Sociology of Intercultural Relations
A.Y. 2022/2023
Learning objectives
The course aims to address the issue of intercultural relations from a sociological point of view. In contexts increasingly marked by difference, multiculturalism and globalization we need to learn the key elements that may facilitate or hinder intercultural relations, both in formal and institutional, as in informal settings.
Expected learning outcomes
The course provides students with theoretical and practical tools to read and interpret the places of work and social life, based on a non essentialist vision of culture and to be able to undertake autonomously further study and action in these areas.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
This course aims to question a naïve vision inherent in the expression 'intercultural relations', emphasizing how behind the essentialization of the concept of culture there is the ignoring of the process of construction of groups (referred to as 'cultures' in relation to each other) in the practices of social life, whether these groups are constructed on ethnic, national, class, subcultural, gender, generational, religious, professional, etc. bases.
This course problematizes a rather ingenuous gaze embedded in the very expression of 'intercultural relations'. It emphasizes how behind such an essentialization of the concept of culture lies the neglect of the process of groups construction (referred to as 'cultures' in relation to each other) in the practices of social life, whether these groups are constructed on ethnic, national, class, subcultural, gender, generational, religious, professional, etc. bases.
The class will therefore focus on analyzing the dynamics by which symbolic constructions are transformed into historical and enduring realities in the form of both institutions and embedded habitus, focusing on the intertwining of practices and representations.
Conceptual tools will then be developed to deal critically with terms such as 'diversity' and 'otherness', analyzing them as processes and not as ontological realities. Issues such as marginalization, stigmatization, boundary making, symbolic power, the role of the media in the construction of social representations and waves of moral panic, the role of institutions in the construction of categories will be addressed. Examples will be applied to dynamics involving urban spaces, bodies, consumption practices, education, professional practices or love relationships.
Specifically, the course aims to address the following thematic cores:
- Sharing worlds of meaning
- Rediscussing identity and otherness
- The power of representations
- The role of institutions
- Stigmatization and marginalization
- Boundaries and exclusion
- Resistance and participation
This course problematizes a rather ingenuous gaze embedded in the very expression of 'intercultural relations'. It emphasizes how behind such an essentialization of the concept of culture lies the neglect of the process of groups construction (referred to as 'cultures' in relation to each other) in the practices of social life, whether these groups are constructed on ethnic, national, class, subcultural, gender, generational, religious, professional, etc. bases.
The class will therefore focus on analyzing the dynamics by which symbolic constructions are transformed into historical and enduring realities in the form of both institutions and embedded habitus, focusing on the intertwining of practices and representations.
Conceptual tools will then be developed to deal critically with terms such as 'diversity' and 'otherness', analyzing them as processes and not as ontological realities. Issues such as marginalization, stigmatization, boundary making, symbolic power, the role of the media in the construction of social representations and waves of moral panic, the role of institutions in the construction of categories will be addressed. Examples will be applied to dynamics involving urban spaces, bodies, consumption practices, education, professional practices or love relationships.
Specifically, the course aims to address the following thematic cores:
- Sharing worlds of meaning
- Rediscussing identity and otherness
- The power of representations
- The role of institutions
- Stigmatization and marginalization
- Boundaries and exclusion
- Resistance and participation
Prerequisites for admission
It is helpful -but not mandatory- to have previously taken the Sociology of Cultural Processes exam.
Teaching methods
The course will follow a flipped mode, alternating moments of individual study, frontal lessons, and laboratories. The course page on the Moodle platform will be the main reference point of the course. During classroom lessons, dialogue between students and teachers will be encouraged - within the limits of the large number of students enrolled in the course - through moments of collective clarification of the readings carried out independently and in groups, using interactive tools (e.g. instant poll) and multimedia.
Those who intend to attend the course must therefore, every week, participate in the frontal classroom lesson; read the material made available by the teacher; work in groups according to the methods that will be indicated. The working groups will be defined at the beginning of the course and will remain the same for the entire duration of the course. The number of weekly readings will be about 70/75 pages comprised in the essays assigned by the teacher lesson by lesson.
The general structure of the lessons will be as follows:
- Tuesday: the Tuesday lesson will focus on the clarification of doubts and reflections that emerged from the reading of the texts assigned the previous week, starting with short papers produced by the students. There will also be the use of interactive software to collect questions and requests for further study from each group, which will guide the reflection in the classroom.
- Wednesday: frontal lesson in which the new contents of the week will be presented.
