75788 - SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

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.

Contenuti

The course is organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (26 hours in remote on MS TEAMS) aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. Seminars aim to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. The division into lessons and seminars is specified in the program that follows. For the seminar section, students will be divided into X groups according to their preferences and according to rules concerning the current pandemic emergency: one/two group(s) will do the seminar in classroom (12 hours) and one/two group(s) will do the seminar remotely on MS TEAMS (12 hours). Therefore, a total of 38 classroom hours are scheduled for each student. Students are required to carefully read the assigned material before the session and - in the case of seminars - active participation through presentations of existing scholarship and case studies will also be expected. Regardless of the health-related conditions and the specific organization of the course, students will be able to follow the lessons of the entire course remotely on MS TEAMS.

 

The course examines sociology’s main contributions to our understanding of national and international cultural processes, with particular focus on:

 

PART 1: CULTURE AND SOCIAL THEORY

(1) Culture and the positivist paradigm

(2) Culture and the critical paradigm

(3) Culture and the paradigm of social action

(4) Culture and the symbolic interactionist paradigm

 

PART 2: CULTURE AND GLOBALIZATION

(1) Globalization/Anti-Globalization

(2) Social Networking Movements and Contesting Power

(3) Cultural Theories of Globalization

(4) Cultures Between Universalism and Relativism

 

All students are kindly asked to register to Sociology of Culture course on Virtuale.unibo.it in order to find uploaded texts (Part 1 and 2) and in order to receive slides, information, and teaching resources the professor makes available every week (the service is available to regularly matriculated students).

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.

Testi/Bibliografia

All texts in Part 1 and 2 can be found uploaded as pdf files on Sociology of Culture «Virtuale» Course.

 

PART 1: Culture and Social Theory

 

G. Ritzer, J. Stepnisky, Classical Sociological Theory, 7th edition, Sage, London, 2018, Chapters attached on the "Virtuale" Course. 

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

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.

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.

J.B. Foster, Marxism and Ecology: Common Fonts of a Great Transition, in «Great Transition Initiative» October 2015, https://greattransition.org/publication/marxism-and-ecology (not compulsory).

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

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.

Class notes

 

PART 2: Culture and Globalization

 

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.

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

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

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).

 

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, Performance and Power, Polity, Cambridge, 2011 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=570115).

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).

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.

Metodi didattici

The course consists of lectures and seminars. 

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Examinations for attending students

Attending students will carry out: three midterm written exams on the texts indicated in PART 1 and 2; a final oral examination on PART 3.

 

The mark for each midterm exam will be expressed out of a maximum of thirty points. Only those students who have sat and passed all the three midterm exams may sit the oral final exam that will take place during the Summer or September exam sessions.

 

Should students not sit (or not accept the mark of) one of the three midterm exams, they will be able to sit (or re-sit) this midterm exam as an oral exam the same day of the final oral exam. Students who do not sit (or fail) 2 midterm tests, will be considered as non attending.

 

Examinations for non-attending students

During the Summer or September exam sessions, non-attending students will carry out an exam on the texts indicated in PART 1, 2, 3 of the Syllabus (see the pdf files attached in «Virtuale»).

 

At least two weeks before the final exam, they have to send a paper to lorenza.gattamorta@unibo.it on a topic agreed with the Professor and related to Part 1 or 2 of the Syllabus (Structure of the paper: Title; Name and Surname of the Candidate; Abstract; Key Words; Premise; 2 Paragraphs; Conclusion; Bibliography; Lenght: 15.000 characters; Chicago Style: Author–Date System, https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html#cg-journal ).

 

Non attending students are asked to contact the Professor (lorenza.gattamorta@unibo.it) and to register to Sociology of Culture «Virtuale» Course.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Video projector

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Lorenza Gattamorta