09660 - Sociology of Culture (O-Z)

Learning outcomes

The 'teaching of Sociology of cultural and communication processes has as its mission providing the student with the basic knowledge about the changes in society from the perspective of the changes in values and lifestyles, on the one hand, and social communication manner from the other. It aims to develop the skills concerning the sociological reading of such phenomena, from the axiological and religious to those of socialization and training (including human resources), until the social impact of the mass media and advanced technologies, through interpretive and explanatory schemes coming from sociological research. At the end of the course the student will be able to analyze the processes of emergence and diffusion of values and norms tendencies crosscuttingly all the social processes, from those concerning socialization agencies (family and school) to those affecting the life-worlds of the local community, work, civic participation, the various types of social, economic and political organizations. He'll be able to place the cultural and communicative dimensions in the context of social morphogenesis regarding the various spheres of society. Its repercussions in professional terms relate to the wider world of cultural institutions, particularly those involved in the relationship between the generations, and various job positions in the cultural industry institutions, the mass media, consumption and information.

Course contents

The course is organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (28 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 3 groups according to their preferences and according to rules concerning the current pandemic emergency: one group will do the seminar in classroom (16 hours) and two groups will do the seminar remotely on MS TEAMS (16 hours). Therefore, a total of 44 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 aims to give students the theoretical and methodological ability to analyze "cultural objects". Methodological and critical tools will be provided to interpret, understand and explain different cultural facts.

In particular it will be analyzed an important research concerning the "New Spirit of Capitalism".

Readings/Bibliography

Luc Boltanski e Eve Chiappello, Il nuovo spirito del capitalismo, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2014.

Teaching methods

The course is organized in lectures and seminars, as detailed in the following program. Lectures (28 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 3 groups according to their preferences and according to rules concerning the current pandemic emergency: one group will do the seminar in classroom (16 hours) and two groups will do the seminar remotely on MS TEAMS (16 hours). Therefore, a total of 44 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.

Assessment methods

For attending students:

1) Written middle course test on the first part of the course (p. 49-163 + 241-570).

2) Anlysis od case studies and documents presentend on each seminar lessons (n. 8). These analusis will be evaluated.

For non attending students

Written test.

Students are evaluated on the basis of: the ability to deepen and put into connection with each other the main issues addressed in the course; the use of appropriate language with the specific nature of the discipline. It will produce discrete valuations: mnemonic knowledge of contents and partial ability to link the themes covered; the use of appropriate language. It will produce sufficient valuations: a minimal body of knowledge on the topics covered; the use of inappropriate language. It will produce negative valuations: lack of guidance within the themes addressed in the exam readings and training gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

Office hours

See the website of Riccardo Prandini

See the website of Andrea Baldazzini

See the website of Gianluca Maestri