56284 - Community Participation and Social Trust in Eastern Europe

Academic Year 2013/2014

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Interdisciplinary research and studies on Eastern Europe (cod. 8049)

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

 

Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 2008, vol.  41

 

Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 2010, vol.  43

 

Sztompka P. (1999), Trust: A Sociological Theory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (selected parts)

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

Maturo A. (2004), Network Governance as a Response to Risk Society' Dilemmas: A Proposal from Sociology of Health, “Topoì – International Review of Philosophy”, Issue 23/vol.II: 195-202.

Other articles will be indicated in class

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

Teaching tools

PC, video, powerpoint, social networks

Office hours

See the website of Antonio Francesco Maturo