised, at the very centre of London’s history from the Tudors to today. It explores the long and rich history of black and brown communities in London, from immigrant communities originating from Africa, South-East Asia and the Caribbean, to colonial and African-American soldiers in the modern period. In doing so, it raises important question about race, diversity and multi-culturalism. It looks at questions of exclusion and racism; agency and activism; diversity and multi-culturalism. Crucially, it shows students how black and brown communities have shaped – and continue to shape – London.

Introduction to development of rap music and hip-hop culture, with emphasis on musical and verbal qualities, philosophical and political ideologies, gender representation, and influences on cinema and popular culture. P/NP or letter grading.

Multidisciplinary examination of history of Asians and Pacific Islanders in U.S. Throughout the course students will learn about how intersecting formations of race, class, gender, sexuality, and citizenship, among other identities, forged the experiences of Asian Americans. As a result, students will come away with a greater appreciation for the diversity and complexity of the history and contemporary conditions of Asian Americans.

Theoretical and empirical overview of Chicana/Chicano educational issues in U.S., with special emphasis on disentangling effects of race, gender, class, and immigrant status on Chicana/Chicano educational attainment and achievement. Examination of how historical, social, political, and economic forces impact Chicana/Chicano educational experience.

This module explores contemporary issues and debates that shape world politics today. It starts by introducing International Relations (IR) theory before turning to two broad themes that dominate IR: conflict and peace. We will apply these themes to a case study of the Northern Ireland conflict exploring the key political developments and the transition to a post conflict settlement. This module will also include a workshop that examines the use of wall murals to articulate conflict/post-conflict identity in Northern Ireland.

Excursion(s): This module includes a day trip to St Andrews, where we’ll undertake a tour of Scotland’s Secret Bunker – an underground compound built to safeguard Scotland during the Cold War.

For the past decade, Scotland’s national status has been ‘both dangled before us and tantalizingly withheld’ (poet Don Paterson). With attention focused on the question of independence, recent debates concerning Scottish culture and identity gain a heightened political charge. Literature has not only reflected but actively shaped such debate. In the year the new Scottish Parliament was established (1998), Christopher Whyte argued that ‘in the absence of elected political authority, the task of representing the nation has been repeatedly devolved to its writers’. But what influence have writers played in recent political change, and to what extent has Scottish culture escaped its own stereotypes?

This course examines the literary and political currents shaping contemporary Scottish identity, introducing students to key twentieth- and twenty-first century texts. We encounter and explain a range of cultural debates concerning language, class, democracy and nationhood, attending to the urgency as well as the complexity of recent Scottish writing.

Excursion: There will be an excursion to Edinburgh, visiting the Scottish Parliament building and Scottish Writers Museum.

As Scotland’s University of Sporting Excellence, the University of Stirling is the perfect place to learn about the integration of culture, management and sport. The aim of this module is to teach you about how sport is managed in Scotland and in the UK mode widely, and about how it is incorporated into the thread of Scottish culture. The module will include a mixture of lectures and seminars accompanied by academic field trips, providing you with an understanding that sport is influenced by cultural traditions, social values and economic factors.

This course introduces important issues and major topics in modern international relations and with discussion on Japan and it’s relation to course content. Current events will be discussed and how states interact with each other. Subjects covered will be international cooperation, trade, international law, security, conflict and human rights issues.

This course is a survey of Japanese popular culture with particular topics covered such as anime manga, fashion, music, art and food. Part of the course will focus on Japanese animation within a historic and popular cultural perspective. Both anime and manga will be examined with particular emphasis on the art, culture and national and international popularity.

This course will provide a general overview of Japanese society and culture in the postwar period. This course will introduce students to the historical background and modern social implications of contemporary Japanese culture. We will explore a wide range of artistic mediums including music, art, manga, animation, fashion, advertising, and film. Topics will include hikikomori (shut-ins that refuse to leave the home for work or school), chronic over-work including karoshi (death from overworking), declining population and the population bomb, and extreme population density in cities. In addition, the concepts of kaizen (continuous improvement), and wa (social harmony) will be introduced and analysed.