GENERAL SOCIOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- ALFREDO ALIETTI
- Credits
- 12
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- SPS/07
Training objectives
- a) Knowledge on discipline
• Learn the fundamentals of epistemology and sociological thought,
• Know the main trends of sociological theory;
• Learn the basics of methodologies and techniques for social research;
• Learn the basic categories and concepts-for its applicability in the everyday life;
• Develop the ability to observe and understand the social phenomena through critical analysis;
• Knowing some of the major sociological issues related to contemporary global society.
b) Know how and capabilities
• Develop basic skills of qualitative and quantitative methods of sociological research;
• Develop skills to sociological language and its relevance on analysis of society;
• Develop analytical skills on social change and contemporary social issues;
• Develop skills on critical views;
• Develop the ability to distinguish the contexts and the various points of view on a concrete social scene.
c) Soft skills
• Develop a personal point of view and argued on relevant social issues in the contemporary world;
• Develop analytical skills and exposure on specific social issues;
• Develop ability to use sociological research in critical view;
• Develop capacity to draw up a report on learned topics. Prerequisites
- Have attitudes and skills of intermediate level of logical-theoretical, linguistic-expressive, social-relational kind.
Course programme
- • Basic knowledge of the main sociological theories: from founders to current tendencies;
• Main quality and quantity research techniques with a specific in-depth analysis of visual sociology
• Gender identities and equality;
• Socialization and social interactions in everyday life;
• Social norms, rules and social deviance;
• The organizations and institutions of society
• The labour market, unemployement, poverty and socio-economic dynamics;
• The role of mass-media and social network in the social life;
• The multicultural societies, racism and interethnic relations
• Inequality and social stratification;
• The power and the political system;
•The globalized society and dynamics of social change in the contemporaneity. Didactic methods
- Lessons will take place face to face according to the rules established by the University.
Teaching method adopted will be focused on continuous dialogue with the student in order to clarify the authors and sociological concepts and to exercise a critical vision of social reality. Moreover, will organize practice exercise on social issues in order to guide students to sociological research.
The Classroom platform will be the space in which to exchange informations, ideas, reflections on sociological issue in support of the course (for registration to the course, see Materiale didattico, Teaching material).
Lastly, lessons on visual methodology will be organized applied to social research. Learning assessment procedures
- The assessment of learning ability is organized on two levels. The first, at informal level, is focused to the involvement of students during the lessons by shared discussion on specific topics. The second, at formal level, on a formal level, provides for a pre-exam based on a multiple choice test to be carried out in 30 minutes. The test questions are linked to both the teaching material (slides) and the reference text.
Then there will be the written exam organized on three open questions to be completed in 60 minutes.
For Erasmus students there is the option of an essay agreed with the teacher. Reference texts
- Manza J., Arum R., Haney L., Progetto sociologia. Guida all'immaginazione sociologica, Pearson Italia, Milano, 2018.
In addition, the student will have to read a novel from the following, as an introductory exercise to the discussion in the classroom (in English version):
Steinbeck J., Furore, Bompiani.
Saramago J., Cecità, Feltrinelli.
Pasolini P.P., Ragazzi di vita, Garzanti (qualsiasi edizione).
Ballard J., Il regno a venire, Feltrinelli.
Kureishi H., Il budda delle periferie, Bompiani.
Camus A., La peste, Bompiani.
Sciascia L., A ciascuno il suo, Adelphi.
Calvino I., La nuvola di smog, Mondadori.
