Communications Courses

In a pluralistic and multicultural society, it is important to provide individuals with the appropriate tools to develop balanced and integrated personalities that are capable of social interaction with sensitivity and a wide understanding. A skillful communication creates positive relationships and working teams as well as social groups including individuals from different cultures, religions beliefs, sexual preferences, age and physical characteristics. In order to arrive at this form of intercultural communication, it is necessary to acquire basic competencies and psychological knowledge of the lotic – verbal, intuitive and creative areas. Course topics analyze the subjectivity of perception, the influence of cultural patterns on identity, the interdependence of contemporary life and working contexts, and the capacity to acquire useful skills and experience for effective communication.

This course introduces students to the strategic roles and functions of the Public Relations (PR) practitioner. Students evaluate the context in which PR is practiced, gain an understanding of the potential and practice of PR as a management function, and critically analyze the structure of PR management, its role, and techniques. In addition, students will be introduced to the rhetorical arguments that impact PR activities and will be made aware of the importance of professionalism and ethics in the practice of public relations.

Business and marketing aspects of the wine industry. Students will be presented with the following topics: an introduction to communication theory, wine communication, introduction to management and marketing theory, wine marketing, economics of the world wine industry, human resource management.

The course is designed for people interested in all aspects of the wine industry, wine marketing and wine education, providing students with both academic knowledge and operational competences and tools.

By the end of the course students should be able to: identify the different segments in the wine market through the adoption of segmentation techniques, analyze the consumer behaviors and preferences in the segment, in order to characterize the specific target, perform a structured analysis of a company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, formulate the correct marketing strategy for a specific category of wine, thus setting the correct price, distribution/retail channels, promotion-communication activity, apply relationship marketing techniques so to create rewarding interactions with both the sales intermediaries and the consumers, understand the context of the English-language media (such as magazines, guides, websites), that have a significant influence on the wine market, assess the role that can be played by the different media in a communication strategy, and plan accordingly, formulate a press release, for both traditional and social media, building on the experience of this course, and using the knowledge and tools acquired during the semester, the students will be able to continue the study and practice of wine marketing and communication.

The object of this course is the encounter between fashion – one of the oldest but ever-changing mode of communication – and contemporary tools for influencing other people’s decisions – digital social networks. The two are strictly intertwined: fashion needs social media influencers as much as social media influencers need fashion. Digital media has completely reconfigured the fashion world: bloggers have usurped famous magazine editors at fashion shows, the retail industry is shifting to online shopping, platforms such as Instagram create new forms of social status and power. Yet, while digital media creates new jobs, it brings forth also unexpected negative consequences and issues.

This course examines how interconnected fashion and influencers are, and guides students to master the potential of social networks regarding the fashion world. Topics will range from an overview of the evolution of fashion trends to the digital tools needed to succeed as a social media influencer. Students will be able to understand the evolution of fashion, its intrinsic relation with the notion of influence, as well as new trends of digital marketing through social networks. To provide students with a hands-on approach, there will be visits to local museums and/or shops as well as an encounter with a Florentine-based influencer. This course encourages independent explorations in Florence, including those for research and content collection for course projects (i.e. Blending Magazine assignment). Students will also analyze high-impact Case Studies related to the course topic. Successful completion of the course requires regular visits and interaction with the FLY CEMI: students will interact with an Instagram Fashion Account for applying concepts related to merchandising and promotion.

Pre-requisite: One communication course or equivalent.

What do we mean by “”community””? How do we encourage, discuss, analyze, understand, design, and participate in healthy communities in the age of many-to-many media? With the advent of virtual communities, smart mobs, and online social networks, old questions about the meaning of human social behavior have taken on renewed significance. Although this course is grounded in theory, it is equally rooted in practice, and much of the class discussion takes place in social cyberspaces. This course requires the active engagement of students and a willingness to experience a full immersion in social media practices. Much of the class discussion takes place in a variety of virtual world environments during and between face-to-face class meetings. Students who participate in this course will actively and productively engage in established and emerging forms of social media – and have some notion of how these practices affect the self and the community.

Pre-requisite: Foundational writing skills are not covered. Students are expected to apply a strong command of syntax, structure, and style according to the course topic.

This course looks at a variety of writing practices required of digital journalists and web writers, both in style and in subject matter. Students will gain experience writing diverse types of stories: investigative, news, feature, editorial, sports, entertainment, etc. They will learn how to write effectively for a targeted audience on a variety of digital platforms (such as websites including online versions of established media and wikis, blogs, applications and social media, multi-user communities and spaces, and smart device communication), document sources in a professional way, evaluate and critique their own publications, and about how online writing affects publication and interacts with social and civic participation. This course will also give students a further understanding of the principles, ethics, and practice of journalism in increasingly digitalized formats. This class includes experiential learning with CEMI.

Analysis of how following personal lives of media-created celebrities impacts self-esteem, connectedness, and personal relationships from cultural studies and social sciences perspectives, and how entities cultivate celebrity for financial gain. Topics include celebrity gossip and privacy, news sharing, public relations, and impact of social media on fan support, image construction, and damage control.

Lecture, four hours. Study of entrepreneurial communication from foundations in internal and external communication and development of data analysis, interpretation, and presentational skills utilized in existing, as well as in development of, contemporary innovative businesses. P/NP or letter grading.