SPN4620 Spanish III
(Formerly Borderlands)
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

This course will provide an in-depth review and expansion of Intermediate-level Spanish grammar and vocabulary through oral and written practice. Through the use of selected readings, films and music, students will continue to develop their ability to communicate proficiently in Spanish. Supplementary materials will provide a jumping off point for discussions of immigrant experiences in the U.S., Spain, and Latin America. The course will explore the factors that motivate migration, as well the implications (economic, political, artistic, musical, culinary, linguistic, etc.) of immigrant experiences and cultural exchanges throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

Prerequisites: SPN1200 or SPN2200 (Accelerated Elementary Spanish at Babson), or equivalent proficiency as demonstrated through a required placement test. Not open to fluent speakers of Spanish.

MBA7601 Special Topics: Entrepreneurial Growth
3 Elective CreditsThis course provides students insight into the challenges and opportunities that arise as a company grows. It provides students with concepts and frameworks necessary to facilitate entrepreneurial management in organizations of all sizes and types. It is relevant to individuals interested in managing growth in their own companies as well as those growing an existing company.

Prerequisites: None

MBA7604 Special Topics: Entrepreneurship in a Digital World

3 CreditsDigital technologies, processes and business models are impacting all aspects of businesses today, from startups to large organizations that need to practice corporate intrapreneurship. This course will focus on how digital strategies, tactics, and tools can be leveraged by today's entrepreneurial leaders to innovate, grow, and renew initiatives in their organizations. We will study how digital platforms can be used to scale operations, improve decision-making, and enable new business models to grow customers and revenue. Topics will include cloud computing platforms that focus on operations, employee collaboration, customer relationships, and machine-to-machine connections such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to capture, analyze, and share data and insights. New digital business models will be explored that will inform corporate strategy and business opportunities. Students will gain hands-on experience using popular data analytics and visualization tools, such as Tableau, to explore opportunities, gather insights, and make more informed decisions. The course will expose students to emerging technology enablers, such as machine learning and augmented/virtual reality tools, and effectively identify the role they can play in the organization's growth and renewal. Finally, we will discuss digital development and implementation strategies, including agile methods, to deliver digital technologies and gain adoption throughout the organization.

OIM7604 Special Topics: Entrepreneurship in a Digital World

Digital technologies, processes and business models are impacting all aspects of businesses today, from startups to large organizations that need to practice corporate intrapreneurship. This course will focus on how digital strategies, tactics, and tools can be leveraged by today's entrepreneurial leaders to innovate, grow, and renew initiatives in their organizations. We will study how digital platforms can be used to scale operations, improve decision-making, and enable new business models to grow customers and revenue. Topics will include cloud computing platforms that focus on operations, employee collaboration, customer relationships, and machine-to-machine connections such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to capture, analyze, and share data and insights. New digital business models will be explored that will inform corporate strategy and business opportunities. Students will gain hands-on experience using popular data analytics and visualization tools, such as Tableau, to explore opportunities, gather insights, and make more informed decisions. The course will expose students to emerging technology enablers, such as machine learning and augmented/virtual reality tools, and effectively identify the role they can play in the organization's growth and renewal. Finally, we will discuss digital development and implementation strategies, including agile methods, to deliver digital technologies and gain adoption throughout the organization.

MBA7603 Special Topics: Global Enterprising
3 CreditsThis course addresses the ways in which entrepreneurial value creation is affected by (and sometimes inspired by) social institutions and national business systems. In the proposed Miami Blended Learning program, we will provide students a chance to study the business environment of Latin America. The goal is to encourage students to practice Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (ET&A) within the institutional (e.g., social, political, cultural) environment in Latin America.

MBA7602 Special Topics: Social Innovation
3 Elective CreditsWe are living in a world where societal expectations of business have shifted and the lines between business, government, and the social sectors are being blurred. Businesses are called upon to create both economic and social value in new ways. This course addresses issues related to the social, economic, and environmental responsibilities of business. The topic of sustainability is also addressed.

POL4640 Sports and Global Affairs
4 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits

Can we leave politics out of sport? Should women receive equal pay? Are video games real sport? Today, it seems sport is highly associated with social, economic, and political issues of the world. Has this always been the case? Sports have existed as a social activity and developed as a form of human and country relations throughout history. In 2020 alone, the COVID-19 pandemic halted sport activities around the world and when they returned, athletes used their platform to protest racial injustice in the USA and Europe. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were postponed to the summer of 2021 and E-games became the safest form of sports during the pandemic engaging more viewers and gamers across the globe.

This course will explore the connection between sport and global affairs currently and throughout history to answer the questions above. It will trace instances where sport collides with social, political, and economic issues around the globe since the inception of modern sport. It will also identify how global issues have impacted the development of sports and how sports have shaped global and national issues from the margins.

We will read scholarly books and articles from the fields and disciplines of sport, political science, women, gender and sexuality studies, critical race studies, sociology, and international relations. Together we will also watch films in line with the readings. Guest speakers will join us and contribute to discussions too. All this will be done to enhance critical and analytical skills and will challenge students to think with increased confidence, independence, and creativity about the material.

Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

LIT4607 Sports and Literature
2 Advanced Liberal Arts Credits
Blended Learning FormatThe Ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar wrote victory odes for winners in the Olympian Games, whose "prizes [were] won in trials of strength." In doing so he forged a powerful connection between writing and sporting achievement. Long after Pindar, many writers have been drawn to sport, and many sports have rich and extensive literatures surrounding them. This course examines the varied representations that fiction writers, poets, memoirists, and essayists have made of individual and team sports and their players. This course also pursues theoretical examinations of sport and its place in culture, including Theodor Adorno's assertion that "sport is the imageless counterpart to practical life". We work within such areas as race, class, gender, politics, and aesthetics. Delivered online, this class includes multimodal assignment delivery, blending students' written texts with audio-visual methods of communicating meaning. We also host visiting writers from the field of sports and literature.

Prerequisites: Any combination of 2 ILA (HSS, LTA, CSP, LVA, CVA)

QTM2622 Sports Applications of Mathematics
4 Advanced Liberal Arts CreditsMathematicians and statisticians are playing an increasing role in shaping how athletic contests are played and how they are judged. This course examines some of the underlying quantitative principles that are routinely used. Students will apply some statistical techniques (expectations, probability and risk/reward judgments) and some that are deterministic (optimization, ranking and validation.) A variety of software packages will be used to demonstrate the many ways that a mathematical point of view can inform athletes, trainers, administrators and fans.

Prerequisites: AQM2000

MKT 3507: Sports Brand Partnership: Building Strategic Collaborations

4 advanced management credits

In "Sports Brand Sponsorships: Strategic Partnerships in Professional Sports," students will explore the dynamic world of sports brand partnerships through a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical application. It analyzes its increasing role and significance in the corporate/brand marketing mix and its importance to event and property producers/organizers, participants, athletes, entertainers, communities and the media. In addition, the course will consider effective methods to plan, price, organize, acquire, implement, measure, and evaluate sponsorships including the development of a holistic corporate sponsorship plan. This undergraduate course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of how strategic collaborations between sports entities and corporate sponsors can drive brand visibility, revenue, and consumer engagement.

Prerequisites: MKT 2000