Political Sociology
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course introduces political sociology as a perspective that analyzes the interdependencies between politics and society, based on the assumption that political phenomena cannot be understood in isolation from the social, economic, cultural, and technological processes that shape them. Topics addressed include the historical and contemporary configurations of power; the meanings attributed to politics across different historical and geocultural contexts; the transformations of the state and of sovereignty; the processes of globalization, deglobalization, and re-globalization; and the trajectories of democratization and autocratization, examined in relation to the social and institutional contexts that enable or constrain them. Additional topics include citizenship, understood both as a legal status and as a form of social belonging; individual and collective forms of political action (such as voting or participation in social movements), with attention to social factors — such as gender, age, education, and class — that influence opportunities and modes of participation; the social and historical origins of political values, ideologies, and public opinion; and the processes of mediatization and the logic of digital platforms in contemporary political communication. During the course, attending students will work in small groups on thematic presentations that apply the concepts studied to empirical cases, using data from official sources, international surveys, or digital methods.
Expected learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students will have the theoretical knowledge to understand the fundamental relations between society and politics.
Students will also be able to access the main sources of empirical data that allow them to analyse political events in an independent and informed manner.
By taking part in classroom learning, students will also develop the soft skills to construct and present an empirically grounded argument on the topics addressed during lectures.
Students will also be able to access the main sources of empirical data that allow them to analyse political events in an independent and informed manner.
By taking part in classroom learning, students will also develop the soft skills to construct and present an empirically grounded argument on the topics addressed during lectures.
Lesson period: First trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
A-K
Responsible
Lesson period
First trimester
Course syllabus
- Old and new forms of power: institutions, elites, and digital platforms
- The meanings and tensions of politics: interests, conflict, and technocracy
- The modern state: origins, transformations, tensions with markets, and redefinitions of sovereignty
- Globalization, deglobalization, and reglobalization from a sociological perspective
- Political regimes between democratic recessions and new autocratizations
- Citizenship: legal rights, social identities, and national models in comparison
- Political participation and collective action, from voting to social movements
- Political values, ideologies, and configurations of public opinion
- Media, platforms, and political communication in the age of disinformation
- The meanings and tensions of politics: interests, conflict, and technocracy
- The modern state: origins, transformations, tensions with markets, and redefinitions of sovereignty
- Globalization, deglobalization, and reglobalization from a sociological perspective
- Political regimes between democratic recessions and new autocratizations
- Citizenship: legal rights, social identities, and national models in comparison
- Political participation and collective action, from voting to social movements
- Political values, ideologies, and configurations of public opinion
- Media, platforms, and political communication in the age of disinformation
Prerequisites for admission
The exams in Comparative Social Systems and Political Science are prerequisites for Political Sociology. Only students who have passed both prerequisite exams and are properly registered for the exam session are authorized to take the exam in Political Sociology.
Teaching methods
The course will include: a) lectures; b) practical exercises on methods of empirical analysis; and c) in-class discussion of group assignments presented by attending students.
Teaching Resources
M. Barisione (2025), Sociologia della politica, Mondadori Università, pp. 260.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam will be administered in written form through the Exam.net platform and will consist of a structured set of multiple-choice questions based on the course textbook (Sociologia della politica - including chapters, sections, and thematic boxes), followed by one or more open-ended questions. The total duration of the exam will be 60 minutes. In addition, attending students will have the opportunity to present a group assignment in class, according to guidelines provided during the course, which will result in additional points being added to the written exam grade.
L-Z
Responsible
Lesson period
First trimester
Professor(s)
Reception:
Please, send an e-mail to fix an appointment.
Room 4, First floor, Via Conservatorio or MS Teams Platform