The aim of the course is to provide knowledge and skills that allow the student to know how to orientate himself in the panorama of different contemporary sociological theories, to know how to frame the most recent forms of social change and to be able to adequately describe the modalities of social interaction.
At the end of the course the student:
- has become familiar with the concepts used by contemporary macro and micro sociological theory and knows interpretative forms and methods of analysis of the social reality proposed by it.
- is able to critically orient himself among the different theoretical models offered by contemporary sociology to understand the central axes around which his cognitive activity revolves: from social change to social interaction.
At the end of the course the student:
- has become familiar with the concepts used by contemporary macro and micro sociological theory and knows interpretative forms and methods of analysis of the social reality proposed by it.
- is able to critically orient himself among the different theoretical models offered by contemporary sociology to understand the central axes around which his cognitive activity revolves: from social change to social interaction.
teacher profile teaching materials
This course aims to present the complexity and theoretical prominence of one of the founders of sociological thought: Émile Durkheim. Each week we will raise a main question that will allow us to read and comment on parts of his work, reconstructing its historical and conceptual development. To do so we will follow a threefold scan dedicated: to the method and object of sociological knowledge; to the understanding of legal and political institutions; and to the historical and reflective consideration of forms of collective idealization. Through the study of Durkheim's work we intend to remove this author from the inevitable simplifications to which he has often been destined in his manualistic reductions, partly because of the dominance of the Weberian paradigm in a widespread part of Italian sociological culture. Our aim will be not only to understand the thought of a classic by addressing the entirety of his reflection but, equally, to detect its interest in interpreting the present. In this regard, the course intends to compend the weekly reading of anthological texts from Durkheim's work with some selections of essays from secondary literature. With the exception of a few texts, almost the entirety of the bibliographic material-both primary and secondary literature-will be uploaded to the course website and updated throughout the semester.
PART I - KNOWLEDGE
1. What is modernity? Individual and society
2. What are the aspirations and risks of modern societies? Society and critique
3. In what does the sociological method consist? Social facts and collective representations
4. What are the aspirations and risks of modern individuals? Individual and critique
PART II - INSTITUTIONS
5. Does modernity make us more free? Collective morality and autonomy
6. What is the state? Intermediate bodies and individualism
7. Local justice or universal justice? Cosmopolitanism and contract
8. Does modernity make us more equal? Temporal power and sociology
PART III - IDEALS
9. Does modernity make us more reflective? Spiritual power and sociology
10. How to understand social change? Authority and revolution
11. Is our thinking social? Beliefs and categories
12. What is the relationship between science and religion? Rituals and knowledge
Programme
Émile Durkheim: Understanding a classic to interpret the presentThis course aims to present the complexity and theoretical prominence of one of the founders of sociological thought: Émile Durkheim. Each week we will raise a main question that will allow us to read and comment on parts of his work, reconstructing its historical and conceptual development. To do so we will follow a threefold scan dedicated: to the method and object of sociological knowledge; to the understanding of legal and political institutions; and to the historical and reflective consideration of forms of collective idealization. Through the study of Durkheim's work we intend to remove this author from the inevitable simplifications to which he has often been destined in his manualistic reductions, partly because of the dominance of the Weberian paradigm in a widespread part of Italian sociological culture. Our aim will be not only to understand the thought of a classic by addressing the entirety of his reflection but, equally, to detect its interest in interpreting the present. In this regard, the course intends to compend the weekly reading of anthological texts from Durkheim's work with some selections of essays from secondary literature. With the exception of a few texts, almost the entirety of the bibliographic material-both primary and secondary literature-will be uploaded to the course website and updated throughout the semester.
PART I - KNOWLEDGE
1. What is modernity? Individual and society
2. What are the aspirations and risks of modern societies? Society and critique
3. In what does the sociological method consist? Social facts and collective representations
4. What are the aspirations and risks of modern individuals? Individual and critique
PART II - INSTITUTIONS
5. Does modernity make us more free? Collective morality and autonomy
6. What is the state? Intermediate bodies and individualism
7. Local justice or universal justice? Cosmopolitanism and contract
8. Does modernity make us more equal? Temporal power and sociology
PART III - IDEALS
9. Does modernity make us more reflective? Spiritual power and sociology
10. How to understand social change? Authority and revolution
11. Is our thinking social? Beliefs and categories
12. What is the relationship between science and religion? Rituals and knowledge
Core Documentation
All the primary texts can be easily found in french and/or in englishReference Bibliography
--Type of delivery of the course
The event is traditional, in presenceAttendance
Attendance is highly recommended but optionalType of evaluation
The course includes some ongoing assessments (presentations, labs and group work) and a final written test.