02504 - History of Sociological Thought

Learning outcomes

Studying Jewish life and history and Shoah, from the point of view of sociological thought and socio-cultural change, and comparing with other cases of minorities and diasporas during wars and genocides, students should reach better capacities of historical-critical reading of society and collective violences, and improve paying attention to paths of non violent resistance and prevention.

Course contents

The Course's goal is to evaluate how sociological thought faced the “civilizational break” of the XX century, namely the two World Wars, Shoah (the destruction of European Jews), Nazi genocide and other genocides. Central will be the study of Shoah,. Porrajmos (the genocide of Roma and Sinti) and other genocides, and of their memory in Europe and in the world. After a number of lessons on some authorships (Durkheim, Weber, functionalism and intentionalism, etc.), the objective is to learn to "read" situations of persecution and forced migration and of minorities and diasporas during war and genocide. In a prudently comparative perspective, case-studies will be oriented towards non violent forms and practices of prevention, paying attention to the problems represented by the actions of decision-makers and executers before, and to the needs for justice and pacification afterwards.

This year the following topics will be dealt with:

1.Civilizational and epistemological breaks.
2.Modern sociology: knowledge, meanings, discontinuities and disjunctions.
3.Durkheim and Weber and "the problem" of World War I.
4.The social and cultural crisis in the interwar period and the “Jewsih problem”.
5.Functionalism and neo-functionalism before, during and after World War II.
6.Critical sociology and other approaches to the history of XX Century.
7. Studying Shoah and Nazi genocide, in diasporas and in Israel.
8. Shoah and its memory in Europe, in Israel and the world.
9.The memory of Shoah, cultural sociology and “global” civil society.
10. Case studies on the relation between genocide and migrations.
11. Sociologies of genocide.
12. Imprescriptibility of genocide and the needs for justice and pacification.

Readings/Bibliography

See the above list

Teaching methods

Listening to proposed introductions, dialogues, films, research (also via research groups), bibliographical research online, possible "learning visits".

Assessment methods

For attending students:
during the course there will be two intermediate written exams, and each student (personally or "in group") will be required to write a report on topics to be decided with the teacher. For the final exam, there will be an oral discussion on the report and on texts, i.e. one among the "testi a scelta" and one more among the "testi di approfondimento".
(Attending students are all those who attended at least the two thirds of lessons).

For non attending students:
final exam will contain a written test and an oral discussion on the texts - i.e. the general reference text; one of the "testi a scelta"; and two of the "testi di approfondimento", to be both chosen from within one of the suggested itineraries - to be assessed with the teacher.

Teaching tools

In the first part, the teacher will propose a dialogic approach to relevant contexts and facts, especially of XX century, by means of direct lessons, didactic dialogues, films etc.; in the second part, the students themselves - organized in working groups - will debate their researches and interpretations.

Office hours

See the website of Maura De Bernart