The course focuses on the sociological theories, concepts and methodologies in order to analyze Italian contemporary society from a sociological and historical perspective. Comparisons between the city of Milan and the rest of Europe and the United States are drawn throughout the course. The course underlines the great social and cultural transformations and progresses that Italian society has accomplished since the end of the Second World War. More precisely, the main transformations and characteristics of the Italian and Milanese economies, labor market and model of welfare regime as compared with the rest of Europe and the United States. The course focuses on the Italian family and its education system and highlights the way of living of the younger generation of Italians in comparison with the rest of Europe and the United States. In addition, the profound contradictions, conflicts and social inequalities of this complex and multicultural society are examined. In particular, the system of social stratification and social mobility of the Italian society compared to the American and European model draw attention to the risk of social exclusion for the more vulnerable part of the Italian population and to the migration process.
Prerequisites:
None
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
• Recognize the principal classical and contemporary sociological authors and the function of sociology;
• Distinguish the main sociological concepts and theories regarding different social institutions such as the economy, the labor market, the family, the welfare system and multicultural society;
• Use creative and critical sociological thought processes when considering Italian and the American societies;
Method of presentation:
Lectures and discussions; critical analysis of assigned readings; films; group work; field research trips; students’ oral presentations regarding field research results; lectures with guest speakers.
Required work and form of assessment:
Attendance and active participation in class discussion (20%);
mid-term exam (25%);
final exam (30%);
final paper (25%).
Mid-term exam includes multiple choice and short-answer questions. The final exam involves short- answer and essay questions. A final paper of 15-20 pages should critically discuss one of the books or articles from the list of required readings. Students can freely choose the topic of their paper (subject to instructors’ approval).
content:
Week 1: Overview and introduction to Sociology
This week provides: i) an overview of the course, outlining themes, course requirements:
ii) a basic introduction to sociology: definition and etymological meaning of sociology and its functions for the classical and contemporary sociologists; birth of sociology and its development in Europe and in the United States; major founders (fathers and mothers) and theoretical perspectives.
Required reading (excerpts from): Giddens et. al. (2003), Madoo Lengermann and
Niebrugge-Brantley (1998)
Week 2: The transformation and features of the Italian and Milanese economy since 1945 in comparison with the rest of Europe and the United States
Required reading (excerpts from): Granovetter (1985), Smelser and Swedberg (1994)
Week 3: The Italian and Milanese labour market and the Italian Industrial relations
Required reading (excerpts from): Kalleberg (2000), Lange and Regini (1989)
Week 4: The Italian Welfare regime in comparison with the United States: Development and uncertain future
Required reading (excerpts from): Esping-Andersen (1990), Ferrera (1997a, 1997b), Scharpf (2002)
Week 5: The family model in Italy and in the context of the city of Milan between cohesion and uncertainty
Required reading (excerpts from): Cook (2002), Jurado Guerrero and Naldini (1996), Saraceno (2004)
Week 6 Education in Italy and in the Area of Milan: A critical approach
Required reading (excerpts from): Ballarino and Bratti (2006), Bermardi (2003), Checchi
(2003), Cobalti (1990)
Week 7: Social stratification: Three main theoretical perspectives (Karl Marx, Max Weber, Pierre Bourdieu)
Required reading (excerpts from): Crompton (1987), Esping-Andersen (1993), Clark et. al (1991)
Week 8: Social inequalities in contemporary Italy and Milan patterned by class, race, gender, age and health
Required reading (excerpts from): Anthias (2001), Bernardi (2001)
Week 9: Social mobility in Italy and in the United States
Required reading (excerpts from): Checchi et. al. (1999), Lipset and Bendix (1992)
Week 10: Risk of social vulnerability and social exclusion in Italy and Milan
Required reading (excerpts from): Alcock (1997), Atkinson et. al. (2002), Barnes et. al.
