09660 - Sociology of Culture (F-N)

Learning outcomes

Students can learn the basic notions of sociological theories and empirical research about culture and cultural consumption. It aims at developing the competences required to read the changes in cultural life and carry out field research in a proper sociological way. At the end of the course, the student should be able to understand the cultural processes, their role in the social life, and the characteristics of cultural consumption, including the traditional and digital media.

Course contents

The course is divided into two parts. The first part consists of 18 lectures (36 hours) and aims to introduce students to the acquisition of basic conceptual and theoretical tools. The second part of the course, made up of 12 lectures (24 hours), focuses on the theme of cultural consumption.

1. In the first part of the course, the key concepts of the theoretical and methodological framework of the sociology of culture are addressed, with particular reference to the relationship between culture and society, especially in order to distinguish between the cultural and structural components of social life:

• What is meant by the concept of "culture"; historical overview and contemporary debate

• Culture, society, and cultural practices

• Cultural objects and how they function

2. In the second, monographic part of the course, attention is focused on the analysis of contemporary cultural consumption, with particular reference to the use of media and social media, and the dialectic between distinction and conformity in the expression of the Self.

Specifically, the topics covered include:

• Meanings of “cultural consumption”; the rise of the consumer society; theories of consumer behavior; the debate between high culture and popular/mass culture; audience uses and interpretations

• Cultural consumption in relation to class, gender, and age variables

• Cultural consumption as "lifestyles" and youth subcultures

• Cultural consumption and globalization in the age of social media

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography

1) W. Griswold, Sociologia della cultura, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005 

2) S. Capecchi, L'audience attiva, Roma, Carocci, new ed. 2015 (except box 1.1, 2.2., 2.3, 2.7, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1)

3) Readings: Il consumo culturale: dialettica tra processi di distinzione e di omologazione (on VIRTUALE)

4) S. Capecchi, M.G. Ferrari, L'inventrice di robot e lo youtuber, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2023

Teaching methods

Lectures and discussion.

Students can also address to the tutor of the course.

Assessment methods

Written exam (three open-ended questions) about the suggested readings.

Erasmus+ and internationals students who attend the lectures can agree with the teacher a different written option.

Teaching tools

Slides and video.

Students can also address to the tutor of the course: luca.zappi3@unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Saveria Capecchi