00905 - Sociology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students know the main theoretical and methodological sociological tools and should be able to identify different approaches to analysing individual and group behaviour.

Course contents

The course contents will be articulated on: 

• main steps on the history of the sociological thought and knowledge principles of the discipline
• theoretical aspects of general sociology
• methodological aspects of the social research
• operativity aspects
• furthermore and in consideration of where the course takes place - the School of Psychology - a special attention will be dedicated to the Sociology of Health.

A detailed articulation of the contents will be discussed at the beginning of the course. For that reason, all the students are kindly invited to take part to that first lesson, as an occasion to organise the study, even if you are not going to attend regularly the course     

Specific issues of interest can be an object of the course, and be developed in special paths, such as:

• socialisation and role taking
• deviance
• analysis on violence and the incidence of the context
• sex, gender and homosexuality 
• consumption, consumerism and prosumer
• communication (old and new media, with special regard to tv, the net and social media)
• migration
• health and the medicalization of life
• drugs and alcolics consumption
• class of age and generations 
• use of images and non-verbal communication in the research and in the social communication     

Readings/Bibliography

Studenti frequentanti:

Barthelot J-M., La costruzione della sociologia, Il Mulino 2008 (selectionated chapters).

Cipolla C. (a cura di) (2011), I concetti fondamentali del sapere sociologico, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2011 (selectionated key concepts)      

Guarino F., Alcol e stile giovane. Un'interpretazione sociologica, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2010 (monographic reading)

Other readings will be suggested and/or integrated during the course.

Not attending students:

Barthelot J-M., La costruzione della sociologia, Il Mulino 2008

Cipolla C. (a cura di) (2011), I concetti fondamentali del sapere sociologico, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2011  

Guarino F., Alcol e stile giovane. Un'interpretazione sociologica, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2011

International students (english texts):

• Giddens A., Duneier M.,Appelbaum R., Carr D. (2014), Introduction to Sociology, Seagull, NY.

• Tempesta E., Prina E. (a cura di) (2010), I giovani e l'alcool. Consumi, abusi, politiche, "Salute e Società",fascicolo supp.3, English version

 

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons, readings in the classroom, video, powerpoint on the lessons, focus discussions and specific group activities to improve the properties of the sociology as a scientific discipline, with a special attention to field research. These activities are possible only for students who attend the 80% of the lessons and are completing part of the evaluation of the course especially dedicated to attending students.

If you're not going to attend the course, you're invited anyway to attend the first lesson of the course or, eventually, to contact me with an e-mail in order to focus the studying of the books. 

Assessment methods

Attending students (80% of the lessons):

Group and individual activities during the course lesson. These tasks are charged during the course and are completing part of the students path.  

If you regularly attend the course you will make part of a group of work with other students. That is the only way to take part to the written test during the course. The written test is a mix of open and closed questions, based on what we have made in classroom. In that test, you can find empirical problems to solve and theorethical questions that require studying on textbooks and participation in classroom. In fact, during the course I will support students giving them a punctual indication of the part they have to study on the three textbooks and we will make some empirical experience of work to see if what we are doing is clearly undestood and useful to develop a critical thought. 

The result of that written test is the starting base of your final vote which will be integrated with the rating of your personal and group experience in classroom.

The brief final discussion (oral) for that reason is just a frontal moment where all your results (written text plus personal and group work during the course) are collected in a final vote that I propose to you.      

Not attending students:

Oral exam on the three textbooks. Normally I will propose a general question on each of them and it will be up to you developing a speech that I can eventually verify with other questions.

Even if you don't attend the Course (for any reason) you are supposed to come to the first lesson of the course where I will give you the support to understand which goals are required to pass the exam and how dealing with the three textbooks.

In any case, you can contact me directly (francesca.guarino3@unibo.it) and eventually come to talk with me as we decide an appointment to meet. I usually receive you on Tuesday (from 13) during the class period and after you send me an e-mail, or in other special date during the rest of the year.   

Teaching tools

PC, video (visual texts to illustrate and fix the topic of the lessons), powerpoint of the lessons, Prezi support, group activities such as field research, discussions on some specific topic with sociological tools, articles reading.

Office hours

See the website of Francesca Guarino