Links:
[1] http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/programs/rome-study-rome-language-area-studies
[2] http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPCENG/Resources/Il_Terzo_Settore_in_Italia_en.pdf
[3] http://www.psychodyssey.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/The-Rise-of-Social-Cooperatives.pdf
[4] http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.1.4931/09.pdf
[5] http://socialenterprisefund.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/New_BusPlanGuide.pdf
Social Action Seminar
This seminar aims at increasing knowledge and awareness of students who engage in a volunteer work experience, helping them understand both the real and theoretical context to which their efforts contribute. A key aspect is to underline the need for a closer contact between economics and ethics. In the traditional conflict between supporters of free market and advocates of the State’s role in the economy, an intermediate space is opening filled by new actors. The world of volunteer work (in Italy called the “third sector”) represents one of these emerging actors, with a growing need for specialized skills and expertise. By working with volunteer organizations on the ground, sharing hands-on experiences in class, and interviewing local volunteers of the “third sector”, students will eventually become socially responsible entrepreneurs, managers, or employees, and ultimately “multi-dimensional” individuals.
3 semesters of college-level Italian
At the end of the course students will:
Lectures, class discussions, field studies, student presentations, simulations and field interviews, film viewings.
Language of Instruction: English/Italian
Placement component:
Active class participation and assignments (20%); weekly journals (15%); field interview (15%); final paper (25%); on-site evaluation by work supervisor (25%).
*Details of Required Work:
Final paper or project: students are required to write a 10-page final paper following the seminar leader’s instructions. The paper should integrate theory and personal field experience.
Weekly journals: During the seminar, the participants will have to write a weekly journal about their field experience. The instructor might assign a specific theme for some weekly journals.
Field interview: Each student will organize, with the help of the instructor, an interview to a placement or a person who has benefitted from the action of one placement. Interviews will be written, presented and commented in class.
Session 1: Italy in the world of welfare capitalism
o The Italian model of welfare.
o The main features of the Italian welfare state: health care; education; pensions; unemployment benefits; family policies, elderly and disabled care, social assistance; housing.
o Recent trends: rationalization, privatization and regionalization of the welfare system. Reform or retrenchment?
Required readings:
• Goldberg, Rosenthal, Diminishing welfare. Chapter 8: “The Italian case” (pp.245– 270).
• Cecconi, “Italy. National and regional health services: deficits and fairness” (pp.269– 279).
• Madama, “Regionalisation and social assistance policies in Italy” (pp.281-292).
Session 2: Unequal Italy
o Inequality and poverties in the 7th largest economy in the world.
o Ageing population, longer life expectancy and low birth rates.
o Intergenerational immobility and intergenerational conflicts.
o Gender issues and the role of women.
Required readings:
• Franzini, “Economic inequalities and social malaise in Italy” (pp. 183 - 195).
• Bettoni, Checchi, Bugarella, “Resources for education: investment and expenditure” (pp. 197-208).
• Samek Lodovici, Semenza, “The difficult transition from employment regulation to welfare policies” (pp. 223 - 237).
• Altieri, “Gender and generations: social change, inertia and potential” (pp. 239-248).
Session 3: Between state and market
o The role of non profit-organizations in Italy.
o Fundamental stages of evolution of the Italian third sector (1850–1960; 1970–1980; 1980–1990; 1990–2000).
o Different forms of non-profit organizations in Italy. Economic and social relevance of the non-profit sector in Italy.
Required reading:
• Patanè, The Third Sector in Italy.
• Barbetta, Cima, Zamaro, Salamon, Sokolowski, Chapter 14: “Italy” (pp.245-259).
• Thomas, The rise of social cooperatives in Italy.
Session 4:Field study on social entrepreneurship
The instructor will organize a field visit to a social entrepreneurship placement. Before the visit, the class will receive an overview of the organization.
Each student will prepare questions, based on his/her knowledge of the Italian third sector and on personal research about relevant social issues.
The weekly journal will consist in a report of the field visit: reflections, analysis of the organization, critical evaluation of its approach and efficacy.
Session 5: Contemporary malaise and the “corrosion of character”
o How “flexible” are we, human beings?
o The loss of dimensions in contemporary advanced societies.
o The constant uncertainty of our “liquid life”.
o Discussion: flexibility and precariousness. The case of contemporary Italy.