(2002), Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2000), Silver (1994)
Week 11: Migration and migration policies models in Italy and Milan
Required reading (excerpts from): Ancona (1991), Campani (1993), Colombo (1997), Quassoli (1999)
Week 12: Violence and conflicts in Italy and in the city of Milan: Domestic violence and stalking
Required reading (excerpts from): Emerson et. al. (1998), Denzin (19984)
Week 13: Final exams and oral presentation of the papers
Required readings:
A course pack including all the required readings will be available at the Copisteria Borella, in Galleria
Borella. It will be supplemented by hand-outs. Excerpts from:
Ancona, Giovanni. “Labour Demand and Immigration in Italy,” in Journal of Regional Policy, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1991), pp. 143-148.
Anthias, Floya. “The material and symbolic in theorizing social stratification: issues of gender, ethnicity and class,” in British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 52, No. 3 (2001), pp. 367–390.
Atkinson, Tony, Bea Cantillon, Eric Mallier and Brian Nolan. Social indicators: the EU and Social inclusion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Ballarino, Gabriele and Massimiliano Bratti. “Fields of Study and Graduates’ occupational outcomes in Italy during the 90s. Who won and who lost?,” in Departmental Working Papers of the University of Milan, Vol. 17 (2006), pp. 1-29.
Barnes, M. Christopher Heady, Sue Middleton, Jane Millar, Fotis Papadopoulos and Panos Tsakloglou, Poverty and social exclusion in Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002.
Beck, Ulrich and Elizabeth Beck- Gernsheim. Individualization. London: Sage, 2000.
Bernardi, Fabrizio. “Globalisation, recommendation and social inequality: changing patterns of early careers in Italy,” Paper prepared for the ISA RC 28 “Expanding Markets, Welfare State Retrenchment and their Impact on Social Stratification”, Mannheim, April 26-28, 2001.
Bernardi, Fabrizio. “Returns to educational performance at entry into the Italian labour market,” in European Sociological Review, Vol. 19 (2003), pp. 25-40.
Campani, Giovanna. “Immigration and Racism in Southern Europe: The Italian Case,” in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1993), pp. 507-35.
Checchi, Daniele, Pietro Ichino and Aldo Rustichini. “A. More equal but less mobile?: Education financing and intergenerational mobility in Italy and in the US,” in Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (1999), pp. 351-393.
Checchi, Daniele. “The Italian educational system: family background and social stratification,” in Departmental Working Papers of the University of Milan, No. 1 (2003), pp. 1-49.
Clark, Terry N. and Seymour M. Lipset. “Are Social Classes dying?,” in International Sociology, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1991), pp. 397-410
Cobalti, Antonio. “Schooling inequalities in Italy: trends over time,” in European Sociological Review,
Vol. 6 (1990), pp. 199-214.
Colombo, Asher. “Hope and Despair: “Deviant” Immigrants in Italy,” in Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1997), pp. 1-20.
Cook, Thomas. “Explaining Aspects of the Transition to Adulthood in Italy, Sweden, Germany, and the United States: A Cross-Disciplinary, Case Synthesis Approach,” in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 580, No. 1, (2002), pp. 257-287.
Crompton, Rosemary. Class and Stratification. Introduction to Current Debates. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1987.
Denzin, Norman. K. “Toward a Phenomenology of Domestic, Family Violence,” in American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 90, No. 3, (1984), pp. 483-513.
Emerson, Robert and Kerry O Ferris and Carol B. Gardner (1998). “On Being Stalked,” in Social Problems, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 289-314.
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (ed.). Changing Classes: Social Stratification in Post-industrial Europe and North America. London: Sage, 1993.
“---“. The Incomplete revolution. Adapting Welfare States to Women’s New Roles. London: Polity Press, 2009.
“---“. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.
Ferrera, Maurizio. “The Southern Model of Welfare Social Europe,” in Journal of European Social Policy, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1997a), pp. 17-37.
“---“. “The Uncertain Future of Italian Welfare State,” in West European Politics, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1997b), pp. 231-249.
Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell Dunier, Richard P. Appelbaum and Deborah Carr. Introduction to Sociology. London: W.W. Norton Company, 2003. (Chap. 1, Chap. 2).
