77761 - Society, Politics and Globalization

Learning outcomes

The course intends to offer the student the necessary tools to critically analyze political phenomena, with particular attention to the relations between culture, political institutions and globalization. At the end of the course, the student knows the different paradigms that sociology has elaborated on relations between societies, political institutions and globalization, and is able to identify and analyze the socio-political and cultural processes that develop on a local and/or international scale.

Course contents

The course is divided in two sections.

The first section (40 hours) considers the fundamental concepts of political sociology (politics, society, the State, power, institutions, public opinion, ideology and revolution) and will pay particular attention on the concept of social change and of public good in the global era.

The second section (20 hours) of the course studies the cultural dynamics of globalization. Specifically, the following themes will be discussed: globalization and modernity; globalizationand world views; the conflicts of civilisations and the world order; ethnic identity and national identity in the global society.

Readings/Bibliography

First section:

- M. Rush, Politics and Society. An Introduction to PoliticalSociology, Routledge, London, 1998.

L.M. Bassani, A. Mingardi, Dalla Polis allo Stato, Giappicchelli, Torino 2015, chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13

- R. Nisbet, Storia e cambiamento sociale. Il concetto di sviluppo nella tradizione occidentale, IBL Libri, Torino 2017.

 

Second section:

- V. Cotesta, Sociologia dei conflitti etnici. Razzismo, immigrazione e società multiculturale, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2009 (I: Globalizzazione, identità e conflitti etnici; II: Etnia e nazione. Fine del nazionalismo?; III: Identità etnica e identità nazionale).

- P.L. Berger, The Cultural Dynamics ofGlobalization, in P.L. Berger, S.P.Huntington (a cura di), Cultural Diversity in the Contermporary World, New York, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 2-16.

- B.S. Turner (a cura di), The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies, Routledge, London, 2011 (uncapitolo a scelta).

Teaching methods

The course consists mainly of traditional lectures, alternated with structured seminars where students are invited to actively participate and to give a presentation on a subject that is agreed with the lecturer.

Assessment methods

Methods of learning assessment for attending students. Attending students will carry out two midterm exams on texts indicated in Section I. Each midterm exam will consist of 5 questions with open ended answers (students will have 60 minutes available, and two double sided sheets of paper). The mark for each midterm exam will be marked out of a maximum of thirty points. During the course attending students will have to carry out a classroom presentation on a chapter of The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies. Students who carried out only one midterm exam can take the other written test on the first examination date (in January), otherwise they will have to retake the exam and reply to the 10 questions in 2 hours.

Methods of learning assessment for non-attending students. Those who do not carry out the two midterm exams are regarded as non-attending students. The examination for non-attending students consists of one written test to be carried out on the examination dates and consists of 10 questions on the texts indicated above for attending students (non attending students will have 2 hours and four double sided sheets of paper). Non-attending students must also write a paper on a subject that needs tobe agreed with the lecturer. The paper must be between 25,000 and 30,000 characters in length (including spaces, bibliography and notes), it must be written in the same format and model used for the final thesis, and must be sent to the lecturer by e-mail (sergio.belardinelli@unibo.it; or lorenza.gattamorta@unibo.it) at least 10 days prior to the official date on which the student will be carrying out the written examination.

Office hours

See the website of Sergio Belardinelli

See the website of Lorenza Gattamorta