SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURAL PROCESSES
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2021/2022
- Teacher
- MARCO LUCA PEDRONI
- Credits
- 12
- Curriculum
- Comunicazione pubblica e sociale
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- SPS/08
Training objectives
- The course offers an introduction to the sociology of culture as a branch of sociology that observes and studies cultural phenomena (rituals, beliefs, fashions, media, art, literature, religion, common sense, expert knowledge, etc.) in its material and immaterial dimensions.
Culture is analysed as a "battlefield", as S. Hall put it, in which power relations between hegemonic and subordinate classes are revealed.
The aim of the course is to enable students to achieve the following learning outcomes:
1. Knowledge and understanding:
- learning the basic concepts of the sociology of culture through classical and contemporary authors;
- understanding the specificity of the sociological gaze as a tool for the investigation and interpretation of cultural phenomena;
- learning the ability to raise sociological questions and developing the sociological imagination.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding:
- knowing and applying the main theoretical tools of the discipline to the analysis of cultural phenomena;
- understanding and using sociological language;
- being able to identify the viewpoints and stakes that characterise cultural conflicts, with particular reference to current debates (e.g. immigration, minority rights, LGBTQ+ community, gender representations, pandemic and pro/anti-vaccine movements etc.).
3. Making judgements:
- developing critical analysis skills;
- developing the ability to identify hegemonic narratives in the public sphere;
- developing the ability to deconstruct common sense and media frames. Prerequisites
- No specific prerequisites are required. It is recommended that students keep up to date with current affairs by reading cultural and political newspapers and magazines.
Course programme
- The course is divided into two main parts.
The first part consists of a review of the main culturological theories, both classical and contemporary, discussed through the analysis of selected keywords:
- acculturation;
- cultural capital;
- cultural hegemony;
- cultural hierarchies;
- cultural industry;
- cultural intermediaries;
- cultural product;
- digital cultures;
- fashion and socio-cultural trends;
- identity;
- ideology;
- popular cultures;
- subcultures.
- taste cultures.
The second part focuses on a specific object of study, influencer culture. Digital influencers are investigated as cultural intermediaries and key players in the contemporary cultural industry, through the use of the theoretical tools examined in the first part.of the course. Didactic methods
- The course consists of:
- theory-based lessons, with the function of introducing the basic concepts of the discipline;
- interactive lessons, based on brainstorming, cooperative learning, flipped classroom etc., with the function of soliciting dialogue between the teacher and the students, and among the students, and of promoting the active construction of knowledge and skills;
- practical workshops, with the presentation of group works based on the analysis of cultural battles in the contemporary debate and their representation in the media.
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, lessons are delivered in a blended mode (in-person and online). The course consists of in-person meetings and streaming meetings via Google Meet. In-person lessons are also streamed. All meetings are recorded and made available to students via Google Classroom.
The calendar of lessons is available in the "Useful information" section.
Teaching materials (slides, supplementary readings, lesson recordings) are uploaded to Classroom at the end of each lesson. Learning assessment procedures
- The final exam consists of a written test comprising 10 closed-ended questions and two open-ended questions, to be completed in 60 minutes.
The closed-ended questions are designed to test theoretical knowledge (learning objective 1), and in particular the acquisition of the basic concepts of the course; up to 10 points can be awarded.
The open-ended questions measure the ability to apply the knowledge acquired and the autonomy of judgement (learning objectives 2 and 3). They may consist of commenting on a current topic in the light of one or more sociological authors/theories or on a text (e.g. a sociological or literary text or a newspaper article) related to the course topics. Each of the two open-ended questions can be awarded up to 10 points. Reference texts
- Attending students:
1. Required Text Books:
D. Cuche, La nozione di cultura nelle scienze sociali, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004
W. Griswold, Sociologia della cultura, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004
M. Pedroni, Coolhunting. Genesi di una pratica professionale eretica, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2010
Una dispensa contenente brevi saggi sociologici, in italiano e in inglese, sul tema dei digital influencer (le letture saranno progressivamente caricate su Classroom)
2. Additional Optional Texts. A selection of extracts from scientific essays will be offered during the course (the chapters/pages to be read will be indicated in class and via Classroom). The list includes:
Z. Bauman, La cultura come prassi, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1976
P. Bourdieu, La distinzione. Critica sociale del gusto, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2001
M. de Benedittis, Sociologia della cultura, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2013
P. Di Maggio, Organizzare la cultura, Il Mulino, Bologna 2009
A. Gramsci, Gramsci Reloaded. Una teoria sociale della cultura, a cura di F. Colombo, Rogas, Roma, 2018
M. Horkheimer, T. Adorno, La nozione di cultura nelle scienze sociali, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004
M. Santoro, R. Sassatelli (a cura di), Studiare la cultura. Nuove prospettive sociologiche, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2009
G. Simmel, La moda, Mimesis, Sesto S. Giovanni, 2018
Non-attending students:
1. Required Text Books:
D. Cuche, La nozione di cultura nelle scienze sociali, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004
W. Griswold, Sociologia della cultura, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004
M. Pedroni, Coolhunting. Genesi di una pratica professionale eretica, FrancoAngeli, Milano, 2010
A collection of short sociological essays, in Italian and English, on digital influencers (these essays will be gradually uploaded on Classroom)
2. Additional Optional Texts. A selection of extracts from scientific essays will be offered during the course (the chapters/pages to be read will be indicated via Classroom). The list includes:
Z. Bauman, La cultura come prassi, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1976
P. Bourdieu, La distinzione. Critica sociale del gusto, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2001
M. de Benedittis, Sociologia della cultura, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2013
P. Di Maggio, Organizzare la cultura, Il Mulino, Bologna 2009
A. Gramsci, Gramsci Reloaded. Una teoria sociale della cultura, a cura di F. Colombo, Rogas, Roma, 2018
M. Horkheimer, T. Adorno, La nozione di cultura nelle scienze sociali, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2004
M. Santoro, R. Sassatelli (a cura di), Studiare la cultura. Nuove prospettive sociologiche, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2009
G. Simmel, La moda, Mimesis, Sesto S. Giovanni, 2018