Required readings:
• Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man. Chapter 1: “The new forms of control” (pp. 3 – 20)
• Sennet, The Corrosion of Character. Chapter 1: “Drift” (pp.15-31). Chapter 4: “Illegible” (pp. 64-75)
• Bauman, Liquid life. Chapter 1: “The individual under siege” (pp. 15-38).
Session 6: Human development, freedom and well-being
o Discussion on the concepts of “well-being” and “human development”.
o The traditional economic approach and the innovative “capability approach”.
o The Gross National Happiness Index.
o The Italian experience: ISTAT indicators for wellbeing and happiness.
Required readings:
• Sen, Development as freedom. Chapter 1: “The perspective of freedom” (pp. 14-34). Chapter 4: “Poverty as capability deprivation” (pp. 87-110).
• Film viewing: The Freedom Writers, Richard LaGravenese, 2007
Assignment:
Based on the readings and the class discussion, each student will prepare his/her set of questions on the theme of “freedom and well-being” and interview an Italian. In a short essay, each student will present and discuss the results of the interview and the perceived differences between Italy and the US.
Session 7: Economic behaviour and moral sentiments
o Two origins of economics: ethics and engineering.
o “The butcher and the brewer”: Adam Smith and self interest
o A growing distance between economics and ethics.
o Rationality of behaviour and social interdependence.
Required readings:
• Sen, On Ethics and Economics. Chapter 1: “Economic behaviour and moral sentiments” (pp. 1-22).
Session 8: Business can be social
o The Grameen Bank: a concrete example that business can achieve social outcomes.
o The principles of microfinance.
o The development of micro-credit projects in the world.
o Microfinance and micro-credit in Italy.
Required readings:
• Yunus, Jolis, Banker to the poor. Chapter 3: “Back in Chittagong” (pp. 33-42). Chapter 4: “The Stool makers of Jobra village” (pp. 45-58). Chapter 5: “A pilot project is born” (pp. 61-83). Chapter 7: “A bank for the poor is born” (pp.117-130).
• Yunus, Weber, Creating a world without poverty. Social business and the future of capitalism. Chapter 1: “A new kind of business” (pp.3-19). Chapter 2: “Social business. What it is and what it is not” (pp.21-40)
• Botti, Corsi, A Social Performance Analysis of Italian Microfinance.
Sessions 9:Social business planning
o How to create a clear, focused and realistic business plan for “your” social enterprise.
o The main sections of the business plan template: the entrepreneur; the business idea; the logistics; the financial structure; the communication plan.
o The external environment: PEST (political, economic, social, technological) analysis.
o The SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.
The instructor will form groups and give instructions to prepare social business plans.
Required readings:
• Forth Sector, A business planning guide to developing a social enterprise.
Session 10:Social responsibility and social entrepreneurship
o Defining sustainability. Ecological and social aspects.
o Sustainability: an inescapable challenge for businesses.
o A dangerous “crisis of perception”. The importance of information, education, knowledge.
o “Blue economy”: how business can learn from nature.
Required readings:
• Capra, Pauli, Steering Business towards sustainability. Chapter 3: “Educating the executive and students” (pp. 37-48). Chapter 4: “The learning process within corporations” (pp. 49-64).
• Gunter Pauli, The Blue Economy. Chapter 1: “Timeless Resources for the Challenges of Our Times” (pp.47-57). Chapter 2: “Emulating Ecosystems for a Blue Economy” (pp.59-73). Chapter 3: “Nature’s resource efficiency” (pp. 75-89).
Session 11: Simulation: becoming social entrepreneurs
Each group will present their social business plan.
An expert of social business planning will be invited to hear and comment on the students’ works.
Session 12: Student presentations: field interviews
Students will present their field interviews to the class. Placement representatives will be invited to the event.
• (Ed. By) Gertrude S. Goldberg, Marguerite G. Rosenthal, Diminishing welfare: a cross-national study of social provision (2002). Chapter 8: Enrica Morlicchio, Enrico Pugliese, Elena Spinelli, “Diminishing Welfare: The Italian case”.
