Summer Session 1

This course offers an introduction to computer programming using some high level language. Students will learn how to formulate, represent, and solve problems using the computer. Emphasis will be on the features common to most of these languages. After introducing data structures, expressions, functions, control structures, input and output, the course will proceed to classes, events, user interface construction, documentation, and program testing. Both procedural and object-oriented programming paradigms will be discussed.

This entry-level course in economics covers the fundamentals of macroeconomics and, together with ECN 101, it provides the necessary prerequisites for any other upper-level course in economics. This course introduces students to the study of economics as a field of knowledge within the social sciences. In the first part, focus will be on the definition, the explanation, and the significance of national income, business fluctuations, the price level, and aggregate employment. In the second part, special attention is devoted to the functioning of a payment system based on currency and bank money. Finally, students will discuss the instruments and the functioning of public policy aimed to stabilize prices and maintain high levels of output and employment within the current macroeconomic context. Current economic news will be regularly scrutinized.

This course is designed for students who have completed two semesters of Italian language study. Like Italian 200, this course focuses on the fundamental aspects of intermediate language learning, including oral and written communication. The pedagogical approach sets this course apart, with a focus on embodiment theory. The core idea of embodied learning theories is that the neural structures that human beings use to experience the world (at the level of movement and sensation) are the same they use to process language and to describe, through language, their interactions with the world. Within this framework, the language teaching and learning process will be constantly associated with sensory-motor and emotional experiences, tailored to students by immersing them in theatrical work/play sessions. Recommended for students who would like to try an alternative approach to traditional language pedagogy. (Students may only earn credit for either ITA 200 or ITA 200A)

For students who have completed at least two years of college-level language studies or the equivalent. This course offers cultural readings from a variety of sources, including some literary pieces, as well as magazine and newspaper articles reflecting the contemporary scene in the countries where the language is spoken. Vocabulary expansion and development of techniques of expression are accomplished through oral and written exercises.

The focus of this course is to introduce the students to the evolution of the United States political system with an accent on the reading of the US Constitution as a starting point for an in depth analysis of its legal system. There will be comparative examples drawn from the constitutional experience of the United Kingdom and Canada. The course will also examine the evolution of the American legal system in the context of American politics and international law. (Students may not earn credit for POL 201 and POL 208.)

Introduction to major theories and research findings of social psychology in order to provide an understanding of the roles of cognitive and motivational processes in social behavior. The focus of this course is on how people's behavior, feelings and thoughts are influenced through social environment.

In recent decades, corporate financial reporting has evolved from an unadorned "accurate financial statements" obligation to a broader ESG (environmental, social responsibility, governance) mandate requiring firms to explain and justify their actions across many activities to multiple stake-holders beyond owners of equity shares. CEOs are regularly more visible than ever before, explaining strategic business choices and their impact on employees, customers, the environment, global trade, and public policy trade-offs in general. Just as large firms have been gradually adapting their behavior and structure to that transition, they are now confronted by a medical pandemic which throws all previous calculations aside. The course explores what firms are doing right now, and will have to do even more intensively in the near future, to sustain their financial existence, while responding to the contemporary public and political appetite for social stability assurances and economic security.

This course will be focused on students gaining practical knowledge and tools for becoming a digital entrepreneur specialized in the fashion and lifestyle industry. Students will learn the basics of social media and how to use different platforms--ranging from Instagram to Tiktok--in a fashion context, studying current brands and influencer case studies to enable students to work with the expertise of succesful digital entrepreneurs.This course is for students who want to boost their personal or business digital presence. It is recommended especially for students who have already set up accounts on at least one platform that they would like to develop during and after the course.

This course will survey the history of Italy from the end of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. Topics covered in this nearly 1000-year stretch of time include, but are not limited to, the Germanic invasions of the fifth century, the rise of the papacy and the papal states, the Arab and Byzantine conquests of Sicily and southern Italy, civic government in the medieval city-states, political thought in the age of Dante, Humanism, and the early Renaissance fascination with Roman antiquity. This class takes advantage of FUS’s unique position on the doorstep of Italy and will include several guided visits to medieval churches, castles, towns, and abbeys in Ticino and the northern region of Italy. All reading are in English, a combination of medieval sources in translation and recent scholarship. (This course carries an additional fee: 150 CHF)

Basic concepts of the discipline are discussed in this class with a focus on the evolution of the state and the role of the individual from historical, ideological, and comparative perspectives.