Granovetter, Mark. “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness,” in American Journal of Sociology, Vol 91, No. 3 (1985), pp. 481-510.
Jurado Guerrero, Teresa and Manuela Naldini. “Is the South so Different? Italian and Spanish Families in Comparative Perspective,” in South European Society and Politics, Vol. 1, No. 3 (1996), pp. 42–66.
Kalleberg, Arne L. “Nonstandard Employment Relations: Part-Time, Temporary and Contract Work,” in Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2000), pp. 341-365.
Lange, Peter and Marino Regini. State, Market and Social regulation. New Perspectives on Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Lipset Seymour. M. and Reinhard Bendix. Social mobility in industrial societies. Berkley: University of California Press, 1992.
Madoo Lengermannn, Patricia and Gillian Niebrugge-Brantley. The Women Founders. Sociology and Social Theory 1830-1930. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. (Chap. 1)
Quassoli, Fabio. “Migrants in the Italian Underground Economy,” in International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1999), pp. 212-231.
Saraceno, Chiara. “The Italian family from the 1960s to the present,” in Modern Italy, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2004), pp. 47-57.
Scharpf, Fritz W. “The European Social Model,” in Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 40 (2002), pp. 645-670.
Silver, Hilary. “Social exclusion and social solidarity: Three Paradigms,” in International Labour Review, Vol. 133 (1994), pp. 531-578.
Smelser, Neil and Richard Swedberg. Handbook in Economic Sociology. New York: Russel Sage, 1994.
Recommended readings:
Excerpts from:
Foot, John. “Immigration and the City: Milan and Mass Immigration, 1958-98,” in Modern Italy, Vol. 4, No. 2, (1999), pp. 159-172. Special Issue: The Italian Experience of Migration.
Ginsborg, Paul. Italy and its discontents. Family, civil society, State 1981-2000. London: Allen Lane, 2001.
The course focuses on the sociological theories, concepts and methodologies in order to analyze Italian contemporary society from a sociological and historical perspective. Comparisons between the city of Milan and the rest of Europe and the United States are drawn throughout the course. The course underlines the great social and cultural transformations and progresses that Italian society has accomplished since the end of the Second World War. More precisely, the main transformations and characteristics of the Italian and Milanese economies, labor market and model of welfare regime as compared with the rest of Europe and the United States. The course focuses on the Italian family and its education system and highlights the way of living of the younger generation of Italians in comparison with the rest of Europe and the United States. In addition, the profound contradictions, conflicts and social inequalities of this complex and multicultural society are examined. In particular, the system of social stratification and social mobility of the Italian society compared to the American and European model draw attention to the risk of social exclusion for the more vulnerable part of the Italian population and to the migration process.
None
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
• Recognize the principal classical and contemporary sociological authors and the function of sociology;
• Distinguish the main sociological concepts and theories regarding different social institutions such as the economy, the labor market, the family, the welfare system and multicultural society;
• Use creative and critical sociological thought processes when considering Italian and the American societies;
Lectures and discussions; critical analysis of assigned readings; films; group work; field research trips; students’ oral presentations regarding field research results; lectures with guest speakers.
Attendance and active participation in class discussion (20%);
mid-term exam (25%);
final exam (30%);
final paper (25%).
Mid-term exam includes multiple choice and short-answer questions. The final exam involves short- answer and essay questions. A final paper of 15-20 pages should critically discuss one of the books or articles from the list of required readings. Students can freely choose the topic of their paper (subject to instructors’ approval).
Week 1: Overview and introduction to Sociology
This week provides: i) an overview of the course, outlining themes, course requirements:
ii) a basic introduction to sociology: definition and etymological meaning of sociology and its functions for the classical and contemporary sociologists; birth of sociology and its development in Europe and in the United States; major founders (fathers and mothers) and theoretical perspectives.
