Fashion Studies Major

The course is the sequel to AHT 102 and offers an introduction to the history of art and visual culture from the High Renaissance to the present day. It studies early modern painting, sculpture, architecture, and prints within their historical, social, and cultural contexts, as well as photography and new media in the modern and contemporary world.

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.

This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts and theories of communication and media studies as they apply to the ever-increasing intercultural interactions of a contemporary world. In particular, students will learn the basics of intercultural/international communication processes, gaining a foundation for developing intercultural communication competence.

This course introduces students to Fashion Studies beginning with the history of the making of fashion, thus laying the groundwork for the understanding of fashion as a creative and cultural phenomenon from the Renaissance to the present day. It then examines fashion as a dynamic communication process that is based on everyday social interactions in the contemporary world. In this section, special attention is paid to media representations, interactions with cultural industries, subcultural practices, and the impact of emerging technologies, exploring how the fashion process becomes an integral part of the identity formation. Finally, the fashion process is analyzed from the business perspective with a particular focus on marketing. Taking the classic concept of product life cycle, students learn how the fashion industry and consumer behavior propagate new trends in society.

The course introduces students to the theories and methods of art history and visual culture. It addresses both traditional and innovative models from art history and how to apply methodologies from other disciplines to the study of the visual world. Students will conduct original research projects using a variety of critical approaches to put their theoretical knowledge in practice.

This course introduces students to the most common qualitative and quantitative techniques for conducting market research with an emphasis on their application.  The definition of market research problems, the set-up of research plans, and the subsequent data collection and analysis are illustrated and applied by means of real world projects. Students are required to implement, in groups, the skills covered in class, and to prepare a final research report to discuss and present in class.

This course introduces students to quantitative and qualitative research methods as they apply to communication and media studies. Students will acquire skill in examining various communication and media issues by conducting an original research project.

This course offers an introduction to the history of photography from its inception in the early 19th century to the present day. It considers the specific historical development of the photographic medium through the evolution of both its technical possibilities during the period and the range of its applications. The course will question past and present readings of photographs, while reflecting on the peculiar modes of representation implied by the use of the daguerreotype, the calotype and the negative-positive photographic process, the commercialization of photographic equipment in the early 20th century, the introduction of the Kodacolour film in 1942, and the changes in the late 20th century with the introduction of the digital camera. It will consider a set of different objects favored by the medium, such as the landscape, the city, the portrait, the body, taking into account the historical socio-political contexts in which these various photographic practices developed. It will consider the history of genres within photography: documentary photography, photography as fine art, photography in advertising and media, fashion photography, as well as its archival and historical documentation. Finally, the course will emphasize the question of the impact and influence of photography on other artistic mediums, such as painting and literature, as well as on the modern and contemporary experience of the world.

From early optical instruments to Renaissance printing presses, from camera obscuras floating on boats to portable paint tubes, from modern film cameras to laser sculptures, from computer robotics to 3D printing, technology continues to play a major role in art, visual communication, and fashion. It shapes both creative processes and production techniques in the making of visual culture and it affects and defines the status of the beholder of its manifold expressions. The course will investigate some of the milestones in the history of instruments and will take up contemporary technology to investigate the intertwined connection between man and machine in the creative world.

Anthropologies of Art is taught on campus and in the galleries of Lugano’s museums and exhibition halls, including the Museo delle Culture, Lugano Arte e Cultura, Olgiati Collection, Fondazione Braglia and other venues. It investigates objects and images within human and cultural contexts, approaching both the physical and digital world through the deep structure of the human mind and its manifestations. In museums and exhibitions, we will analyze artifacts from all continents and discuss how they relate to social practices and exchanges in individual cultures. On campus, the course will engage with media anthropology: humans’ interactions with technology, how machines have been used to produce complex works, and what they can tell us about the status of both producer and receiver. Particular emphasis this semester will be placed on how artificial intelligence is shaping creativity and what this means for the development of the deep structure of the human mind. 

The course will investigate the different types of sign languages that we find in the visual arts. It will study and discuss theories of semiotics and then investigate how each medium sets up its own method of visual communication through signs and symbols. What kinds of patterns of messages do we find in paintings? Do buildings have their own code of communication other than being functional containers? What kinds of messages does a film convey beyond its action? Do the clothes we wear make a statement? In addition to the theoretical aspect, the course will also contain an empirical and a studio component where students will conduct research on a particular topic, which they will then present in a visual medium of their choice.

This course is an introduction to the tools and concepts used in the marketing process for consumer and industrial products as well as for services. The focus is on the basic marketing concepts (product, place, price, promotion) as they relate to the field of global marketing. Emphasis is placed on the increasingly important role of interdisciplinary tools to analyze economic, cultural and structural differences across international markets. Specific consideration is given to the development of integrated marketing programs for a complex, global environment.

