Sociology

This course examines the basic principles of education and introduces the internal logic between education and society through analysis of case studies and theories. The course covers topics such as the function of education in humanization and socialization, and its role in improving society and individual quality of life.

This course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by consent of the instructor. The course presents the main theories and empirical research on migration drawn from sociology, but with an interest in the contributions coming from history, demography, economy, political science, and anthropology, when needed. The course is centered on the European case, with an Italian focus, but within a broader comparative framework including the main active migratory systems in the contemporary world, and a period dating back no less than to the beginning of the twentieth century.

This course compares the political ecologies of Spain and California, two regions of the world with significantly different environmental histories, political systems, and socio-economic and political actors but strikingly similar Mediterranean type ecosystems. In particular, this course focuses on two crucial environmental issues for both these regions—water and land use—and how these have emerged as central items in the political agendas in both regions. The course explores the nature of the so-called “water wars” in California and Spain and how both regions have attempted to reconcile conflicting public and private interests over water use rights. It also looks at landscape planning and how urbanization has often ignored crucial ecological disturbance processes, such as landscape fires, with unforeseen and often catastrophic consequences. The class excursions include a visit to the public company that provides water to the Madrid region, the Canal de Isabel II, to learn about water policy in Madrid, and to the chestnut forest ecosystems of two different autonomous regional community governments in Avila and Madrid to witness the diverging impacts of different governance policies on the same natural system. A meeting with representatives of the Ministry of the Environment to learn about landscape planning is also scheduled.

This course studies theoretical texts regarding communication and media from a sociological standpoint. The course takes both a theoretical and methodological approach to analyzing communication and media.

The course covers the intercultural issues presented in our personal and professional life, a necessary prerequisite if we want to become global citizens.

This course covers major criminological theories, which are primarily based on sociology and social psychology, as well as definitions, extents, trends, and typologies of crime and delinquency. It discusses how each theory views crime, how they explain individual criminal behavior or aggregate crime rates, and how they are relevant to contemporary criminal justice policies and practices. 

Digital media are an essential part of the lives of teenagers, as they are crucial elements of the social environment in which children grow up. Undoubtedly, adolescents play a key role in the popularity of various digital media sources and have a great influence on media trends, topics, and forms of expression. The complexity of the development and socialization of adolescents can be better understood when it comes to the influence of digital media, such as television and film, social networks, gaming, and music. This bachelor course approaches “youth” by exploring both how it relates to age and child development, but also how this implicitly evokes specific qualities in terms of gender, sexuality, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, and ability. The course examines digital media through the various types of content and technologies available, and critically examines who produces and consumes such media. The course asks questions about what media young people engage with and why, what media content they produce, how media impacts them, and what responsibility content creators and tech companies have in this regard. The course focuses on helping students develop a better understanding of how youth and other identities, such as gender or sexuality, are socially and culturally constructed, and assess the ways in which they are performed in a variety of youth cultures and subcultures. Each week the students engage with different media content and related digital platforms, and learn to critically examine how we can situate the concept of intersectionality in these. This in turn allows them to have a deep understanding of the roles that youth play politically, economically, and culturally.

In January 2021 a commission appointed by the federal government released an extensive report on the integration of people with a Migrationshintergrund, or migration background, in Germany. The report set out a concept of integration, discussed integration with regard to a wide range of policy areas, including health and housing, education, and employment, and raised issues like religion and language. Also included in the report were the dissenting positions of several commission members, which underline the extent to which integration remains a contested and controversial idea. The course uses this report as the starting point for an analysis of the concept of integration. The course considers the economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of the concept developed in the report, and compares it with terms like cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism. The course also discusses the implications of integration for employment and education policy.