Sociology

The course focuses on the main connections between migration and learning processes, especially as they concern second generation immigrants; multicultural family models, with special attention to international adoption; developmental processes of children and adolescents with foreign origins (or internationally adopted); contemporary debates on multiculturalism and interculturalism. The course highlights: tools and strategies useful in planning training courses on intercultural education in extra-school contexts; the categorization processes related to the formation of stereotypes and prejudices; strategies for overcoming ethnic conflicts; historical, social, and cultural factors that lead to racist attitudes and behaviors. The first part of the course explores the main concepts and knowledge connected to multicultural societies. It aims to promote understanding and reflection on new possible approaches for active citizenship. The topics covered in the course are the following: globalization; multicultural societies and intercultural approach; stereotypes, prejudices, and the vocational approach; racism and cultural relativism; migration in the literature, the German and Italian case: a comparison; diversity, differences, valorization of differences; assimilation, segregation and integration; intercultural education: construction and evaluation of outside-school learning paths, conflict management. The topics are explained and discussed through traditional lectures and then the students are expected to develop the topics in which they are particularly interested through workgroups geared to the production of a multimedia presentation to be discussed and defended in class with the instructor and the other participants. students. The presentation is part of the final assessment. The second part of the course is tailored on the specific topics of this course and focuses on the pedagogical analysis of migration in the German and Italian cases.

This course probes the entanglements of nature, society, and politics through which the environment is formed, experienced, problematized, interpreted, contested, and governed in different sociocultural contexts. It develops a critical perspective on the dominant patterns of industrial production and consumption and asks how our societies can be made more sustainable. The course draws on insights from environmental history, environmental sociology, science and technology studies, sustainability studies, and recent debates on the "Anthropocene". Thereby, it seeks to complement the fact-oriented perspective of the natural sciences with a reflective understanding of the politics through which our knowledge (and non-knowledge) of the environment is formed. The course is structured in four sections. The first three focus on one core domain of nature-society-politics: the risks of industrial production; biodiversity and land; global climate change. The final section reflects on how we can move from these insights toward a comprehensive understanding and transformative politics of the Anthropocene.

This course examines French society through the lens of social justice in three main areas: economic, social, and political. Through various authentic materials and linguistic activities, it introduces the main French historical, administrative, social, and political foundations to facilitate the understanding of the themes presented in this course and better decipher the national and local reality. Guest speakers include experts and actors in these areas.

This course examines how crime is framed and represented in the media. It covers the interconnections between crime, power and its representation within the media and popular culture; and how relations of power pervade and institutionalize the meanings of deviance and crime and how these meanings can be sedimented or challenged in cultural terms.

This course is a multidisciplinary framework in considering the social and cultural importance of the body and dress. It covers the social and psychological aspects of appearance and dress as it relates to the individual, society, and culture. Topics include the relationship between self and appearance, the role of appearance in human interaction as a form of nonverbal communication, the factors that influence our choices of appearance, and the impact of social change on culture and appearance.

This course examines why and how we should integrate social sciences and genomics to understand societies and human behaviors. The course covers the following topics: introduction to molecular genetics; polygenic scores; gene-environment interaction; epigenetics; ancestry, race, and ethnicity; sex and gender; precision medicine, and ethical issues in genetic studies.