B032002 - SOCIETIES AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Italian

The course adopts the perspective of global sociology in the analysis of challenges to contemporary societies. It proposes an alternative approach to the traditionally accepted opposition between local/national/global societies. The object of the analysis is the major ongoing processes that cross borders and disseminate their effects, fuelling social, cultural, political and economic change in our societies.

6 CFU Programme
Mandatory texts:
Ritzer George Teoria sociologica. Radici classiche e sfide contemporanee, Apogeo, cap 10.
Eriksen Thomas H., Fuori controllo, Einaudi.
In addition one of the following readings:
Appadurai Arjun Il futuro come fatto culturale. Saggi sulla condizione globale, Raffaello Cortina, cap.9.
Appadurai Arjun, Sicuri da morire. La violenza nell’epoca della globalizzazione, Meltemi, cap. I.
Sassen Saskia, Espulsioni, Il Mulino, cap. I.
Crouch Colin, Identità perdute. Globalizzazione e nazionalismo, Laterza, capp. II e III.
9 CFU Programme
Mandatory texts:
Ritzer George Teoria sociologica. Radici classiche e sfide contemporanee, Apogeo, cap 10.
Eriksen Thomas H., Fuori controllo, Einaudi.
In addition two of the following readings:
Appadurai Arjun Il futuro come fatto culturale. Saggi sulla condizione globale, Raffaello Cortina, cap.9.
Appadurai Arjun, Sicuri da morire. La violenza nell’epoca della globalizzazione, Meltemi, cap. I
Sassen Saskia, Espulsioni. Brutalità e complessità nell’economia globale Il Mulino, cap. I.
Crouch Colin, Identità perdute. Globalizzazione e nazionalismo, Laterza, 2019, capp. II-III.
Students attending the course should use the materials made available on Moodle and can refer to the notes of the lectures.

The course aims to provide students with the theoretical basis and tools to deal with the sociological analysis of global changes in the economic, social and political spheres, through a challenge based approach.

It is an essential prerequisite to already have a knowledge base of sociology.

The course focuses on the student and active participation. Seminars will be held with visiting researchers and presentations and exercises will involve students actively. The Moodle platform is used.

The final exam is aimed at verifying the acquisition of skills and abilities, the degree of learning achieved through a written test lasting two hours, without the help of notes or books. The written test is based on three open questions.

In the first module of the course the main theoretical perspectives of the global society are addressed. In the second module, the following thematic areas will be addressed: a) global risks, international migration and social inequalities; b) digital networks and social transformation; d) the response to global challenges in social practices and the role of local actors; e) identity transformation and social exclusion; f) changes in forms of solidarity and new dynamics of conflict/social cohesion.
In the third module some seminars will be proposed to deepen the themes dealt with.