B3027 - CULTURE AND SOCIETY

Learning outcomes

The course investigates the role played by culture in social relations and in institutional processes as well. In particular, culture is analysed such as one of the main resources developed by social groups, people and Nations, that is as the focus on some crucial geopolitical, economic and religious themes that dominate the international debate. At the end of the course, students are able to know the different perspectives outlined by classic authors about the relationship between society and culture. Moreover, they are able to point out and examine the cultural dynamics that are involved in social processes both nationwide and at an international level.

Course contents

The course is organized in two parts, as detailed in the following Syllabus. 15 lectures (30 hours) aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. 5 seminars (10 hours) aim to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. The seminar section of the course, where students will be divided in 4 groups (it is no possible to change group), presupposes a previous reading of texts by students, as well as their active participation in class with brief presentations, short papers and debates. Students attend a total of 40 hours of classes. The course examines sociology’s main contributions to our understanding of national and international cultural processes, with particular focus on:

 

PART 1. Culture and Society: Paradigms

(a) Culture and the Positivist Paradigm; (b) Culture and the Paradigm of Social Action; (c) Culture and the Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm.

 

PART 2: Culture, Ideology and the Global World

(a) Culture as Ideologiacl Battleground in the Critical Paradigm;

(b) Culture, Symbolic Power and the Global World

 

PART 3. (a) Cultures and Societies in a Changing World; b) A chosen book

 

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to: have an analytical and critical understanding of the specific contribution of the main social theorists and schools of thought; be able to identify sociological 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 (holism vs individualism; materialism vs. cultural autonomy; realism vs. social constructionism; cosmopolitanism vs. communitarianism); know the main interpretations of the relationship between culture, society and politics with particular attention to the cultural processes of globalization and the role of cultural pluralism in the global era.

Readings/Bibliography

Since the beginning of the course (that will start on Tue 19th Sept), on "Culture and Society" Virtuale Course students can find uploaded (as pdf files) all texts to be studied in Part 1 and 2.

 

PART 1. Culture and Society: Paradigms

• G. Ritzer, J. Stepnisky, Classical Sociological Theory, 7th edition, Sage, London, 2018 (Chapters attached on the «Virtuale» platform).

• G. Ritzer, H. Stepnisky, Sociologycal Theory, 10th (or 8th or 9th) edition, Sage, London, 2018 (Chapter attached on the «Virtuale» platform).

• D. Inglis, A Durkheimian Account of Globalization. The Construction of Global Moral Culture, in «Durkheimian Studies», 17, 2011, pp. 103-120.

• M. Lamont, S. Pedergrass, M.C. Pachucki, Symbolic Boundaries, in International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, Oxford, 2015, pp. 850-855.

• K.K. Cetina, What is a Pipe? Obama and the Sociological Imagination, in «Theory, Culture & Society», 26, 2009, pp. 129-140.

 

PART 2. Culture, Ideology and the Global World

a) Culture as Ideology in the Critical Paradigm

• J. Elster, The Marxist Critique of Ideology, in An Introduction to Karl Marx, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986, pp. 168-185.

• I. Wallerstein, Culture as Ideological Battleground of the Modern World-System, in «Theory, Culture and Society», 7, 1990, pp. 31-55.

• I. Wallerstein, Marxisms as Utopias: Evolving Ideologies, in «American Journal of Sociology», 91, 6, 1986, pp. 1295- 1308.

• E. Bonilla-Silva, More than Prejudice: Restatement, Reflections, and New Directions, in «Critical Race Theory, in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity», 2015, vol. 1, 1, pp. 75–89.

• D. Held, A. McGrew, Globalization / Anti-Globalization. Beyond the Great Divide, Polity Press, Cambridge 2007 (Chapters 1, 8, 10).

• U. Beck, The Cosmopolitan Condition. Why Methodological Nationalism Fails, in «Theory, Culture & Society», 24, 2007, pp. 286-290.

 

(b) Seminars: Symbolic Power and Counter Power in the Global World

• Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: the Evolution of a Concept, in «Journal of Political Power», v, 2021, pp. 1-13.

• M. Castells, Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age, Polity Press, 2nd edition 2015, pp. 1-52, 113-155, 156-217.

• Ku, Agnes S. (2019), Performing Civil Disobedience in Hong Kong, in J. Alexander, D. Palmer, S. Park, and Agnes S. Ku (ed by), The Civil Sphere in East Asia, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2019, pp. 84–103.

• J. Bowman Williams, N. Mezey, and L. Singh, #BlackLivesMatter: Getting from Contemporary Social Movements to Structural Change, in «California Law Review Online», 12, 2021, pp. 1-38.

• P.L. Berger, Introduction: The Cultural Dynamics of Globalization, in P.L. Berger and S. P. Huntington (ed. by), Many Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford, 2002, pp. 1-16.

• J. Nederveen Pieterse, Globalization & Culture, Rowman & Littlefield, London, 2020 (Chapter 4).

