At the end of the course the student, who will have actively attended and participated in the planned activities, will be able to:
1) define and distinguish the concepts of:
- collective actor (association, interest and pressure group, social movement, trade union, party, institution);
- individual actor (individual, subject, citizen);
- participation and activation;
- asymmetry and hierarchy;
- authority and trust;
2) to interpret the processes of horizontalization between individuals, groups and institutions connected to the social change of contemporary societies
3) analyse the structuring of individual and collective actors within specific contexts
4) evaluate the opportunities deriving from the adoption of participatory and activation processes
5) plan participatory processes (involvement of groups) and activation (involvement of individuals) in specific contexts.

The basic knowledge of political sociology is suggested.

For this purpose any edition of a Handbook of Political Sociology may be used. Suggested: M. Rush, Politics and Society. An Introduction to Political Sociology, Routledge.

The course includes:

- 40 hours of taught class

- 4 hours for the presentation and discussion in the classroom of individual papers

- 4 hours for the presentation and discussion in the classroom of group papers

The Course is organized into five Didactic Units (UD):

UD1 - Concepts for interpreting change

UD2 - The horizontalization of relationships

UD3 - The analysis of the context (individual and group actors)

UD4 – The opportunities emerging from the context

UD5 - The plan of participatory processes (involvement of groups) and activation processes (involvement of individuals)

To take the exam, foreign students (Erasmus+ program or other international programs of mobility) must contact the Professor at least two months before the exam.

Para tomar el examen, los estudiantes extranjeros (Programa Erasmus+ u otros programas internacionales de movilidad) deben contactar al Profesor como mínimo dos meses antes del examen.

Pour passer l'examen, les étudiants étrangers (Programme Erasmus+ ou autres programmes internationaux de mobilité) doivent contacter le professeur au moins deux mois avant l'examen.

Evaluation criteria

To pass the exam, the candidate must demonstrate a level of learning that is at least sufficient for each of the Didactic Units.

The evaluation criteria for the questions consist in: coherence of the answer with the commissioner's question, knowledge of the issues addressed, precision and ownership of the scientific language on the topic, ability to link related topics, argumentation supporting autonomous reasoning, synthesis capacity, effectiveness in proposing the reflections of the authors treated, synergistic use of the knowledge acquired from the texts and lessons.

The evaluation criteria of the exercises consist of: application of knowledge and understanding skills, degree of in-depth analysis of the structuring of individual and collective actors within the specific contexts considered, accuracy of the evaluation of opportunities arising from the adoption of processes participation and activation in the contexts considered, feasibility of the project for the realization of participatory processes or activation within the context considered. 

The Commission is designated by the Department Council and chaired by the course Professor.