Communication knowledge and skills are essential in business careers and for interpersonal and intercultural relationships. This course offers a theory-based approach combined with applied communication practices. Communication knowledge, competencies and skills are developed through exploring relationships, mediated communication, writing, team dynamics, oral presentation and technologies.
Note: This course has very limited enrolment availability. It is recommended that students apply early and have a second choice course option.
3 semester credits. 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.
3 semester credits. This course focuses on the business and marketing aspects of the wine industry. Students will consider and analyze wine marketing including an introduction to communication theory, wine communication practices and trends, introduction to management and marketing theory, wine marketing strategies, and economics of the wine world industry. Course topics also cover distribution channels and sales strategies according to laws and regulations of each country, consumer demand and responsible drinking issues. Students will be able to identify the various career paths in the wine business according to their inclinations and personal skills.
3 semester credits. 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. 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.
3 semester credits. 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.
3 semester credits. 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. Prerequisites: Foundational writing skills are not covered. Students are expected to apply a strong command of syntax, structure, and style according to the course topic.
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.
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.
Survey of recent scientific approaches to dyadic communication and relationships. Surveys selection of experimental, observational, and quantitative methods, and how they can be applied to key issues in dyadic communication and interpersonal relationships. Topics include recent technological techniques for measuring and influencing dyads, including role of peripheral devices such as phones or other wearable devices. Consideration of dyadic processes including influence, mimicry, leadership, active listening, and more. Consideration also of how findings apply beyond dyads to teams.
Pre-requisite: Satisfaction of Entry-Level Writing.
Examination of foundations of communication and public speaking. Consideration of number of basic theories related to study of communication and development of skills to enable composition and delivery of speeches in accordance with specific rhetorical concepts. Improvement of ability to analyze, organize, and critically think about communicative messages while becoming better equipped to articulate ideas.
