76041 - Sociology of Cultural and Communicative Processes

Learning outcomes

The Teaching Course of “Sociology of the Cultural and Communicative Processes” aims to help you to see and to analyse the main social trends in the “post”-modern society, and the relevance of sport and exercise in it. A lot of theoretical and empirical tools will be presented, so you will be able to better understand the dynamics of sport and exercise in leisure time; the social relevance of mega-sport events such as the Olympics, the Paralympics, and the International Football Championships; the relations between sports, media, and sponsors; the communication for health and movement; the social motivations for exercise and fitness or wellness; etc

Course contents

In the Teaching Cours of “Sociology of the Cultural and Communicative Processes” you can distinguish 3 parts, the following:

1) General Frame: the course will outline the main socio-cultural processes that characterize the motor practices in progress in contemporary society, with particular attention to practices for good health (wellness); it will be done with theoretical references and empirical results, obtained from sociological and communicative studies and research on sport.
From this perspective, the evolution of the complex relationship between corpulence - understood as a set of social expectations inherent in the signification, circulation, and management of bodies - and society will also be discussed. The society-corpulence interaction in the contemporary world is pervasive, but also unpredictable and contradictory: from the actual invention of obesity as a global pandemic, to the explosion of health treatments to motivate people to lead healthy lifestyles, from the obesogenous "society" to the territorial network which, on the other hand, gave rise to the Health and Active Cities movement which gradually incorporated the fruitful directives of the WHO on the subject of health, sustainability, active communities.
This proliferation of events, meanings, and performances, in turn, returns the image of a body without borders and in constant conflict. Society, therefore, increases communicatively, transforming itself into a global metaphor for obesity, while the metropolitan body designs solutions promoting a culture of movement.

The course will devote specific attention to the communication processes taking place in the world of sport and physical activities. Attention will be paid to the link, which has been established with increasing strength in the last two decades, between wellbeing and public space.

The seminar part aims to encourage students to focus on their cognitive interests and the application of theories and concepts learned in elaborate, methodologically, and scientifically correct, through critical discussions, production of work papers, and collection of different documentary sources.

 

The Course of Sociology of Cultural Processes is involved in the Innovation Teaching Project of Universisity of Bologna

Readings/Bibliography

for the final text 2 books are required:

A) Prandini R., Bassi A., Maestri G. (2021), Cibo, stili di vita, salute. Un’indagine empirica nel territorio della ASL di Reggio-Emilia, Franco Angeli Ed., Milano (cap. 1-3)  [Food, Lifestyles, health]

B)Bizzaglia G. (2014), La Città che cammina. Per una sociologia del corpo metropolitano, FrancoAngeli, Milano (Introduzione e cap. 1-3, pag.9-95) [The walking city. Towards a Sociological approach to urban body]

Teaching methods

Face-to-face lessons, and case studies supported by the new technologies of communications.

Assessment methods

At the final exam of this Course an Erasmus+ student will receive a special questionnaire.

The test will consist of 5 open questions (the minimum program), or more

The Erasmus+ student will fill the spaces offered by the 10 lines, vacated after each question; as well as in Italian language, he/she can answer in one of the following languages: English, French, Spanish.

He/She will have no more than 20' to answer at the questions.

Be careful, please, in order to be registered to the roll-call: You have to insert your name in the electronic list for the exam within the 5th day before the fixed date (you can have access to the e-list in the AlmaEsami website). An Erasmus+ students may request an earlier review, according to the day of their departure from Bologna.

Teaching tools

Slides by Power Point. Surfing the Internet.

Office hours

See the website of Giovanna Russo