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 organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (16 hours in remote on MS TEAMS) aim to introduce students to the core tenets of the discipline. Seminars (12 hours) aim to provide occasions for in-depth discussions of class materials and exercises. For the seminar section of the course, students will be divided in two groups according to their preferences and according to rules concerning the current pandemic emergency: one group will do the seminar in classroom (12 hours) and another group will do the seminar remotely on MS TEAMS (12 hours), for a total of 28 hours 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 first section of the course (16 hours) will be divided in two parts: the first part will focus on the relation between culture and technological society, with specific attention to the theme of innovation; the second part will focus on the "critical theory" elaborated by the Frankfurt School.

The seminars section (12 hours) will be about the  role of trust in communication, specifically focusing on the essay by Niklas Luhmann The reality of the mass media. 

 

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.

M. Horkheimer, T. Adorno, Dialettica dell'Illuminismo, Einaudi, Torino 1974. 

For the seminar section:

N. Luhmann, La realtà dei mass media, Franco Angeli, Milano 2000;

S. Belardinelli, G. Gili, Fidarsi. Cinque forme di fiducia alla prova del Covid-19, in "Mediascapes Journal", 15/2020, pp. 80-98.

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars

Assessment methods

Attending students will carry out two written exams on texts indicated for the general section and the seminar section.

The first intermediate exam will be held at the end of the first 16 hours of classes; the second exam will be held at the end of the 12 hours of seminars. The first intermediate exam consists of 4 open-ended questions to be answered in 90 minutes; the second exam consists of 3 open-ended questions to be answered in 60 minutes. During the seminars, students will need to make at least one intervention, in accordance with the teacher (this will be made either in class or remotely, depending on the chosen option of the student). Those who will not make any intervention during the seminars will need to answer one additional question in the second exam (4 open-ended questions rather than 3), likewise non-attending students.

Attending and non-attending students will be assessed on the same program. The latter will need to take an oral exam on one of the texts of the program, in accordance with the teacher.

Attending students who cannot attend an intermediate exam will be allowed to take it in the first of the three sessions held in January and February. In case the student will not attend the first session either, he/she will need to take the entire written exam, likewise non attending students, consisting of 8 open-ended questions.

Office hours

See the website of Sergio Belardinelli