Sociology of Organized Crime Advanced
A.Y. 2026/2027
Learning objectives
The course aims to deepen and refine knowledge of the phenomenon of the mafias and of anti-mafia efforts through the adoption of a specific analytical perspective — that of gender — which allows traditionally examined dynamics to be read in a critical and innovative way, dynamics usually analyzed through neutral or implicitly male interpretive categories. The course will explore, on the one hand, women's roles within criminal organizations — in their articulation between the domestic-family sphere and the properly criminal sphere, and in the transformations these roles have undergone over time — and, on the other, women's participation in institutional and social efforts to counter the mafia phenomenon, through their engagement in the anti-mafia movement and in the judiciary. Adopting a gender perspective will make it possible to move beyond a monolithic and stereotyped reading of both female criminal subjectivity and women's anti-mafia commitment, restoring the complexity and plurality of the positions, strategies, and forms of agency deployed by the protagonists of both phenomena.
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. use the category of gender as a tool for the critical analysis of mafia and anti-mafia phenomena;
2. critically reconstruct the historical transformations of women's roles within both criminal and anti-mafia contexts;
3. develop the ability to critically read judicial sources and media representations concerning the role of women in mafia organizations, through the analysis of significant case studies;
4. grasp the political and cultural significance of women's anti-mafia commitment, both within the anti-mafia movement and in the judiciary, including through the critical reading of judicial, memorial, and media sources.
1. use the category of gender as a tool for the critical analysis of mafia and anti-mafia phenomena;
2. critically reconstruct the historical transformations of women's roles within both criminal and anti-mafia contexts;
3. develop the ability to critically read judicial sources and media representations concerning the role of women in mafia organizations, through the analysis of significant case studies;
4. grasp the political and cultural significance of women's anti-mafia commitment, both within the anti-mafia movement and in the judiciary, including through the critical reading of judicial, memorial, and media sources.
Lesson period: Second 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
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second trimester
Course syllabus
The program of the course addresses the topic of mafias and anti-mafia from a gender perspective, and is organized in two parts.
The first part explores the roles played by women within Cosa Nostra and the 'Ndrangheta, analyzing their functions both within the domestic-family sphere and within the properly criminal sphere. Particular attention will be devoted to women's tasks in transmitting mafia values and cultural codes within the family unit, their functions in preserving memory and maintaining balance among affiliated groups, as well as the forms of active participation by women in illicit activities, including economic and financial ones. Specific attention will be given to the transformations these roles have undergone over time, also in light of changes in the organizational strategies of mafia groups.
The second part focuses on the presence and role of women in efforts to counter the mafia phenomenon, distinguishing between women's engagement in the social anti-mafia movement, from the 1980s to the present, and the presence of women in the anti-mafia judiciary, from the early 1990s to the present. The course will examine forms of civil mobilization promoted by women — relatives of victims, activists, witnesses of justice — and the specific contribution of women magistrates to the development of investigations and of anti-mafia legal culture, with attention to the difficulties and resistance encountered in a professional and social field historically marked as male.
The first part explores the roles played by women within Cosa Nostra and the 'Ndrangheta, analyzing their functions both within the domestic-family sphere and within the properly criminal sphere. Particular attention will be devoted to women's tasks in transmitting mafia values and cultural codes within the family unit, their functions in preserving memory and maintaining balance among affiliated groups, as well as the forms of active participation by women in illicit activities, including economic and financial ones. Specific attention will be given to the transformations these roles have undergone over time, also in light of changes in the organizational strategies of mafia groups.
The second part focuses on the presence and role of women in efforts to counter the mafia phenomenon, distinguishing between women's engagement in the social anti-mafia movement, from the 1980s to the present, and the presence of women in the anti-mafia judiciary, from the early 1990s to the present. The course will examine forms of civil mobilization promoted by women — relatives of victims, activists, witnesses of justice — and the specific contribution of women magistrates to the development of investigations and of anti-mafia legal culture, with attention to the difficulties and resistance encountered in a professional and social field historically marked as male.
Prerequisites for admission
none
Teaching methods
The course forsees teacher-led lessons, lectures given by experts, reading of primary sources - such as judicial files, law enforcement agencies' reports and first-hand accounts of witnesses and magistrates.
Teaching Resources
ATTENDING STUDENTS
Ingrascì, O., Il potere delle donne nella mafia siciliana tra dinamiche organizzative e processi di soggettivazione-assoggettamento, in "Sociologia del diritto", n. 3/2022, pp. 113-131.
