B0082 - TECNOLOGIE E PREVENZIONE DEL RISCHIO

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide the theoretical and conceptual tools to analyze risk as a defining characteristic of contemporary societies and its current manifestations, with particular emphasis on the ways in which technology intervenes in the creation and communication of risks. By the end of the course, students will be able to recognize the main transformations of the concept of risk, apply different interpretative models on the increasingly pervasive relationship between risk and technology, and evaluate the micro- and macro-social consequences on the definition, construction and prevention of specific risks.

Course contents

The notion of risk has become a central concern of today's societies, as Ulrich Beck predicted in the 1990s. Global crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the crisis climate, have further reinforced a perception that risks are essential components of our daily lives and major concerns for governments. First developed in the realm of insurance, the language and techniques of risk analysis have become key to modern governance and to the operation of contemporary states. Using case studies from different domains (environment, health, technological/industrial accidents, security, new technologies etc.) and different countries, this course explores how social sciences have conceptualized risk over time and how risk has become a central object of political attention.

Readings/Bibliography

Books

- Lupton D. (2023) Risk and Sociocultural Theory: New Directions and Perspectives. Routledge

- Lyon D. (2020) La cultura della sorveglianza. Perché la società del controllo ci ha reso tutti controllori. Luiss University Press

 

Articles

- Eugene A. Rosa (2010) The logical status of risk – to burnish or to dull, Journal of Risk Research, 13:3, 239-253, DOI: 10.1080/13669870903484351

- Wiebe E. Bijker, Paolo Volonté and Cristina Grasseni Technoscientific Dialogues. Expertise, Democracy and Technological Cultures. TECNOSCIENZA Italian Journal of Science & Technology Studies Volume 1(2) pp. 121-140 - ISSN 2038-3460

- José van Dijck (2020) Governing digital societies: Private platforms, public values, Computer Law & Security Review,Volume 36

- Jens Oliver Zinn (2016) Living in the Anthropocene: towards a risk-taking society, Environmental Sociology, 2:4, 385-394, DOI: 10.1080/23251042.2016.1233605 [https://doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2016.1233605]

- Antonio Francesco, Maturo, Data Circulation in Health Landscapes : Risk Scores and Behavior-Based Health Insurance: Promises and Perils [https://cris.unibo.it/handle/11585/906455], «TECNOSCIENZA», 2022, 13, pp. 106 - 115

Teaching methods

The lessons will alternate moments of frontal teaching with moments of comparison and discussion with the students on texts or parts of them gradually proposed by the professor. During the lessons, multimedia teaching materials and online materials will also be used, with the aim of introducing students to the diversified possibilities offered by digital, understood as an object and subject of study.

Assessment methods

For attending students there is a partial written test which will take place approximately towards the middle of the course (April). The final grade of the Course is defined through an oral test on topics related to the main objectives of the Course. For attending students who have taken the partial written test, the final grade is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the partial written test and the oral test.

Attending students who have not taken the intermediate tests (or who have passed them with an insufficient average result, or who give up the result of the intermediate tests), as well as those who do not attend will have the ordinary exam sessions available for checking the entire program. examination.

In all cases, the criteria adopted to evaluate the achievement of the didactic objectives are the following:

knowledge of the educational program

clarity of presentation and the ability to critically rework the notions learned during the course.

spontaneous study of national / international literature

Knowing how to use the interpretative concepts introduced in teaching with properties.

Teaching tools

Power points, web resources, free software, articles and documents not included in the texts but significant for the topics covered in class.

Office hours

See the website of Veronica Moretti