LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides students with the perspective with which political sociology studies the European Union. The objectives are

- to acquire the tools to analyse the forms, the outcomes, the problems related to the integration process, on a social and political level

- to acquire the competences to understand the features of the EU as a "post-national" society, in terms of institutional dynamics, redefinition of citizenship and social practices;

- to develop the ability to apply knowledge and understanding to specific contexts or case studies aimed at critical and autonomous analysis.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students will have acquired the following skills

1.         The specific knowledge with which the sociological perspective analyses European society, as a sui generis society, which is constructed and transformed by the interaction between the institutional dimension and the social practices developed within civil society and everyday life.

2.         The basic knowledge for the analysis of Europeanisation processes and for the understanding of the characteristics that define European society;

3.         The ability to understand the most relevant areas of social and political change affecting European society in the context of globalisation;

4.         The ability to apply knowledge and understanding to specific contexts or case-studies aimed at the critical and autonomous analysis of specific aspects, such as the Europeanisation of everyday life and European digitisation strategies, the future of European society in the post-Covid scenario.

PREREQUISITES

The acquisition of basic knowledge of sociology and political sociology is suggested.

To acquire a basic knowledge of political sociology we suggest:  Fabio de Nardis, Understanding Politics and Society, Springer, 2020.

To acquire a basic knowledge of sociology we suggest: Anthony Giddens and Philip W. Sutton, Essential concepts in Sociology, Polity Press, 2017.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures, group discussions of common readings, individual or group exercises.

If required by the epidemiological situation, the course will be held in distance learning mode, according to the specifications that will be published in good time on the AulaWeb instance.

Students are asked to register for the course on AulaWeb, where they will find teaching materials (texts, video lectures and any other materials), reference texts and up-to-date information on the structure of the course.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is divided into 4 learning units:

1 Politics and society in Europe: a sociological perspective

2 The Europeanisation of everyday life

3 The digital transformation of the EU

4 The EU post-Brexit and post-Covid

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY