77761 - Society, Politics and Globalization

Academic Year 2019/2020

  • Moduli: Sergio Belardinelli (Modulo 1) Davide Ruggieri (Modulo 2)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2)
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in International relations and diplomatic affairs (cod. 8048)

Learning outcomes

The course intends to offer the student the necessary tools to critically analyze political phenomena, with particular attention to the relations between culture, political institutions and globalization. At the end of the course, the student knows the different paradigms that sociology has elaborated on relations between societies, political institutions and globalization, and is able to identify and analyze the socio-political and cultural processes that develop on a local and/or international scale.

Course contents

The course is divided in two sections.

The first section of the course (40 hours) examines the classical authors and the main concepts of political sociology (politics, society, the State, power, institutions, public opinion, ideology, revolution, political realism and utopia) and will pay particular attention on the concept of social change in the global era.

The second section (20 hours)  studies the cultural dynamics of globalization. Specifically, the following themes will be discussed: globalization and modernity; globalizationand world views; the conflicts of civilisations and the world order; ethnic identity and national identity in the global society.

Readings/Bibliography

First section:

L.M. Bassani, A. Mingardi, Dalla Polis allo Stato, Giappicchelli, Torino 2015, chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11,12, 13.

- R. Nisbet, Storia e cambiamento sociale. Il concetto di sviluppo nella tradizione occidentale, IBL Libri, Torino 2017.

 

Second section:

V. Cotesta, Sociologia dei conflitti etnici. Razzismo, immigrazione e società multiculturale, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2009 (I: Globalizzazione, identità e conflitti etnici: chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6; IV: Pregiudizio e razzismo: chapters 15, 16, 17, 19).

S. Benhabib, The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2002 (Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2).

Teaching methods

The course consists mainly of traditional lectures, alternated with structured seminars.

Assessment methods

Methods of learning assessment for attending students. Attending students will carry out two midterm exams on texts indicated in Section I. The first midterm exam will consist of 5 questions with open ended answers (students will have 60 minutes available); the second part of the exam consist of 3 questions with open ended answers (students will have 60 minutes available). Students who carried out only one midterm exam can take the other written test on the first examination date (in January), otherwise they will have to retake the exam and reply to the 8 questions in 2 hours. Attending students will also have to take an oral examination on the topics covered during the course in one of the first three examination dates.  

Methods of learning assessment for non-attending students. Those who do not carry out the two midterm exams are regarded as non-attending students. The examination for non-attending students consists of one written test and one oral examination to be carried out on the examination dates. The written test  consists of 8 questions on the texts indicated above for attending students (non attending students will have 2 hours and four double sided sheets of paper). Non-attending students must also write a paper on a subject that needs tobe agreed with the lecturer. The paper should be about 15,000 characters in length (including spaces, bibliography and notes), it must be written in the same format and model used for the final thesis, and must be sent to the lecturer by e-mail (davide.ruggieri3@unibo.it) at least 10 days prior to the official date on which the student will be carrying out the written examination.

Office hours

See the website of Sergio Belardinelli

See the website of Davide Ruggieri

SDGs

Quality education Peace, justice and strong institutions

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.