- Thursday: workshop mode. The students, divided into groups, will engage in small exercises with the aim of putting into practice the concepts illustrated during the lesson of the previous day (for example, applying them to the analysis of journalistic texts, film, etc.). These labs will not be graded but are intended to help students become familiar with the concepts found within the essays assigned for the week.
Those who intend to attend the course must therefore, every week, participate in the frontal classroom lesson; read the material made available by the teacher; work in groups according to the methods that will be indicated. The working groups will be defined at the beginning of the course and will remain the same for the entire duration of the course. The number of weekly readings will be about 70/75 pages comprised in the essays assigned by the teacher lesson by lesson.
The general structure of the lessons will be as follows:
- Tuesday: the Tuesday lesson will focus on the clarification of doubts and reflections that emerged from the reading of the texts assigned the previous week, starting with short papers produced by the students. There will also be the use of interactive software to collect questions and requests for further study from each group, which will guide the reflection in the classroom.
- Wednesday: frontal lesson in which the new contents of the week will be presented.
- Thursday: workshop mode. The students, divided into groups, will engage in small exercises with the aim of putting into practice the concepts illustrated during the lesson of the previous day (for example, applying them to the analysis of journalistic texts, film, etc.). These labs will not be graded but are intended to help students become familiar with the concepts found within the essays assigned for the week.
Teaching Resources
Alietti, A. (2012) Stigmatizzazione territoriale, stato di eccezione e quartieri multietnici: una riflessione critica a partire dal caso di Milano, in: Cancellieri A. e Scandurra G., a cura di (2012) Tracce urbane. Alla ricerca della città. Milano: FrancoAngeli. (9 pp)
Antonelli, F. (2018) Mena e le altre. Ritratto di ragazze di classe popolare fra esclusione scolastica e sociale, in «Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa», 2, 318-339. (18 pp.)
Becker, H. (2017) Outsiders, capp. 1 e 6, Milano, Meltemi. (13, 14 pp.)
Bourdieu, P. (1988) La forza della rappresentazione, in La parola e il potere, Napoli, Guida Editori, 109-119 (10 pp.)
Bourdieu, P. (2012) Capitale simbolico e classi sociali, in «Polis», 3, 401-415 (14 pp.)
Bourgois, P. (2005) Cercando rispetto. Drug economy e cultura di strada, cap. 4 "Mettersi a posto: rispetto e resistenza sul lavoro". Roma: Derive Approdi. (25 pp.)
Cancellieri, A. (2010), Come sopravvivere alla differenza. Etnografia dei confini sociali in un condominio multiculturale, in «Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa» 11-36. (30 pp.)
Cohen, P. (2019 [1972) Il conflitto subculturale e la comunità operaia, in «Studi culturali», 2, 311-328, (17 pp)
Colombo, E., Manzo, L.K.C. (2021) Moglie e buoi da dove vuoi! Rappresentazioni giovanili dell'amore interculturale, in «Polis», 2, pp. 183-208. (22 pp.)
Corchia, L. (2017) I post-subcultural studies e le identità giovanili, in «Studi culturali», 2, pp. 293-320. (22 pp.)
Dei, F. (2021) La cancel culture come subcultura politica, «Psiche», 2, pp. 493-509. (16 pp.)
Di Pasquale, C. (2018) A scuola d'identità, «Il Mulino-Rivisteweb», 3, 429-438. (9 pp.)
Elias N. e Scotson J. (2004) Strategie dell'esclusione, Introduzione: un saggio teorico sulle relazioni tra radicati e esterni, Bologna: Il Mulino. (45 pp.)
Fine, G.A. e Kleinman, S. (2021) Ripensare le sottoculture, in Etnografia e società, a cura di G. Bordieri, G. Zampieri e M. Bortolini, Milano, Mimesis, 113-131. (25 pp.)
Fontana, L., Sparti, D. (2012) Identità indotte. L'uso politico del riconoscimento in Bolivia, in «Studi culturali», 2, 175-200 (25 pp)
Frisina, A. (2014) Negoziare l'Alterita. Focus group e processi di significazione delle immagini tra giovani autoctoni/e e figli/e delle migrazioni in Veneto, in «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 3, 575-597 (20 pp)
Giordano, S. (2013) L'estetica del pregiudizio. L'immagine degli homeless nei media e nella comunicazione dei servizi sociali, in «Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa», 2, 231-255 (24 pp)
Giuliani, G. (2013) «Non ci sono italiani negri». Il colore legittimo nell'Italia contemporanea, in «Studi culturali», 2, 254-267 (13 pp)
Goffman, E. (2010) Stigma, capp. 1 e 3, Roma, Ombre Corte. (36 pp.)
