87417 - Sociology Of Culture (M-Z)

Course contents

The students on this course must register with the mailing list set up by the lecturer. The course examines sociology’s major contributions to our understanding of national and international cultural processes. The first part of the course Addresses the following topics: positivism and the origins of sociology; the contribution to sociology made by classical thinkers such as Comte, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim and Weber. The second part of the course examines contemporary sociological thinkers and schools of thought: Simmel; functionalism; the sociology of knowledge; critical theory; developments in critical theory; contemporary sociology and globalisation. The third part of the course will deal with the significance and role of cultural pluralism in modern society.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to: have an analytical and critical understanding of the specific contribution of the diverse thinkers and schools of thought they have studied; be capable of comparing the contributions of the diverse thinkers and schools of thought with regard to specific questions; be able to identify sociological writers, works and theories that have also had an impact on the study of international relations; have a good understanding of the fundamental problems of social epistemology and ontology (individualism vs. holism; materialism vs. cultural autonomy; realism vs. social constructionism; social order vs. social conflict; cosmopolitanism vs. communitarianism); know the principal approaches to an interpretation of the relationship between culture, society and politics.

Readings/Bibliography

Set books to be read by all students

(1) A. Santambrogio, Introduzione alla sociologia. Le teorie, i concetti, gli autori, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2008.

(2) S. Belardinelli, P. Terenzi (a cura di), Le dinamiche culturali della globalizzazione, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli (CZ), 2017.

Book to be chosen by the student

Students sitting the oral exam must choose one book from the following list

(3) It is possible to choose a book among:

(A) S. Belardinelli, L'ordine di Babele. Le culture tra pluralismo e identità, Soveria Mannelli (CZ), Rubbettino, 2018.

(B) P. Terenzi, Ideologie. Uno studio su cultura, razionalità e politica, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli, 2018.

(C) I. Diamati, M. Lazar, Popolocrazia. La metamorfosi delle nostre democrazie, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2018.

(D) R. Guolo, L’ultima utopia. Gli jihadisti europei, Guerini Associati, Milano, 2015.

(E) J. Nye, Fine del secolo americano?, il Mulino, Bologna, 2016.

(F) P. Foradori, G. Giacomello (a cura di), Sicurezza globale. Le nuove minacce, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2014.

Teaching methods

Face to face lessons

Assessment methods

Examinations for attending students

There shall be three written exams held mid-term, regarding books (1) and (2), as well as students’ lecture notes; an oral exam shall then be held regarding book (3), and this shall take place during the winter exam session or during the exam session to be held in September 2018.

The first intermediate written exam will be held in mid-October, and the second in mid-November, and the third in mid-December. Each intermediate written exam shall consist of 8 essay questions, and students will have 50 minutes to do the exam. Marks are out of 30, and the pass mark is 18. Only those students who have sat and passed all three intermediate exams may sit the oral exam. Should a student not attend a written exam (or fail a written exam he/she has sat), then that student will have to re-sit the written exam (8 questions in 50 minutes as before) during the winter exam session or during the exam session held in September 2018.

The topics dealt with in the first intermediate exam are: the foundations of sociology; Comte, Marx, Durkheim. To prepare for this exam, students are required to read text book no. 1 (those chapters on other thinkers) and the lecture notes.

The topics dealt with in the second intermediate exam are: Tocqueville; Weber, functionalism; the sociology of knowledge. To prepare for this exam, students are required to read text book no. 1 (those chapters on other thinkers/schools of thought) and the lecture notes.

The topics dealt with in the third intermediate exam are: critical theory; developments in critical theory, those examined in text book no. 2 and the corresponding lecture notes.

The three written exams are designed to assess students’ knowledge (and comparative understanding) of the writers, the sociological models and the topics presented during the course.

The oral exam shall regard a book chosen by the student from among those listed in (3).

Refusal of a mark given for a written exam

Those students who have passed all three intermediate exams, may only refuse to accept the mark given for one of the three exams, and thus re-set the exam (consisting, as usual, of 8 questions in 50 minutes) during a winter exam session or during the session to be held in September 2018.

Exam for non-attending students

Those students not attending the course can sit a written exam on books (1) (2), and an oral exam on books (1) (2) (3). The written and oral exams shalll be held during the winter exam session or during the September 2019 exam session. The written exam consists of 15 questions to be answered in 100 minutes. Those students who do not sit the intermediate exams, or who are absent at two of the intermediate exams, or who do not pass two of the intermediate exams, shall be deemed as “non-attending students”: such students can sit an exam during the winter exam session or during the September 2019 exam session.

Tutorial course

Student workers, students who have to pass one or more of the assigned exams, and ERASMUS students, are invited to attend the tutorial course lessons and to sit the exam as indicated by the tutor.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Terenzi