75408 - Communication Sociology (10 Cfus)

Learning outcomes

Students learn basic tools to analyze the different forms and the several channels of contemporary communication (interpersonal and face-to-face communication, media communication, web and social media).

Course contents

 

- Social theories and models of communication

- Communication and interaction in the everyday life

- Interpersonal, mediated and online mediated communication

- Social forms of communication and technological developments: from oral societies to digital societies

- Media, digital media and interaction: how to study the social effects of media and hybrid media

- Case and empirical analysis of the different forms of contemporary communication

Readings/Bibliography

FOR ERASMUS AND OVERSEAS INCOMING STUDENTS

[changes are possible at the beginning of the course on September]

1. E. Goffman, "Interaction Order ", in American Sociological Review, vol. 48, 1983, pp. 1-17: JSTOR address)
2. S. Moscovici, Notes towards a description of Social Representations, "European Journal of Social Psychology", 18 (3), 1988, pp. 211-250)
3. A. Schütz, "The well informed citizen. An Essay on the Social Distribution of Knowledge", in Social Research 13, 4 (1946), pp. 463-78
4. J. B. Thompson, Mediated Interaction in the Digital Age, in Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 37(1) (2020), pp. 3–28, DOI:10.1177/0263276418808592 [ access at home by EZproxy 
   (for French speakers: J. B. Thompson, "La nouvelle visibilité ", in Réseaux, 2005/1 (n° 129-130), pp. 59-87)
5. C Gius, P. Lalli, “I loved her so much, but I killed her” Romantic love as a representational frame for intimate partner femicide in three Italian newspapers, "ESSACHESS - Journal for Communication Studies", vol 7, No 2(14), 2014 (open access in the journal website)
6. P. Lalli, When Communication Goes with Inclusion: A Case Analysis on Participatory Experiences in the Municipality of Bologna , in Communication with the Public, edited by A. Jenei, Budapest, AdLibrum, 2012, pp. 142-160 [or for French speakers: N. Smyrnaios, L'effet GAFAM: stratégies et logique de l'oligopole de l'internet, "Communication & Langages", vol. 2016, n. 188, pp. 61-83 (preprint)]
   
7. At least 1 chapter from:D. Boyd, It's Complicated, Foundation Philip Hamilton McMillan of the class of 1894, Yale College, Creative Commons
8. P. Lalli, C. Capelli, “Young people as “glocal” citizens of the world. News media representations of youth in mainstream and digital native media”, in G. Rocha, R. Lalanda, P. de Medeiros (eds.), Juventude(s): Movimentos Globais e Desafios Futuros, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Húmus, 2021, cap. 1, pp. 7-42 [the ebook is available in open access at the following address, where students can extract the first chapter: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.3/6326 ]
   

 

 

Teaching methods

Lessons,  and interactive discussions in class.

Optional participation to workshops in the second part in order to produce a brief empirical case analysis for the exam.

Assessment methods

Incoming Erasmus+ and exchange students can attend lessons and interactive workshops  where the teacher introduces the methodological tools for a case analysis.

In fact, the attending Erasmus and exchange students can agree with the teacher one specific option for the exam: i.e. a written Italian or English or French or Spanish paper based on case empirical analysis coming from the lectures and the readings.

Information about the paper are available on Virtuale's page of this course unit.

As an alternative, any student can participate to the written exam with closed and open-ended questions on the suggested readings that will be published in the Italian version of this page at the beginning of the course  (foreign students can answer the open-ended questions in one of the following languages: English, French, Spanish).

Teaching tools

Slides and videos; optional workshops, with future information in the "spazio virtuale" platform of the course. 

Office hours

See the website of Pina Lalli