B5668 - Sociology of Territory & Culture

Learning outcomes

In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of sociology. Specifically, the objectives include: Critical Analysis: Train students to critically analyze how culture and social structures both shape and are shaped by the physical environment. Spatial Awareness: Help students understand the spatial dimensions of social phenomena, exploring how territories impact social interactions and cultural expressions. Cultural Appreciation: Foster an appreciation for cultural diversity by examining how different cultures manifest within specific territories, and how cultural practices are influenced by geographic locations. Research Skills: Develop research skills by teaching students how to investigate and analyze the relationships between social structures, culture, and territory through empirical studies and literature reviews. Globalization Impact: Explore the effects of globalization on local cultures and identities. Emphasize how global forces interact with and sometimes challenge local customs and territorial boundaries, fostering critical thinking.

Course contents

Where does a territory end and a platform begin? This course introduces students to sociology through the spatial and cultural dimensions of contemporary life, at a moment when the two are harder than ever to tell apart. It begins with the historical development of the discipline and its intersections with the other social sciences, then moves toward a focused examination of how territory and culture interact within consumer society.

Particular attention is devoted to how consumption shapes — and is shaped by — both physical and digital environments. Consumer culture is approached not merely as an economic phenomenon but as a complex system of practices and meanings that produces social identities, symbolic landscapes, and territorial imaginaries. From shopping malls and theme parks to social media platforms and algorithmically curated spaces, students will investigate how consumption environments function as sites of cultural production and negotiation.

The course pays specific attention to the pressures reshaping urban territories today:

• platform urbanism: how short-term rental platforms, delivery infrastructures, and app-mediated mobility are rewriting the social geography of cities;
• touristification and overtourism: the transformation of historic centres into consumption landscapes, and the conflicts over housing, authenticity, and belonging that follow;
• hybrid (phygital) spaces: the co-construction of physical and digital environments, from geotagged place-making to AI-curated recommendations that decide which places we see, visit, and value;
• the human-algorithmic entanglement of everyday spatial practices: navigation, reviews, ratings, and the quiet power of recommender systems over territorial imaginaries;
• hybrid performances and exhibitions: how festivals, museums, immersive exhibitions, and live events blend physical presence and digital mediation — from livestreamed performance and phygital curation to the "eventful city," where culture becomes both an experience economy and a battleground over urban identity.

Throughout the course, students engage with theoretical perspectives and empirical case studies on the interplay between material culture, globalization, prosumption, and the hybridization of space. The physical and the digital are never treated as separate spheres, but as interconnected domains through which individuals navigate, appropriate, and give meaning to their social worlds.

Being back in the classroom matters for a course like this: Bologna itself will serve as our living laboratory. Students will be encouraged to read the city — its porticoes, markets, student districts, exhibitions, and commercial landscapes — as a sociological text, connecting what they observe in the streets to what they study in the literature. Since many participants come from the worlds of the arts and event management, the course deliberately treats cultural production — exhibitions, performances, festivals — as a privileged terrain for spatial and cultural analysis. In doing so, the course fosters a critical understanding of how spatial practices reflect broader cultural transformations, shaping inclusion and exclusion, identity and belonging in late modernity.

Readings/Bibliography

The following texts provide the theoretical foundation for the course and should be considered essential reading throughout the semester. They will be integrated with weekly readings and teaching materials (book chapters, journal articles, documents, and audiovisual content), all made available through the Virtuale platform of the University of Bologna.

• G. Ritzer (2018), The McDonaldization of Society: Into the Digital Age, SAGE, London.
• J. van Dijck, T. Poell, M. de Waal (2018), The Platform Society: Public Values in a Connective World, Oxford University Press (Chapters 1, 2, 4).
• G. Ritzer, P. Degli Esposti (2020), "Creative Destruction and Cultural Lag in the Digital Age", Sociology Between the Gaps [open access].
• G. Ritzer, P. Degli Esposti (2020), "The Increasing Centrality of Prosumption in the Digital Capitalist Economy", Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 45(3).
• G. Ritzer, P. Degli Esposti (2021), "The Increasing and Invisible Impact of the Working Consumer on Paid Work", in The Future of Work, Zurich and Geneva, Seismo Press, [open access].
• P. Degli Esposti (2025), "Bridging globalization and digital society: George Ritzer's insights on prosumption and the working consumer", Thesis Eleven.
• P. Degli Esposti, L. Tirabassi (2025), "Cultural Consumption, Social Media, and Polarization. Cancel Culture as a Practice of Cultural Resistance and its Critical Issues", Comunicazione Politica, 1/2025.
• P. Degli Esposti, L. Tirabassi (2024), "The Human-algorithmic Entanglement in the News Realm", Problemi dell'Informazione, 1/2024.

These readings will be discussed and applied throughout the course. Additional weekly materials will be uploaded on Virtuale and are to be read in advance of each session. Some of these materials are mandatory and form the basis for class discussions, assignments, and presentations.