Required reading (excerpts from): Giddens et. al. (2003), Madoo Lengermann and
Niebrugge-Brantley (1998)
Week 2: The transformation and features of the Italian and Milanese economy since 1945 in comparison with the rest of Europe and the United States
Required reading (excerpts from): Granovetter (1985), Smelser and Swedberg (1994)
Week 3: The Italian and Milanese labour market and the Italian Industrial relations
Required reading (excerpts from): Kalleberg (2000), Lange and Regini (1989)
Week 4: The Italian Welfare regime in comparison with the United States: Development and uncertain future
Required reading (excerpts from): Esping-Andersen (1990), Ferrera (1997a, 1997b), Scharpf (2002)
Week 5: The family model in Italy and in the context of the city of Milan between cohesion and uncertainty
Required reading (excerpts from): Cook (2002), Jurado Guerrero and Naldini (1996), Saraceno (2004)
Week 6 Education in Italy and in the Area of Milan: A critical approach
Required reading (excerpts from): Ballarino and Bratti (2006), Bermardi (2003), Checchi
(2003), Cobalti (1990)
Week 7: Social stratification: Three main theoretical perspectives (Karl Marx, Max Weber, Pierre Bourdieu)
Required reading (excerpts from): Crompton (1987), Esping-Andersen (1993), Clark et. al (1991)
Week 8: Social inequalities in contemporary Italy and Milan patterned by class, race, gender, age and health
Required reading (excerpts from): Anthias (2001), Bernardi (2001)
Week 9: Social mobility in Italy and in the United States
Required reading (excerpts from): Checchi et. al. (1999), Lipset and Bendix (1992)
Week 10: Risk of social vulnerability and social exclusion in Italy and Milan
Required reading (excerpts from): Alcock (1997), Atkinson et. al. (2002), Barnes et. al.
(2002), Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2000), Silver (1994)
Week 11: Migration and migration policies models in Italy and Milan
Required reading (excerpts from): Ancona (1991), Campani (1993), Colombo (1997), Quassoli (1999)
Week 12: Violence and conflicts in Italy and in the city of Milan: Domestic violence and stalking
Required reading (excerpts from): Emerson et. al. (1998), Denzin (19984)
Week 13: Final exams and oral presentation of the papers
A course pack including all the required readings will be available at the Copisteria Borella, in Galleria
Borella. It will be supplemented by hand-outs. Excerpts from:
Alcock, Pete. Understanding Poverty. London: MacMillan, 1997.
Ancona, Giovanni. “Labour Demand and Immigration in Italy,” in Journal of Regional Policy, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1991), pp. 143-148.
Anthias, Floya. “The material and symbolic in theorizing social stratification: issues of gender, ethnicity and class,” in British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 52, No. 3 (2001), pp. 367–390.
Atkinson, Tony, Bea Cantillon, Eric Mallier and Brian Nolan. Social indicators: the EU and Social inclusion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Ballarino, Gabriele and Massimiliano Bratti. “Fields of Study and Graduates’ occupational outcomes in Italy during the 90s. Who won and who lost?,” in Departmental Working Papers of the University of Milan, Vol. 17 (2006), pp. 1-29.
Barnes, M. Christopher Heady, Sue Middleton, Jane Millar, Fotis Papadopoulos and Panos Tsakloglou, Poverty and social exclusion in Europe. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002.
Beck, Ulrich and Elizabeth Beck- Gernsheim. Individualization. London: Sage, 2000.
Bernardi, Fabrizio. “Globalisation, recommendation and social inequality: changing patterns of early careers in Italy,” Paper prepared for the ISA RC 28 “Expanding Markets, Welfare State Retrenchment and their Impact on Social Stratification”, Mannheim, April 26-28, 2001.
Bernardi, Fabrizio. “Returns to educational performance at entry into the Italian labour market,” in European Sociological Review, Vol. 19 (2003), pp. 25-40.
Campani, Giovanna. “Immigration and Racism in Southern Europe: The Italian Case,” in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1993), pp. 507-35.
Checchi, Daniele, Pietro Ichino and Aldo Rustichini. “A. More equal but less mobile?: Education financing and intergenerational mobility in Italy and in the US,” in Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 74, No. 3 (1999), pp. 351-393.