Gruning, B. (2013) Suoni fuori luogo. Una cartografia acustica dei locali pubblici a Bologna, in «Studi culturali», 1, 121-134 (12 pp)
Lusardi, R e Tomelleri, S. (2017) Gli ibridi professionali. Le culture professionali alla prova dell'integrazione socio-sanitaria, in Salute e Società, 3, pp. 11-31. (19 pp.)
Mannocchi, M. (2014) Richiedenti asilo e rifugiati: processi di etichettamento e pratiche di resistenza, in «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 2, 386-406 (20 pp)
Manzo, L.K.C. (2016) «Via via, vieni via di qui!» Il processo di gentrificazione di via Paolo Sarpi, la Chinatown di Milano (1980-2015), in «Archivio di Studi Urbani e Regionali», no. 117 November 2016, pp. 27-50. (19 pp.)
Oberti, M. (2006) La casa e la scuola alle prese con la segregazione, in Lagrange H., Oberti M. (a cura di), La rivolta delle periferie. Precarietà urbana e protesta giovanile: il caso francese, Milano: Bruno Mondadori. (22 pp)
Perino, M. (2013) Da dove vieni? Quanto contano le categorie etnonazionali?, in «Quaderni di Sociologia», 63 63-83.
Perrotta, D. (2014), Violenza simbolica e migranti in Italia. Esperienze di ricerca con operai rumeni e braccianti burkinabé, in «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 1, 149-179
Pitti, I. (2022), Giovani ultras e marginalità sociale: la partecipazione come strategia di resistenza quotidiana, in «Studi di sociologia», 1, 153-168 (14 pp)
Pocecco, A. (2020) La costruzione dello straniero tra narrazioni mediali e rappresentazioni sociali, in «Studi di sociologia», 2, 219-232 (13 pp)
Romito M., (2016) I consigli orientativi agli studenti di origine straniera. Un caso a parte?, «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 1, 31-54. (18 pp.)
Sacks, H. (1983) Come la polizia valuta la moralità delle persone basandosi sull'aspetto, in Etnometodologia, a cura di P.P. Giglioli e A. Dal Lago, Bologna, Il Mulino, 177-196 (19 pp)
Santorso, S. (2016) La città carceraria. Spazio, comunità e processi di etnicizzazione, in «Etnografia e Ricerca Qualitativa», 2, 227-248. (16 pp.)
Wacquant, L. (2016) I reietti della città: Ghetto, periferia, stato, Introduzione "Ghetto, Banlieue, Favela eccetera: strumenti per ripensare la marginalità avanzata" (12 pp.) +
cap. "Il costo dell'esclusione razziale e sociale a «Bronzeville»". Pisa: ETS. (16 pp.)
Zukin, S. (2013) L'altra New York. Alla ricerca della metropoli autentica, cap. 2 "Perché Harlem non è un ghetto". Bologna: Il Mulino. (21 pp.)
Zuolo, F. (2015), Condivisione senza appartenenza. L'identità collettiva oltre i gruppi culturali, in «Ragion pratica», 2, 334-350.
Antonelli, F. (2018) Mena e le altre. Ritratto di ragazze di classe popolare fra esclusione scolastica e sociale, in «Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa», 2, 318-339. (18 pp.)
Becker, H. (2017) Outsiders, capp. 1 e 6, Milano, Meltemi. (13, 14 pp.)
Bourdieu, P. (1988) La forza della rappresentazione, in La parola e il potere, Napoli, Guida Editori, 109-119 (10 pp.)
Bourdieu, P. (2012) Capitale simbolico e classi sociali, in «Polis», 3, 401-415 (14 pp.)
Bourgois, P. (2005) Cercando rispetto. Drug economy e cultura di strada, cap. 4 "Mettersi a posto: rispetto e resistenza sul lavoro". Roma: Derive Approdi. (25 pp.)
Cancellieri, A. (2010), Come sopravvivere alla differenza. Etnografia dei confini sociali in un condominio multiculturale, in «Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa» 11-36. (30 pp.)
Cohen, P. (2019 [1972) Il conflitto subculturale e la comunità operaia, in «Studi culturali», 2, 311-328, (17 pp)
Colombo, E., Manzo, L.K.C. (2021) Moglie e buoi da dove vuoi! Rappresentazioni giovanili dell'amore interculturale, in «Polis», 2, pp. 183-208. (22 pp.)