Ingrascì, O., Microfisica del potere mafioso. Una lettura foucaultiana del dispositivo familiare nella 'ndrangheta, in "Fuori luogo. Rivista di Sociologia del Territorio, Turismo e Tecnologia", Vol. 11, n.1, pp. 51-62, 2022.
Rispoli, F., Hunger as Protest. The "Fasting Women of Palermo", in Rivista di Studi e Ricerche sulla criminalità organizzata, v. 10, n. 2, 2024.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
Ingrascì, O., Il potere delle donne nella mafia siciliana tra dinamiche organizzative e processi di soggettivazione-assoggettamento, in "Sociologia del diritto", n. 3/2022, pp. 113-131.
Ingrascì, O., Microfisica del potere mafioso. Una lettura foucaultiana del dispositivo familiare nella 'ndrangheta, in "Fuori luogo. Rivista di Sociologia del Territorio, Turismo e Tecnologia", Vol. 11, n.1, pp. 51-62, 2022.
OSCE, Understanding the Role of Women in Organized Crime, 2023, Understanding the Role of Women in Organized Crime | Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Donne di mafia, Meridiana, 67, 2010
Rispoli, Francesca, Hunger as Protest. The "Fasting Women of Palermo", in Rivista di Studi e Ricerche sulla criminalità organizzata, v. 10, n. 2, 2024.
Ingrascì, O., Il potere delle donne nella mafia siciliana tra dinamiche organizzative e processi di soggettivazione-assoggettamento, in "Sociologia del diritto", n. 3/2022, pp. 113-131.
Ingrascì, O., Microfisica del potere mafioso. Una lettura foucaultiana del dispositivo familiare nella 'ndrangheta, in "Fuori luogo. Rivista di Sociologia del Territorio, Turismo e Tecnologia", Vol. 11, n.1, pp. 51-62, 2022.
Rispoli, F., Hunger as Protest. The "Fasting Women of Palermo", in Rivista di Studi e Ricerche sulla criminalità organizzata, v. 10, n. 2, 2024.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
Ingrascì, O., Il potere delle donne nella mafia siciliana tra dinamiche organizzative e processi di soggettivazione-assoggettamento, in "Sociologia del diritto", n. 3/2022, pp. 113-131.
Ingrascì, O., Microfisica del potere mafioso. Una lettura foucaultiana del dispositivo familiare nella 'ndrangheta, in "Fuori luogo. Rivista di Sociologia del Territorio, Turismo e Tecnologia", Vol. 11, n.1, pp. 51-62, 2022.
OSCE, Understanding the Role of Women in Organized Crime, 2023, Understanding the Role of Women in Organized Crime | Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Donne di mafia, Meridiana, 67, 2010
Rispoli, Francesca, Hunger as Protest. The "Fasting Women of Palermo", in Rivista di Studi e Ricerche sulla criminalità organizzata, v. 10, n. 2, 2024.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Evaluation of attending students is based on:
1) engagement into class activities and discussion in the classroom (20% of evaluation);
2) oral exam (60% of evaluation) evaluating:
- the students' knowledge about the course' topics, with reference both to the lectures and the material foreseen in the program for attending students;
- students' capacity to critically read the sources analysed in class during the course;
- student's capacity to correctly express themselves using terms and notions appropriate to the course's content.
Evaluation of non-attending students is based on an oral exam that is intended to evaluate:
1) the students' knowledge about the course' topics, with reference to the book and essays indicated for non-attending students;
2) student's capacity to correctly express themselves using terms and notions appropriate to the cou
rse's content.
1) engagement into class activities and discussion in the classroom (20% of evaluation);
2) oral exam (60% of evaluation) evaluating:
- the students' knowledge about the course' topics, with reference both to the lectures and the material foreseen in the program for attending students;
- students' capacity to critically read the sources analysed in class during the course;
- student's capacity to correctly express themselves using terms and notions appropriate to the course's content.
Evaluation of non-attending students is based on an oral exam that is intended to evaluate:
1) the students' knowledge about the course' topics, with reference to the book and essays indicated for non-attending students;
2) student's capacity to correctly express themselves using terms and notions appropriate to the cou
rse's content.
GSPS-08/A - Sociology of Economic and Labour Processes - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Ingrasci' Ombretta
Professor(s)