This course exposes students to an integrated, global approach of two-way communication with consumers, customers and suppliers, and other stakeholders of companies and organizations. Students explore the communications process that is essential in contemporary global business cultures. Media options are explored for a range of target audiences. Discussions on the use of advertising, public relations, sales promotions, internet promotion, direct marketing and other techniques will be included. It takes a contemporary approach to the field of integrated marketing communications, highlighting how recent changes and rapid changes in the family, business environment, technology and the world in general are forcing communications specialists and advertisers to make major changes in the way they reach their markets. The course will draw on knowledge in fields such as psychology, sociology and anthropology, as well as media studies and communications.

The course focuses on how to build and manage a brand, based on the concept of Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE). The goal of the course is to expose students to the challenges that today brands face both from competitors' but also from consumers' points of view and to make students aware and to experience the potential tools companies can use to manage brands today.

This course focuses on the understanding of the consumer as fundamental to marketing efforts. The course includes observational research in the community where students develop a greater understanding of consumers' consumption and decision-making behavior. Areas of focus include the consumer decision making process, research techniques, learning and motivation, segmentation and targeting, the impact of lifestyle and values, the role of society and culture in consumption, and ethical issues in consumer relationships.

The focus of postmodernity on surface phenomena and diversity, its concern with the personal, the subjective and with identity have worked to make fashion a field of studies that has gained importance in the last 15 years. Aiming at getting past the age-old belief in the essential frivolity of fashion, this course examines how fashion draws upon recurrent instabilities of men and women (masculinity vs femininity, youth vs elderliness, domesticity vs worldliness, inclusion vs exclusion etc...) to thrive and express its creativity, how its ever constant shifting nature results in the notions of gender, ethnicity and class status to be ever more fluid, how it has been redefining the body and its image, in particular with the advent of the supermodel in the eighties, and last but not least, how it relates to and signifies within so many aspects of our daily life and environment, whether it be space (work vs domesticity, urban vs non-urban), photography (static vs dynamic), music (alternative vs pop) and sexuality.

Media pervades our social and private lives. We make it and in turn it makes us. This course offers an introduction to media studies, a field which seeks to understand and use media in complex and intentional ways. The course explores media as content, as an industry and as a social force. In this way, media is understood as both as an artifact (constituted by many parts) and as a set of complex processes (including production, distribution, regulation and consumption). Students will learn key vocabularies and concepts in and approaches to media studies that will help them to define, describe, and critique media artifacts and processes in a variety of written and spoken formats. In addition to equipping students with the skills to understand and critique media, this course encourages and provides students with the building blocks to produce media content. Students who successfully complete this course will be prepared to take advanced courses in media studies.

The sense of taste, whether it refers to the metaphorical sense of taste (aesthetic discrimination) or the literal sense of taste (gustatory taste), is a fundamental part of human experiences. This Academic Travel course examines various ways that communication processes shape our sense of taste in the contemporary society. It will explore topics such as the taste for food, clothing and accessories, music, and other cultural activities applying key theories and concepts of communication, fashion, and taste. Ultimately, the course seeks to develop an understanding of how interpersonal, intercultural, and mediated communication in our everyday life plays a critical role in the formation of individual taste as well as collective taste. In order to achieve this objective, field observations and site visits will be planned during the Academic Travel period.

In the media-saturated contemporary world, the ability to produce media content effectively and appropriately is a powerful skill that is applicable in a variety of professional contexts. This course introduces the basic principles of strategic communication in the context of social media by focusing on the critical important of the audience within the media content creation cycle. After developing the theoretical foundation, the course also offers an opportunity to develop basic skills in producing podcasts and blogs. It also discusses concepts of ethics and social responsibility as part of a successful strategic communication campaign.

Recommended prerequisite: COM 105 or COM 201

This course examines how people, particularly young people, consume media technologies and their contents in contemporary media-saturated life.  Employing essential readings on media consumption, fashion, and identity as the theoretical backbone, students will engage in active site-based research project throughout the course.  By offering an opportunity to undertake a field study in Milan, the course seeks to develop in-depth theoretical knowledge of the intersections of media consumption, fashion, and identity, as well as to cultivate critical reflection of students’ own consumption of media technologies. This course carries an additional fee for transportation and related activities in Milan.

This course explores the impacts and capacities of new media technologies in producing social worlds and advocating social issues. Following an exploration of the key concepts in new media theory, students in this course will spend the bulk of the semester producing a digital short story about an issue of social interest. As a course in applied media and communication, students will have a hand in the entire process of producing, marketing, and showing the film.