Corchia, L. (2017) I post-subcultural studies e le identità giovanili, in «Studi culturali», 2, pp. 293-320. (22 pp.)
Dei, F. (2021) La cancel culture come subcultura politica, «Psiche», 2, pp. 493-509. (16 pp.)
Di Pasquale, C. (2018) A scuola d'identità, «Il Mulino-Rivisteweb», 3, 429-438. (9 pp.)
Elias N. e Scotson J. (2004) Strategie dell'esclusione, Introduzione: un saggio teorico sulle relazioni tra radicati e esterni, Bologna: Il Mulino. (45 pp.)
Fine, G.A. e Kleinman, S. (2021) Ripensare le sottoculture, in Etnografia e società, a cura di G. Bordieri, G. Zampieri e M. Bortolini, Milano, Mimesis, 113-131. (25 pp.)
Fontana, L., Sparti, D. (2012) Identità indotte. L'uso politico del riconoscimento in Bolivia, in «Studi culturali», 2, 175-200 (25 pp)
Frisina, A. (2014) Negoziare l'Alterita. Focus group e processi di significazione delle immagini tra giovani autoctoni/e e figli/e delle migrazioni in Veneto, in «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 3, 575-597 (20 pp)
Giordano, S. (2013) L'estetica del pregiudizio. L'immagine degli homeless nei media e nella comunicazione dei servizi sociali, in «Etnografia e ricerca qualitativa», 2, 231-255 (24 pp)
Giuliani, G. (2013) «Non ci sono italiani negri». Il colore legittimo nell'Italia contemporanea, in «Studi culturali», 2, 254-267 (13 pp)
Goffman, E. (2010) Stigma, capp. 1 e 3, Roma, Ombre Corte. (36 pp.)
Gruning, B. (2013) Suoni fuori luogo. Una cartografia acustica dei locali pubblici a Bologna, in «Studi culturali», 1, 121-134 (12 pp)
Lusardi, R e Tomelleri, S. (2017) Gli ibridi professionali. Le culture professionali alla prova dell'integrazione socio-sanitaria, in Salute e Società, 3, pp. 11-31. (19 pp.)
Mannocchi, M. (2014) Richiedenti asilo e rifugiati: processi di etichettamento e pratiche di resistenza, in «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 2, 386-406 (20 pp)
Manzo, L.K.C. (2016) «Via via, vieni via di qui!» Il processo di gentrificazione di via Paolo Sarpi, la Chinatown di Milano (1980-2015), in «Archivio di Studi Urbani e Regionali», no. 117 November 2016, pp. 27-50. (19 pp.)
Oberti, M. (2006) La casa e la scuola alle prese con la segregazione, in Lagrange H., Oberti M. (a cura di), La rivolta delle periferie. Precarietà urbana e protesta giovanile: il caso francese, Milano: Bruno Mondadori. (22 pp)
Perino, M. (2013) Da dove vieni? Quanto contano le categorie etnonazionali?, in «Quaderni di Sociologia», 63 63-83.
Perrotta, D. (2014), Violenza simbolica e migranti in Italia. Esperienze di ricerca con operai rumeni e braccianti burkinabé, in «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 1, 149-179
Pitti, I. (2022), Giovani ultras e marginalità sociale: la partecipazione come strategia di resistenza quotidiana, in «Studi di sociologia», 1, 153-168 (14 pp)
Pocecco, A. (2020) La costruzione dello straniero tra narrazioni mediali e rappresentazioni sociali, in «Studi di sociologia», 2, 219-232 (13 pp)
Romito M., (2016) I consigli orientativi agli studenti di origine straniera. Un caso a parte?, «Rassegna italiana di sociologia», 1, 31-54. (18 pp.)
Sacks, H. (1983) Come la polizia valuta la moralità delle persone basandosi sull'aspetto, in Etnometodologia, a cura di P.P. Giglioli e A. Dal Lago, Bologna, Il Mulino, 177-196 (19 pp)
Santorso, S. (2016) La città carceraria. Spazio, comunità e processi di etnicizzazione, in «Etnografia e Ricerca Qualitativa», 2, 227-248. (16 pp.)
Wacquant, L. (2016) I reietti della città: Ghetto, periferia, stato, Introduzione "Ghetto, Banlieue, Favela eccetera: strumenti per ripensare la marginalità avanzata" (12 pp.) +
cap. "Il costo dell'esclusione razziale e sociale a «Bronzeville»". Pisa: ETS. (16 pp.)
