Sociology

In the last twenty years, historians have turned with ever more urgency to food as a key for understanding culture. Italy is particularly interesting in this respect. Food is one of the pillars of modern Italian identities: the result, in part, of a conservative and resilient society and, in part, of the vagaries of Italian community life since the 1850s. Many Italian ‘staples’ from pasta to olive oil, from ice-cream to wine, from pizza to risotto also have instructive back-stories that offer insights into Italian culture and Italian history. The course has two aims: first, to achieve a proper understanding of the last two centuries of Italian (food) history – the period of ‘unity in diversity’ with a particular focus on the pre-Second-World-war period; and second, to get a handle on contemporary food culture. The course will employ both a historical and an ethnographic approach. Most weeks will have one lecture and one seminar and most readings will come from two books: one sociological and one historical. There will be between 500 and 600 pages of reading over the semester. There will be a number of tastings. 

Korean popular culture has recently gained critical attention in the global media marketplace. Particularly, Hallyu (the Korean Wave), a term coined in Asia describing the widespread popularity of Korean cultural products and its regional and trans-regional influences, has been prominently addressed by the scholars, the critics, and the fans altogether in many parts of Asia and beyond. Through readings, discussions, in-class screenings, and presentations, this course provides a comprehensive view of contemporary Korean culture, society, and politics through examining some of the most representative forms of popular culture. Specific topics include the Korean family; marriage, weddings, foreign brides, and multiculturalism; plastic surgery and eating disorders; education; Korean film and TV; and globalization. 

This course examines the role of ethnic and religious identity in group prejudice in a Central European context, along with its geopolitical, cultural, ideological, and ethical implications. The course explores the function of communication in large groups and in mass movements, and the opportunities it provides for social research. A comparison of the Anglo-American and Continental European traditions of social research provide insight into complementarities of the two approaches and potential richness for new methodological approaches in the field of communication research. Students explore the historical circumstances in which particular social research scholarship was developed in order to provide a more realistic understanding of the scientific process. The course also discusses the mutual influence of society and social research and the benefits and dangers of this dynamic for democracy. Students identify research problems and build adequate research methodologies. The course reviews topics including the role of ethnicity and religious affiliation in a Central European context, how stereotypes may lead to group prejudice, prejudiced group attitudes as they appear in media and other forms of public discourse, the importance of social research for policy planning, interpreting publicly disseminated messages, and comparing and analyzing approaches to social research from an historical perspective.

Despite recent societal changes, people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, and/or neurodivergence are still underrepresented in society, popular culture, medical and academic disciplines. In this course, students take an autoethnographic, reflexive approach to exploring disabilities, chronic illnesses, and neurodivergence in society in general by considering representations in film, literature, and media, by studying the social barriers experienced, by learning about equality and social justice and by exploring different approaches to disability and advocacy.