Checchi, Daniele. “The Italian educational system: family background and social stratification,” in Departmental Working Papers of the University of Milan, No. 1 (2003), pp. 1-49.
Clark, Terry N. and Seymour M. Lipset. “Are Social Classes dying?,” in International Sociology, Vol. 6, No. 4 (1991), pp. 397-410
Cobalti, Antonio. “Schooling inequalities in Italy: trends over time,” in European Sociological Review,
Vol. 6 (1990), pp. 199-214.
Colombo, Asher. “Hope and Despair: “Deviant” Immigrants in Italy,” in Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1997), pp. 1-20.
Cook, Thomas. “Explaining Aspects of the Transition to Adulthood in Italy, Sweden, Germany, and the United States: A Cross-Disciplinary, Case Synthesis Approach,” in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 580, No. 1, (2002), pp. 257-287.
Crompton, Rosemary. Class and Stratification. Introduction to Current Debates. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1987.
Denzin, Norman. K. “Toward a Phenomenology of Domestic, Family Violence,” in American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 90, No. 3, (1984), pp. 483-513.
Emerson, Robert and Kerry O Ferris and Carol B. Gardner (1998). “On Being Stalked,” in Social Problems, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 289-314.
Esping-Andersen, Gøsta (ed.). Changing Classes: Social Stratification in Post-industrial Europe and North America. London: Sage, 1993.
“---“. The Incomplete revolution. Adapting Welfare States to Women’s New Roles. London: Polity Press, 2009.
“---“. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.
Ferrera, Maurizio. “The Southern Model of Welfare Social Europe,” in Journal of European Social Policy, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1997a), pp. 17-37.
“---“. “The Uncertain Future of Italian Welfare State,” in West European Politics, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1997b), pp. 231-249.
Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell Dunier, Richard P. Appelbaum and Deborah Carr. Introduction to Sociology. London: W.W. Norton Company, 2003. (Chap. 1, Chap. 2).
Granovetter, Mark. “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness,” in American Journal of Sociology, Vol 91, No. 3 (1985), pp. 481-510.
Jurado Guerrero, Teresa and Manuela Naldini. “Is the South so Different? Italian and Spanish Families in Comparative Perspective,” in South European Society and Politics, Vol. 1, No. 3 (1996), pp. 42–66.
Kalleberg, Arne L. “Nonstandard Employment Relations: Part-Time, Temporary and Contract Work,” in Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 26, No. 1 (2000), pp. 341-365.
Lange, Peter and Marino Regini. State, Market and Social regulation. New Perspectives on Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Lipset Seymour. M. and Reinhard Bendix. Social mobility in industrial societies. Berkley: University of California Press, 1992.
Madoo Lengermannn, Patricia and Gillian Niebrugge-Brantley. The Women Founders. Sociology and Social Theory 1830-1930. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. (Chap. 1)
Quassoli, Fabio. “Migrants in the Italian Underground Economy,” in International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 23, No. 2 (1999), pp. 212-231.
Saraceno, Chiara. “The Italian family from the 1960s to the present,” in Modern Italy, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2004), pp. 47-57.
Scharpf, Fritz W. “The European Social Model,” in Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 40 (2002), pp. 645-670.
Silver, Hilary. “Social exclusion and social solidarity: Three Paradigms,” in International Labour Review, Vol. 133 (1994), pp. 531-578.
Smelser, Neil and Richard Swedberg. Handbook in Economic Sociology. New York: Russel Sage, 1994.
Excerpts from:
Foot, John. “Immigration and the City: Milan and Mass Immigration, 1958-98,” in Modern Italy, Vol. 4, No. 2, (1999), pp. 159-172. Special Issue: The Italian Experience of Migration.
Ginsborg, Paul. Italy and its discontents. Family, civil society, State 1981-2000. London: Allen Lane, 2001.
Silverman, David. Doing Qualitative Research. London: Sage, 2004.