• Stefano Cecconi, “Italy. National and regional health services: deficits and fairness”. In La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, n.1, Gennaio-Marzo 2009
• Ilaria Madama, “Regionalisation and social assistance policies in Italy”. In La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, n.1, Gennaio-Marzo 2009
• Maurizio Franzini, “Economic inequalities and social malaise in Italy”. In La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, n.1, Gennaio-Marzo 2009
• Costanza Bettoni, Daniele Checchi, Margherita Bugarella, “Resources for education: investment and expenditure”. In La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, n.1, Gennaio-Marzo 2009
• Manuela Samek Lodovici, Renata Semenza, “The difficult transition from employment regulation to welfare policies.”. In La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, n.1, Gennaio-Marzo 2009
• Giovanna Altieri, “Gender and generations: social change, inertia and potential”. In La Rivista delle Politiche Sociali, n.1, Gennaio-Marzo 2009
• Simonetta Patanè, The Third Sector in Italy (2001).
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPCENG/Resources/Il_Terzo_Settore_i... [2]
• (Ed. By) Lester M.Salamon, S.Wojciech Sokolowski, and Associates, Global Civil Society (2004). Volume 2, Chapter 14: Gian Paolo Barbetta, Stefano Cima, Nereo Zamaro, Lester M.Salamon, S.Wojciech Sokolowski, “Italy”.
• Antonio Thomas, The rise of Social Cooperatives in Italy (2004). http://www.psychodyssey.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/The-Rise-of-Socia... [3]
• Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man (1964). Chapter 1: “The new forms of control”.
• Richard Sennet, The Corrosion of Character (1998). Chapter 1: “Drift”. Chapter 4: “Illegible”.
• Zygmunt Bauman, Liquid life (2005). Chapter 1: “The individual under siege”.
• Amartya Sen, Development as freedom (2000). Chapter 1: “The perspective of freedom” and Chapter 4: “Poverty as capability deprivation”.
• Amartya Sen, On Ethics and Economics (2003). Chapter 1: “Economic behaviour and moral sentiments.”
• Muhammad Yunus, Alan Jolis, Banker to the poor (1998). Chapter 3: “Back in Chittagong”. Chapter 4: “The Stool makers of Jobra village”. Chapter 5: “A pilot project is born”. Chapter 7: “A bank for the poor is born”.
• Fabrizio Botti, Marcella Corsi, A Social Performance Analysis of Italian Microfinance (2010).
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/gm/document-1.1.4931/09.pdf [4]
• Muhammad Yunus, Karl Weber, Creating a world without poverty. Social business and the future of capitalism (2008). Chapter 1: “A new kind of business”. Chapter 2: “Social business. What it is and what it is not”.
• (Ed. By) Fritjof Capra, Gunter A. Pauli, Steering Business towards sustainability (1995). Chapter 3: Kris McDivitt, “Educating the executive and students”. Chapter 4: Oscar Motomura, “The learning process within corporations”.
• Gunter Pauli, The Blue Economy – 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs. Report to the Club of Rome (2010). Chapter 1: “Timeless Resources for the Challenges of Our Times”. Chapter 2: “Emulating Ecosystems for a Blue Economy”. Chapter 3: “Nature’s resource efficiency”.
• Forth Sector (2010), A business planning guide to developing a social enterprise.
http://socialenterprisefund.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/New_BusPlanGui... [5]
• Film viewing: The Freedom Writers, Richard LaGravenese, 2007
• Muhammad Yunus, Alan Jolis, Banker to the poor (1998).
• Amartya Sen, Development as freedom (2000).
• Serge Latouche, The invention of the economy (2005).
• Erin Gruwell, The freedom Writers, The Freedom Writers Diary (2007).
• David Bornstein, How to change the world: social entrepreneurs and the power of new ideas (2007).
• Muhammad Yunus, Karl Weber, Creating a world without poverty. Social business and the future of capitalism (2008).
• Gunter Pauli, The Blue Economy – 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs. Report to the Club of Rome (2010).
• “Cultural differences in bodily communications”. In Bodily Communication, by Michael Argyle.
• “Cultural Intelligence”, by Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski. In Harvard Business Review.
Silvia Zanazzi graduated in Economics and Business from Bocconi University (Milan, Italy) in 2000 and in Education from La Sapienza University (Rome, Italy) in 2009. She has worked as a training coordinator for a leading business school in Milan, responsible for management programs, for the development of the school’s network with businesses and for the improvement of placement services. Then, she moved to Rome where she’s worked in the fields of labor policies and professional training for the Italian Government. As a volunteer, she worked for different organizations operating in Italy and abroad in the fields of first aid, fair trade, cultural preservation, poverty reduction, and homeless shelters. Silvia has been a seminar instructor at IES Abroad Rome since 2007.