56284 - Community Participation and Social Trust in Eastern Europe

Learning outcomes

To give a theoretical and a methodological framework in order to analyse the role of associations in producing trust toward political institutions of East Central Europe; to understand the different kinds of social capital which affect social, political and economic relationships in East Central Europe; to describe and analyse the complexity of migrations toward the West countries and the EU policies. At the end of the course, the student is expected to analyse the social institutions nad the role of community participation in East Central Europe taking into account the role of the associations and of civil society. Moreover, he/she will be able to do research and assessment on the different kinds of migrations toward the West countries under the framework of the EU policies.

Course contents

Sociological concepts: trust, social change, social capital, community participation; elite-circulation

The new political institutions in Eastern Countries and the “societal” similarities

Case-histories of social change in East-Europe Countries

East-Europe Countries: a reversed Civil Society?

Readings/Bibliography

 

Class I

Introduction to the Course

Class II

Petro N. (2001), Creating Social Capital in Russia: The Novgorod Model, “World Development”, vol.29, n. 2: 229-244.

Class III

• Korostelina K. (2010), War of textbooks: History education in Russia and Ukraine, “Communist and Post-Communist Studies” 43: 129–137
• Levintova E. and Butterfield J. (2010), History education and historical remembrance in contemporary Russia: Sources of political attitudes of pro-Kremlin youth, “Communist and Post-Communist Studies” 43: 139-166

Class IV

• Higley J., Elite Theory and Elites, in Leitch K.T., Jenkins J.C. (eds.) Handbook of Politics, Springer, 2010
• Timofey Agarin, Introduction to the special issue: Citizens' participation in post-communist Europe, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Volume 49, Issue 3 (September 2016)

Class V

• Vera Axyonova, Fabienne Bossuyt, Mapping the substance of the EU's civil society support in Central Asia: From neo-liberal to state-led civil society, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Volume 49, Issue 3 (September 2016), Pages 207-217
• Timofey Agarin, Miķelis Grīviņš, Chasing the green buck? Environmental activism in post-communist Baltic States, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Volume 49, Issue 3 (September 2016), Pages 243-254

Class VI

• Petra Guasti, Development of citizen participation in Central and Eastern Europe after the EU enlargement and economic crises, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Volume 49, Issue 3 (September 2016), Pages 219-231
• Aidan McGarry, Pride parades and prejudice: Visibility of Roma and LGBTI communities in post-socialist Europe, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Volume 49, Issue 3 (September 2016), Pages 269-277

Class VII-X

Presentations

 

Teaching methods

Class discussion, Intermediate test, Paper on a case-history, Final Discussion

Assessment methods

Intermediate test, Paper,  and a final discussion.

Requirements:

- to have understood the programme

- to be able to develop sociological inferences in an original way

- to be able to apply empirically the main concepts of sociology

- to conceive, write and defend an issue related to the course

The outcome of the module will be averaged to that of the other module composing the integrated course in order to determine the final grade.

Teaching tools

PC, video, powerpoint, social networks

Office hours

See the website of Antonio Francesco Maturo