The course introduces the global business system in the context of the economic, political, social and technological environments, relating business to society as a whole. Topics covered include the international scope, function, and organization of firms, and other fundamental concepts of multinational business. The course also addresses functional areas such as the value chain, production, marketing, human resources, and accounting.

The course begins with a review of functions and their graphs, after which students are introduced to the concepts of differentiation and integration. Understanding is reinforced through extensive practical work, with a strong emphasis on applications in economics, statistics and management science.

Based on classical music milestones, from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, the course provides the students with the basic elements needed in order to learn active listening and to develop critical and comparative skills. It explains the various genres from symphonic music to opera, offering the students the tools to better understand the various idioms in Western music, and the historical and cultural context of their creation. The use of the "great works" will also create a cultural portfolio for students and introduce them to the debates related to the character and purposes of music, as well as to its chronological evolution.

This course examines the political processes that shape conflict and consensus in Middle Eastern societies. From this perspective, main regional conflicts are analyzed. The confrontation between (1)Iran and the Arab World and (2)Israel and the region at large are surveyed in light of intra-Arab antagonisms and the historical great power rivalry for hegemony in the area. Special focus is directed toward an understanding of the politics of modernization and the clash between tradition and modernity. Recommended POL 100.

In this hands-on class, students will develop a personal a motif or aesthetic through which to create a series of three-dimensional forms and fashion garments. Drawing on the world around them, students will examine 2D design concepts, drawing essentials, and the use of sustainable materials as part of their process. (There will be an additional fee for studio supplies.)

This course is designed to provide students with a basic knowledge of financial accounting concepts, procedures, analysis, and internal reports as an essential part of the decision-making process. The focus is on the three basic steps of the accounting process: recording, classifying, and summarizing financial transactions. Emphasis is placed on the general accounting activities leading up to the preparation of financial statements.

(Course begins: 28 May 2022) This course will introduce students to all aspects of archaeological field methodology, from actual excavation and documentation to the processing and study of material culture. The project aims to reconstruct the history and prehistory of the Seggiano valley and the Monte Amiata region through close study of the areas around Castello Potentino. In 2022, the dig will focus on the immediate area of the castle to establish a basic stratigraphy and historical sequence that can be correlated to landscape and settlement pattern. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about the history and material culture in central Italy from the Iron Age to the Medieval Period. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in the companion course, ENV 297: Biodiversity and Heritage.

(This course must be taken in conjunction with ML 100) 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.) This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee: CHF 500/USD 550.

This introductory ceramics course combines art history and studio work with an intensive travel period in northern and central Italy. Students will be given the opportunity to understand the complete process of producing objects in clay and terracotta, from the first planning/designing phases, through the basic modeling techniques, to the more complicated processes of firing and glazing. Studio sessions both on and off campus will incorporate lectures on artists and art movements, as well as visits to local venues, major museums and other sites of importance with regard to the use of clay and terracotta in the fine arts. The on-campus lectures aim to provide students with an understanding of the importance of northern and central Italy for the history of ceramics from the age of the Etruscans to the present day. All students will have the opportunity to do in-depth, intensive work in clay modeling, hand-built ceramics and glazing techniques. The first part of the course will focus on the functional aspects of the terracotta object, while the second will introduce terracotta as sculpture. This Academic Travel course carries a supplemental fee:CHF 800/USD 885.

(Course begins: 28 May 2022) In this interdisciplinary environmental science course students will learn the fundamentals of biodiversity measurement methods while also considering biodiversity in the context of socio-ecological systems in the Seggiano Valley, Italy. This course will take a deep-time perspective on human landscape use and heritage as embedded within local environments. Weekly topics will include: defining invasive species, methods of paleoenvironmental reconstruction, the role of charismatic megafauna as cultural keystone species, the significance of affective ecology, the challenges of depredation by reintroduced apex predators, and understanding different types of local ethnobotanical use. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in the companion course, ARC 297: Archaeology and Material Heritage.

(This course must be taken in conjunction with CLCS 251T) Designed for students with no knowledge of Arabic, this course provides an introduction to the essentials of Arabic grammar, vocabulary and culture. The acquisition of aural, oral and written skills is emphasized. By the end of the course, students will be able to engage in simple conversations, read basic texts in Arabic, write short dialogues and stories, and understand the syntactical and lexical structure of Arabic.