Zukin, S. (2013) L'altra New York. Alla ricerca della metropoli autentica, cap. 2 "Perché Harlem non è un ghetto". Bologna: Il Mulino. (21 pp.)
Zuolo, F. (2015), Condivisione senza appartenenza. L'identità collettiva oltre i gruppi culturali, in «Ragion pratica», 2, 334-350.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The evaluation of those who choose to take the course will be the outcome of a weighting of three tests, according to the percentage values expressed in parentheses:
- Tests (35%): students will take three closed-ended tests. The final grade will consist of the average of the three tests. To access the evaluation of the subsequent tests of the attending course, the student must have an average equal to or greater than 18 and get a sufficiency in at least two tests out of the three total. If a student is insufficient in this phase, he/she will have to take the non-attending exam.
- Team work on the bibliographical material (25%): before the lesson on Tuesday of each week, starting from essays and lessons, the group will have to post on the Moodle platform a short and schematic output, outlining: the readings key points, their linkages with the lessons and with relevant examples or other course readings. Besides serving as a basis for the classroom discussion of the Tuesday lesson, at the end of the entire course, two of these works will be evaluated for each group: one will be chosen by the group itself, the other will be drawn by the teacher among the remaining works (with the exception of the one of the first week, which will be a practice for the following works)
- Thesis (40%): individual work (precise indications on the number of pages, etc., will be provided at the time of the assignment, at the end of the course) to be submitted at least 15 days in advance of the chosen exam date. The paper will focus on the sociologically oriented analysis of a daily life personal situation, through the use of concepts examined during the course, referring to the essays and materials previously analyzed.
Modalità di verifica per non frequentanti (english version)
Non-attending students will be evaluated on the same syllabus as the attending students: the manuals and essays indicated in the bibliography, which will be assigned weekly and published - where allowed - on Moodle. The exam will consist of a two-part test. The first part will consist of a test composed of closed-ended questions, aimed at assessing the knowledge of the course bibliography. This part of the exam is to be considered preparatory to the continuation of the test: a negative evaluation, therefore, will result in failing the exam. The second part of the exam will consist of two open-ended questions to be completed in two hours. In the first one, students will be given a text to comment on. In the second, they will be asked to analyze an everyday life situation employing the concepts learned in the course. The final grade will be made up of 40% from the result of the written closed-ended question, 30% from the answer to the first open-ended question, and 30% from the answer to the second open-ended question.
- Tests (35%): students will take three closed-ended tests. The final grade will consist of the average of the three tests. To access the evaluation of the subsequent tests of the attending course, the student must have an average equal to or greater than 18 and get a sufficiency in at least two tests out of the three total. If a student is insufficient in this phase, he/she will have to take the non-attending exam.
- Team work on the bibliographical material (25%): before the lesson on Tuesday of each week, starting from essays and lessons, the group will have to post on the Moodle platform a short and schematic output, outlining: the readings key points, their linkages with the lessons and with relevant examples or other course readings. Besides serving as a basis for the classroom discussion of the Tuesday lesson, at the end of the entire course, two of these works will be evaluated for each group: one will be chosen by the group itself, the other will be drawn by the teacher among the remaining works (with the exception of the one of the first week, which will be a practice for the following works)
- Thesis (40%): individual work (precise indications on the number of pages, etc., will be provided at the time of the assignment, at the end of the course) to be submitted at least 15 days in advance of the chosen exam date. The paper will focus on the sociologically oriented analysis of a daily life personal situation, through the use of concepts examined during the course, referring to the essays and materials previously analyzed.
Modalità di verifica per non frequentanti (english version)
Non-attending students will be evaluated on the same syllabus as the attending students: the manuals and essays indicated in the bibliography, which will be assigned weekly and published - where allowed - on Moodle. The exam will consist of a two-part test. The first part will consist of a test composed of closed-ended questions, aimed at assessing the knowledge of the course bibliography. This part of the exam is to be considered preparatory to the continuation of the test: a negative evaluation, therefore, will result in failing the exam. The second part of the exam will consist of two open-ended questions to be completed in two hours. In the first one, students will be given a text to comment on. In the second, they will be asked to analyze an everyday life situation employing the concepts learned in the course. The final grade will be made up of 40% from the result of the written closed-ended question, 30% from the answer to the first open-ended question, and 30% from the answer to the second open-ended question.
SPS/08 - SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professors:
De Benedittis Mario, Manzo Lidia Katia Consiglia
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
Tuesday 14.30-16.30 and wednesday 14.30-15.30 by appointment via email
1st floor, room 1044 (Sesto)