Digital communication has been fundamental in today’s organizational, cultural, and consuming areas. With the continuous technological development, we have been witnessing the surge of digital innovations in recent years. This course examines key dimensions of digital innovations in the current consumer culture such as Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), Geographical Referencing System, Review & Ratings algorithm, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, BOT and chatbot. The course explores not only the new brand and media strategies of companies but also self-branding strategies of operators, influencers and users/consumers with a special attention to the creative dimension of consumption experience. In this process, the differences between cross-media communication and trans-media storytelling will be discussed as these two strategies help organizations manage relationships between brand, product and consumers by the means of emerging media. Ultimately, students will develop a greater understanding of media strategies using digital innovations that can be applied in the professional context. (This course also applies as an elective in the Fashion Studies major.)

An introductory course to graphic design software and to the principles and practices of advertising graphics. Once the basics have been learned, the course covers the following aspects of graphic design: the psychology of advertising, the brief from the client and the working relationship between client and designer, font styles and typographic design, the company logo, letterhead, business cards etc., house-styling, company reports, brochures, flyers, book covers, color printing and printing processes. The course requires that initial design concepts be taken from the early stages through to finished art-work, i.e. the quality of finish required for presentation to the client.(This course carries a nominal fee for computer supplies)

Intermediate course aimed at further developing the basic skills learned in STA 111. More emphasis will be placed on developing individual projects, exploring various media and investigating problems in drawing and perception. The course carries a fee for art supplies.

The human head is one of the most fascinating subjects in the history of art, and frequently perceived as one of the most difficult problems to tackle. The head is the basic unit of human proportions, and the key to human identity. This course will investigate the human head and human proportions in art - in painting and sculpture; in all periods and cultures. Through lectures and presentations, visits to museums or other places of interest and studio sessions, students will have the opportunity to study this subject in depth and to experiment with it using various techniques in the studio. Studio sessions and lectures will deal with the following topics: 1. Human proportions: fundamental concepts. 2. Ideal canons in the Western European tradition. 2.1 The head as basic unit. 2.2 Famous canons: the Golden Ratio, Polykleitos, Praxiteles, Vitruvian man, Leonardo, Le Corbusier. 2.3 Alignment of facial features: likeness. 2.4 Men, women and children; the ages of man. 2.5 Larger than life: comics and caricature. 2.6 The twentieth century. 3. Non-Western Ideals. 4. Beyond art and aesthetics: medicine, forensics and other applications. Studio assignments will be organized in the following media: drawing and related media, painting, clay modeling. Class sessions may involve trips off-campus to an exhibition or event. There is a course fee to cover materials and travel expenses.

This course is fundamentally a follow-on from STA 200, Computer Graphics in Advertising. Throughout the semester, students are expected to complete a broad variety of projects, individually and in form of group work, and bring them to a finished state. Possible areas of concentration may include digital branding, interaction design, digital formats, innovative design, campaign design and corporate promotion. (This course carries a nominal fee for computer supplies).

A higher course aimed at further developing the basic skills learned in STA 211. More emphasis will be placed on developing individual projects, exploring various media and investigating drawing and perception. The course carries a fee for art supplies.

This course will investigate the particularities of both documentary and street photography through readings and studio projects. It will shed light on the history of photography; how the visual world communicates, studying the interaction of photography with other visual media; and will pay specific attention to the semiotic potential and challenges of photography. Students will engage in a project that relates to the location of the travel component of the class, documenting a subject of their choice. The Academic Travel destination will be Munich with additional day excursions to Bavaria and Austria.

In an increasingly digital age, publishing is exploring new visual formats while physical books have experienced a renaissance as a privileged channel of creative expression. This course takes this dual development as a starting point to investigate the historical forms and contemporary opportunities offered by the book medium to editors, writers and artists. Students will be introduced to the history of the printing revolution in the early modern age, the development of typography and the emergence of the modern press. An attention to different publishing models co-existing in the 21^st century introduces a diversity of publishing practices and economic formats, from that of established printing houses to independent editors and self-published artists. The course will consider both material and virtual channels, taking into account the surge of digital technologies and a new appreciation for the book as a material object. Additionally, discussion will consider current debates in critical design as they come to challenge inherited practices in the field of publishing, and offer emancipatory and exploratory paths for present and future development.

Recommended prerequisite: AHT 102 or AHT 103 or CLCS 100 or COM 201.

Senior projects are to be coordinated with the Division Chair. The course may carry a fee for art supplies.

Internships are to be coordinated in advance with the faculty advisor and the Division Chair.