66402 - Sociology of Cultural and Communicative Processes (Advanced Course)

Learning outcomes

The course centres on the concept of culture, on the changes that such a concept undergoes with the development of mass media and the so-called information society and on the functions that it takes on in the socio-political dynamics of the so-called global society. By the end of the course students will know the main theories of communication and their influence on culture in general and political culture in particular. They also will be able to find their way around the ritual forms and symbolic uses of politics in today's global society.

Course contents

The course is divided into a general section and a specialisation section.  The general section will centre on the concept of culture, the changes that this concept has undergone with the spread of mass media and the so-called information society.  The monographic section instead will focus on Juergen Habermas' theory of communicative action and Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems as paradigmatic (and antithetical) representations of a society where communication seems to have increasingly become the structural element of society itself. Special attention will be paid to the political and institutional implications of these theories.

Readings/Bibliography

For the general section:

S. Belardinelli, Cultura, in S. Belardinelli, L. Allodi (a cura di), Sociologia della cultura, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2005, pp. 11-25.

G. Simmel, Concetto e tragedia della cultura, in Id., Arte e civiltà, Isedi, Milano, 1976, pp. 83-109.

G. Gili, La credibilità. Quando e perché la comunicazione ha successo, Rubbettino,Soveria Mannelli 2005.

For the specialisation section:

S. Belardinelli, Il progetto incompiuto. Agire comunicativo e complessità sociale, Angeli, Milano 1996.

Together with the professor, students will select a text by J. Habermas or N. Luhmann to read.

Assessment methods

Methods of learning assessment for attending students. Attending students will carry out two midterm exams on texts indicated in iSection I and II. Each midterm exam consists of 4 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 a book of Habermas or Luhmann 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 (students will have 2 hours available). The oral examination will be on two texts that non attending students will have to choose among those of Habermas and  Luhmann. 

Office hours

See the website of Sergio Belardinelli