04487 - Sociology of Labour

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student: - possesses a comprehensive framework of the historical development of sociology of labour; - knows the theoretical issues linked to the transformation of labour and of the social meanings related to it; - knows the fundamental theoretical concepts of the classical and contemporary theories of labour; - knows how to apply methods and research-techniques for the analysis of specific socio-labouristic themes currently at the core of public debates.

Course contents

The course aims at developing for the student the acquisition of an interpretative perspective on the key-theme of labour and its most recent transformations and social problematic. This objective will be especially pursued through the presentation to students of the fundamental achievements, both theoretical and methodological, both classical and contemporary, gained by sociology of labour as a discipline, without disdaining different arguments developed by “tangential” areas of study. To do so, also in the context of 2009-10 academic year, and in strong coherence and continuity with the tradition of this course, the students will be introduced to the theoretical and methodological coordinates which constitute the ground and, then, the historical development of the discipline. Subsequently, the analysis will be centered around some specific problems recently emerged within the borders of sociology of labour. With regard to the didactic methodology, the lectures led by the instructor will be accompanied by other activities such as screenings and seminars led by experts and/or professors from other universities.

Through the assumption of the whole European tradition of sociology of labour (particularly the French and Italian ones), the course poses at the core of its thematic articulations the concept of “labour”, conceived in all its different dimensions and forms. These latter tend currently to assume unprecedented modalities in the context of what is largely defined as Post-Industrial or Post-Fordist Society and, consequently, the course aims at closely understanding also the qualitative side of these social and economic emergencies. Particularly, since societies face the spectre of an economic development always more critical and less automatically paired with an increasing rate of employment, it has become even more relevant to fully comprehend both the objective and subjective transformations of labour and the unpredictable and competitive ways through which this latter is nowadays organized to produce value.

The theories belonging to the American, socio-industrial tradition and to the European, “socio-labourist” one will be analyzed and compared with the so-called “Japanese model” and with the more recent Post-Fordist organizational theories, and also with the so-called “networking”. This comparison is fundamental in order to better understand the logics of development, the cultures and techniques which are at the core of these new forms of production. By doing so, the attention will be drawn to the most significant elements of the deep shift which the subjective experience of labour is currently undergoing.

As already partially sketched out, the course is subdivided in three moments strongly connected amongst each other and substantially interdependent.

A first, institutional section is conceived to offer a comprehensive framework within which to situate the historical development of sociology of labour as a distinctive discipline. Particular attention will be focused on the Italian and French experience, following a generic scheme articulated as follows: 1. The birth of the Industrial Sociology; 2. The American organizational theories (Taylorism, Human Relations, Socio-Technical Approach and Job-Design); 3. From Industrial Sociology to European Sociology of Labour; 4. The development of the European socio-labourist tradition in the French sociology of Friedmann and Naville; 5. The Italian Sociology of Labour: the experience of Adriano Olivetti and the Red Notebooks; 6. The Japanese model; 7. Contemporary developments and perspective: from Fordism to Post-Fordism.

In order to improve and refine the understanding of the discipline on the part of students, and coherently with the didactic structure of the handbook for this section of the course, some lectures will be dedicated to the investigation, in the lecture-hall, of significant excerpts of the classical works presented, works within which the foundational concepts of the discipline have been defined and widely accepted.

A second section aims at providing some basic theoretical elements which represent the background of the institutional and monographic analysis posed at the core of the course. This part will assume a retrospective, historic-conceptual gaze whose specific objective is to analyze the pivotal notions variously related to the theme “labour”. These conceptual elements clearly play a fundamental role regarding the European consciousness of the first industrialization and also concerning the complete affirmation of the Weberian “spirit of capitalism”. Furthermore, these aspects are extremely relevant since they will subsequently express to a large extent the culture of the Twentieth century, which has been convincingly labeled as “labour society”. In this framework, the analysis will especially focus on the categories and masterful reflections which the fathers of sociological thought elaborated to describe and explain, starting from a determined economic, organizational and social reality of labour (closely linked with the “factory-system”), that deep rupture in human history which is called, today, “modernity”.

A third section is finally aimed at analyzing the contemporary capitalistic society through an interdisciplinary conceptualization which is possibly able to interpret the extraordinary transformations of the world of production. The common analytical perspective, within which the various aspect of the issue will be integrated, is represented by the crisis of the so-called “wage society” and of its typical regime of accumulation, the Fordist one (this crisis, it will be argued, is clearly exemplified by the current global economic meltdown). As a coherent consequence, it will be attempted a description/explanation of the not-yet-permanently-structured texture of that productive model which is conventionally defined as “Post-Fordist”. This model, whose precise borders are still to be established, expresses and defines new and unprecedented social configurations of labour and of the specific productive systems within which it is operationalized.

Readings/Bibliography

1. First, InstitutionalSection

La Rosa M., Il lavoro nella sociologia, Carocci, Roma, 2004 (New IntegratedEdition).

2. Second Section

La Rosa M.-Rizza R.- Zurla P., Lavoro e società industriale, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2006 (New Edition) – Just Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 e 7.

3. Third Section

La Rosa M. - Laville J.-L. - Marazzi C. - Chicchi F., Reinventare il lavoro, Sapere 2000 Edizioni Multimediali, Roma, 2005.

Just for students who will NOT attend the lectures, this book can be substituted by this other:

Fumagalli A., Mezzadra S. (eds), Crisi dell'economia globale. Mercati finanziari, lotte sociali e nuovi scenari politici, ombre corte, Verona, 2009.

(excluded the pp. 151-208)

 Three-years Degree in ‘Servizio Sociale'/'Social Service' (6 credits)

The students will prepare the exam on the texts of the first section and will have the possibility to choose one book between the second and third section.

 Four-years Degree in ‘Political Science' (V.O.)

The students of the old program will have to prepare, in addition to the abovementioned list, the following text:

La Rosa M. (ed.), Problemi del lavoro e strategie di ricerca empirica, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2000 (new edition).

Or, alternatively:

La Rosa M., Borghi V., Chicchi F. (eds.), Le grammatiche sociali della mobilità. Una ricerca sulle convenzioni del lavoro nella provincia di Bologna, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2008.

Teaching methods

The different sections of the course will be centered around lectures led by the instructors. Moreover, a seminar activity with experts and relevant scholar and several screenings are planned.

At the methodological level, it is important to underline the pivotal role that will be played by paradigms and interpretative frameworks. Those tools are necessary to comprehend both problems and their analytical contents. Otherwise put, the students will be provided with transversal and methodological competencies for the understanding of sociology of labour. The goal, to conclude, is to build up with them an adequate tool-box.

Assessment methods

To evaluate the degree of knowledge of the material both oral and written exam-sessions will be proposed. The student will have the possibility to choose the exam-form s/he prefers. The choice concerning the exam-form is exclusive and, consequently, it will NOT be possible to attend a mixed session.

For students who will attend the lectures an additional written pre-session (immediately after the end of the lectures) will be provided.

Teaching tools

Sudents will find information and subsidiary didactic material on the PAIS-space of the instructor

( www.spbo.unibo.it/pais).

Links to further information

http://www.spbo.unibo.it/pais

Office hours

See the website of Federico Chicchi