Teaching methods

The course is held in person and consists of 10 sessions of 3 hours each (30 hours in total). To keep energy high and avoid the lecture-marathon effect, each session is structured into three learning blocks of approximately 50–55 minutes, separated by short breaks — balancing theoretical input with interaction, reflection, and practical engagement.

1. Theoretical input. A short, focused lecture introduces the core sociological concepts, theoretical frameworks, or key authors of the day, using slides, visual content, and real-world examples. It is followed by collective discussion and interactive Q&A; live polling tools (e.g., Wooclap, Mentimeter) are used to stimulate and map participation.

2. Case study or media analysis. The second block moves from concepts to cases: close analysis of a case study, image, map, media campaign, or short video — urban branding, platform design, consumer landscapes, contested tourist spaces. Students work in small groups and contribute to shared digital boards (e.g., Padlet, Miro), translating abstract concepts into tangible situations.

3. Collaborative activities and student involvement. The third block is student-centred: presentations (individual or in groups), structured debates, peer-to-peer workshops, and small-group research tasks. Students co-construct knowledge by critically presenting selected readings, commenting on current social phenomena, and designing original interpretations of space and culture. This block also hosts work-in-progress discussions and collective feedback on assignments.

The in-person format also enables innovative, hands-on activities, designed with the artistic and event-management background of many participants in mind:

• urban walkshops: guided observational walks through Bologna's consumption and cultural landscapes, treating the city as primary source material;
• podcast creation: in small groups, students design and record a short podcast episode on a course theme — an exercise in translating spatial and cultural analysis into public-facing storytelling;
• exhibition and event analysis: sociological "reviews" of a real exhibition, performance, or festival, examining how curatorial and staging choices produce space, meaning, and publics;
• hybrid event design studio: small groups develop the concept for a phygital cultural event or pop-up exhibition, applying course concepts to a professional scenario and pitching it to the class;
• visual sociology exercises: photo-essays and short video documentation of spatial practices, discussed collectively in class;
• digital mapping: small-group projects using story-mapping tools to layer sociological analysis onto real territories;
• one-minute papers and "muddiest point" checks at the end of sessions, providing real-time feedback on learning.

AI policy. Students are encouraged to explore AI tools critically during the course — algorithmically curated space is, after all, part of the course's subject matter. Their use is welcome as a support for study, brainstorming, and language revision, with mandatory disclosure; submitting AI-generated work as one's own is not permitted and constitutes a breach of academic integrity. The use of AI tools is not allowed during exams: both the written test and the oral exam must be completed without AI assistance.

Assessment methods

The course follows a weekly rhythm of readings and reflective tasks: students are expected to read the assigned text before each session and to contribute actively to discussions. Learning is assessed through one of two pathways, with identical learning outcomes and evaluation standards.

Pathway A — Coursework. Open to students who attend at least 80% of the classes. The final grade is based on three equally weighted components:

1. Active participation — 33%. Regular and meaningful contribution to class discussions, including at least two class debates during the course, group activities, short reactions to readings, and engagement with the class as a whole.
2. Student presentation — 33%. Each student (individually or in a group) delivers one thematic presentation on a course-related topic, combining academic literature and relevant case studies. Creative and interdisciplinary formats are encouraged: visual storytelling, digital mapping, photo-essays, podcast episodes, or interactive elements.
3. Final written exam — 33%. Composed of two parts: five multiple-choice questions on key concepts, and a written composition based on one of three topics provided by the instructor. Essay prompts and details are shared during the final weeks of class.

Supporting activities during the semester include reading-based reflections (short written responses or discussion posts on the assigned readings) and ongoing peer feedback on presentations and paper outlines, reinforcing collaborative learning.

Pathway B — Final exam. For all other students, the exam consists of two parts, both mandatory:

1. a written test (multiple-choice questions and an essay-based composition) on the full syllabus;
2. an oral exam, consisting of a presentation on a course topic agreed with the instructor and a discussion of the full syllabus and course readings.

The final grade is the combined result of the written and oral parts.

Exam registration. For both pathways, registration on AlmaEsamiis mandatory: 👉 https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm

Grading scale

Grade

Evaluation

Equivalent

30L/29 Excellent A+ (Honors)

28/27 Very Good A

26/24 Good B

23/19 Satisfactory C

18 Sufficient D

<18 Fail F

Teaching tools

Classes are held in person, with the support of the SDE Multimedia Laboratory for digital mapping and hands-on sessions. All teaching materials (slides, readings, additional resources) are made available on the University of Bologna's Virtuale platform. Collaborative digital tools (shared boards, live polling, story-mapping) are used during classes to support discussion and group work.

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD) may contact the University services and the instructor to arrange the support and adjustments they are entitled to.

Office hours

See the website of Piergiorgio Degli Esposti