17270 - Sociology of Cultural and Communication Processes

Learning outcomes

The course focuses on the main sociological dimensions of the concept of culture and communication, especially with reference to the process of technological convergence that redefines the boundaries between different media in global society. At the end of the course, the student will be able to apply the main theoretical and methodological tools of the sociology of culture and communication to the issue of global identity and power conflicts in the network society.

Course contents

The teaching of Sociology of Cultural and Communication Processes aims to provide students with basic knowledge regarding the interpretation and analysis of the relationships between typically expressive aspects of human life (such as values, beliefs, worldviews, etc.) and broader social changes; all of this in light of the fundamental role played by human communication and communication mediation tools.

In this regard, the course consists of two fundamental and deeply interconnected parts: an introductory part to the sociology of culture and a second part dedicated to the sociology of communication and media. The goal is to offer – through the critical presentation of the main sociological theories related to these two broad branches of social studies – the theoretical and methodological tools useful for sociocultural research within the scope of the major social issues of our time.

More specifically, in the first part, an examination of the main themes of the sociology of culture will be presented, focusing primarily on the complex relationship between expressive aspects such as norms, values, beliefs, and, in general, every symbolic aspect of human experience, and the changing social world. From this perspective, the major theoretical paradigms and research orientations of the main classical (and non-classical) authors of sociology in general and the sociology of culture, in particular, will be considered and reviewed.

In the second part of the course, the main theoretical paradigms of the sociology of media will be addressed, exploring their evolution from the more traditional analog dimension to the most recent developments related to the digital revolution. In this regard, the cultural dimension connected to the network society and the development of the social web will be considered, especially from a critical perspective.
 
Finally, transversal attention will also be given to the topic of ecological transition, which, along with the digital transition, probably represents the greatest challenges of our time.

Readings/Bibliography

The course includes the in-depth study of the following texts, the content of which will constitute the basic exam material for ATTENDING and NON-ATTENDING students*:

• Griswold W. (2005). Sociologia della cultura. il Mulino, Bologna (cap. 1,2,3,4,5).
• Riva C., Ciofalo G., Degli Esposti P., Stella R. (2022). Sociologia dei media. Utet, Torino (just the chapters that the teacher will indicate during the lesson).
• Arvidsson A., Delfanti A. (2024). Introduzione ai media digitali (terza edizione). Il Mulino, Bologna (cap. II, IV, V e VI).

*a series of MANDATORY SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS for NON ATTENDING students are listed below. They will have to choose as follow (all material will be made available to the students on Virtuale by the teacher):

a single (=1) text chosen among the following ones (only chapters indicated in brackets):

• Appadurai A. (2012). Modernità in polvere. Dimensioni culturali della globalizzazione. Cortina ed., Milano (Introduzione e cap. 1).
• Jenkins H. (2006). Cultura convergente. Apogeo, Milano (Prefazione e Introduzione).
• Rainie L., Wellman B. (2012). Networked. Il nuovo sistema operativo sociale. Guerini, Milano (Parte Prima: cap. 1,2,3,4).
• Barisione M. (2009). Comunicazione e società. Il Mulino, Bologna (cap. 1,2 e 4).
• Cappi V. (2023). Immaginare l’altrove nell’epoca dell’Antropocene, Franco Angeli, Milano (cap. 5).

and another single text (=1) of your choice among the following essays:

• Spillare S., Bonazzi M., Degli Esposti P. (2024). AI Imaginaries and Narratives in the Italian Public Discourse: The Impact of Chat-GPT, Im@go, (in pubblicazione)
• Spillare S. (2020). Sviluppo del comparto biologico ed evoluzione della sua cultura di consumo: un approccio socioculturale al consumer engagement. In: Kodilja R., Qualizza G. (a cura di). Il ritorno dei luoghi. Place of orgin e consumer engagement: nuove mappe per creare valore. ETS, Pisa.
• Spillare (2022). Cultura e sviluppo sostenibile. In: Paltrinieri R. (a cura di). Il valore sociale della cultura. Franco Angeli, Milano (pp. 17-36).
• Pellizzoni L. (2007). Il cambiamento climatico come oggetto culturale: scienza, politica e incertezza. COSMOPOLIS.
• de Moor et al. (2021). New kids on the block: taking stock of the recent cycle of climate activism. Social Movement Studies, 20(5): 619-625, DOI: 10.1080/14742837.2020.1836617.

Furthermore, only for those who do not have a good basis in sociology, the following texts are recommended as preparatory reading and/or to be done during the training activity:

• Jedlowski P. (2009). Il mondo in questione. Carocci, Roma (cap. 1-7, 10-14).
• Giddens A., Sutton P.W. (2014). Fondamenti di sociologia, il Mulino, Bologna (cap. 1-8, 10 e 13).

Teaching methods

The course is based on active and participatory teaching. Technological tools will support the lessons and be supplemented by in-depth seminars, analysis of multimedia documents relating to the course topics, testimonials and/or discussion meetings on empirical cases. Students will be required to play an active role through class discussions, case study analysis and/or small group work that will be presented in class in a scientific format at the end of the course.

Assessment methods

Generally, for all students enrolled in the course, the evaluation method consists of an oral interview on the contents of the reference texts. The exam will be held in the scheduled sessions. It will be aimed at testing the knowledge, understanding and ability to critically re-elaborate the course's concepts, theories and topics.

However, in order to facilitate the study, ATTENDING STUDENTS can take the exam by dividing it into two (2) tests to be held approximately in the middle (midterm test) and at the end of the course (final test). These tests will have the same value as the exam and will relieve the student from the obligation of the oral examination. The tests are expected to be in written form (usually in mixed mode, partly multiple-choice questions and partly open-ended questions). In addiction, a small group work will also requested to attending students to verifying the capacity to apply concepts and to discriminate between attending and non-attending students.

Attending students who have passed the midterm and the final tests can register the result by registering themselves to the first available official session, without the necessary physical presence during the verbalization (the registration procedure will be valid as acceptance).

Passing the midterm test is the necessary condition to access the final one. This means those who do not pass the midterm exam will NOT be admitted to the final test and will have to retake the entire program exclusively as an oral exam during official sessions.

Suppose the student refuses the vote (avoiding register themselves to the first available session and communicating it to the teacher), he or she can always retake the complete exam in an oral way during the official sessions.

It is not possible to reject only part of the vote.

We kindly remind that NON ATTENDING students have to take an oral interview during the regular sessions and they will be evaluated on the additional selected texts as indicated in the previous section, "Readings/Bibliography").

The criteria adopted for the assessment of learning are knowledge of the exam programme; ability to independently develop arguments; ability to describe and illustrate phenomena, institutional processes, micro and macro dynamics studied by the sociology of cultural and communicative processes; capacity for empirical collocation of theoretical generalizations; ability to face a sociological reflection on aspects and processes of transformation of contemporary society; adequacy of the language used.

The exam is considered passed only when all the requirements have been met.

Teaching tools

Teaching involves the use of electronic devices, such as video projectors or other. Some of the materials indicated in the exam program and other in-depth materials may be suggested and/or made available by the teacher in electronic format.

Students will also have the support of a didactic tutor.

Office hours

See the website of Stefano Spillare