• B.R. Barber, Jihad vs McWorld, in «The Atlantic», March 1992.

• G. Ritzer, S. Miles, The Changing Nature of Consumption and the Intensification of McDonaldization in the Digital Age, in «Journal of Consumer Culture», 1, 2018, pp. 3-20.

• S. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations?, in «Foreign Affairs», vol. 72, 3, 1993, pp. 22-49.

• Sh. Benahbib, The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2002 (Ch. 1; Ch. 2).

• G. Crowder, Theories of Multiculturalism, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2013 (Ch. 1).

• Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, MITT, Cambridge (MA), Ch. 1 (What Is Post-Truth?), Ch. 6 (Did Post-Modernism Lead to Post-Truth?), 2018, pp. 1-16, pp. 123-150.

• J. Alexander (2019), Against the Idea of “Western Modernity”: Axial Foundations and Contemporary Civil Spheres in East Asia, in «ASA Sociology of Culture Newsletter», vol. 32, 1, 2020, pp. 10-13.

PART 3.

• W. Griswold, Cultures and Societies in a Changing World, 4th edition, Sage, London, 2013 (Chapters 1, 2, 3).

+ a chosen book:

• J.C. Alexander, Trauma: A Social Theory, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2012.

• M. A. Centeno, E. Enriquez, War and Society, Polity, Cambridge, 2016 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1216074).

• F. Fukuyama, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2018.

• Ronald F. Inglehart, Cultural Evolution: People's Motivations are Changing, and Reshaping the World, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2018.

• B. Moffitt, The Global Rise of Populism. Performance, Political Style, and Representation, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2016.

• Y. Mounk, The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It, Cambridge (MT), Harvard University Press, 2018 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1680153).

• J. S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics, Public Affairs, New York, 2005 + Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: the Evolution of a Concept, in «Journal of Political Power», v, 2021, pp. 1-13.

Teaching methods

The course consists in Lectures (Part 1, Part 2a) and 5 Seminars (Part 2b). Lectures aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. The Seminars are inspired by the "flipped classroom" model, where students (devided in Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, Group 4) study the assigned texts before class in order to actively participate with a Brief Presentation + Short Paper + Debates. Each group will have a Teams Group Chat and it will no possible to change groups (consequently it will no possible to change the assigned Teams Group Chat). More information on the organization and calendar of the seminars will be given at the beginning of the course.

 

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE:

1. All students are requested to register to "Culture and Society" on VIRTUALE.UNIBO.IT This registration is necessary to find uploaded pdf texts to study and slides, to organize the seminars and receive the results of the mid-term exams.

2. Non attending students (a justification is required) have to write to lorenza.gattamorta@unibo.it

3. All Erasmus students have to write to lorenza.gattamorta@unibo.it at the beginning of the course.

Assessment methods

Examinations for Attending Students

All attending students have to carry out two written mid-term exams

1) 1st Mid-Term Exam on Part 1: Thur 26th October 2023 (8 questions);

2) 2nd Mid-term Exam on Part 2 (a&b): Wed 6th December 2023 (5 questions) 

and to actively partecipate to

3) 5 Seminars with:

- a brief presentation,

- a short paper,

- and partecipation to debates.

Detailed information on the Seminars (how to prepare a Presentation; How to write a Short Paper; How to Participate to Debates) will be given in the first class of the course. Should students not do (or not accept the mark of) one of the mid-term exams, they will be able to (re-)sit this mid-term exam as an in-depth oral exam.

 

 Grading Policy

The final overall grade will be in the range 18-30:

- 30 cum laude (outstanding, sure grasp of all the material and many interesting insights)

- 28-30 (excellent, sure grasp of all the material and some interesting insights)

- 26-27 (very good, competent grasp of all the material)

- 24-25 (good, competent grasp of some material)

- 21-23 (satisfactory, partial grasp of the material)

- 18-20 (pass, barely sufficient grasp of the material)

- 17 or below (fail, insufficient grasp of the material)

 

Examinations for Non-Attending Students

During the Summer or September exam sessions, non-attending students will carry out:

• An Oral Exam on Part 1, 2 and 3 of the Syllabus.
  

• At least two weeks before the oral exam, they have to send a Paper to lorenza.gattamorta@unibo.it on a topic agreed with the Professor and related to Part 2 of the Syllabus (Structure of the paper: Title; Name and Surname of the Candidate; Abstract; 5 Key Words; Premise; 2 Paragraphs; Conclusion; Bibliography; Lenght: 4.000 words, bibliography included; Chicago Style: Author–Date System, https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html#cg-journal ).
  

Within the first lesson of the course, students that can't attend the course (a justification is required) have to write to lorenza.gattamorta@unibo.it They are also requested to register to Sociology of Culture course on «Virtuale.unibo.it».

Teaching tools

Video projector; the Virtuale platform; Teams.

Office hours

See the website of Lorenza Gattamorta

See the website of