OVERVIEW

The teaching belongs to the characterising formative activities of the course of study ("Historical-social, juridical-economic, political and international relations disciplines") and is held by a university lecturer belonging to the Department of Political and International Sciences. The teaching is based on the scientific-disciplinary sector SPS/11 (Sociology of Political Phenomena).

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is aimed at providing students with: the specific knowledge through which the sociological approach analyses the public opinion as a process of interaction between the civil society and the sphere of strategic decisions as well as the basic knowledge for institutional communication’s analysis; the ability to understand the most relevant contemporary transformations in the reference fields in relation to the ongoing social change; the ability to apply knowledge and understanding skills to other specific contexts or case-studies aimed at critical and autonomous analysis.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the teaching, students will have acquired:

- The specialized sociological knowledge of public opinion as a process of interaction between civil society and the sphere of binding strategic decisions;

- The knowledge and skills for analyzing political and institutional communication;

- The skills to critically analyze the communication dynamics that characterize the digital public sphere, including in relation to phenomena such as the disintermediation of communication, personalization, the entry of post-truth, and conflicts between science and politics;

- The ability to understand the most relevant contemporary transformations in the relevant fields in relation to ongoing social change;

- The ability to apply knowledge and understanding skills to specific contexts or targeted case studies for the purpose of critical and autonomous analysis.

The teaching adheres to the Unige Open Badge project, aimed at promoting the acquisition of soft skills.

As part of the teaching there will be a module (6 hours, equal to 1 cfu) in which students will take part in a laboratory in which they will experience interactive participation modes (e.g. world café; goal oriented project planning), aimed at the shared design of a communication campaign/strategy and/or a research project. Following the workshop module, students - in groups - will develop the projectsia, from the proposals that emerged in the discussion - and present them at the end of class. An additional six hours (1 cfu) are provided for the presentation and discussion of the projects.

Participation in the workshop is worth acquiring the open badge, at the basic level, in the transversal skills "literacy-functional competence," "social competence," "project creation skills," and "personal competence." 

Open badges will be awarded to students who participate to the workshop. . 

In line with the direction expressed by the University of Genoa, the teaching endorses and promotes the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

PREREQUISITES

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons will be held in presence.

Frontal lectures, group discussions and individual exercises are planned.

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 course layout.

Futher detail are available on Aulaweb: students are asked to register to Aulaweb prior to the begining of the lessons. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The teaching is structured in 5 Didactic Units (UD): 

UD1 –  The public sphere: theoretical models

UD2 – The political-electoral communication

UD3 – The digitalization of public sphere

UD4 – The institutional communication

UD5 - Communication strategy workshop

UD6 - Presentation of case studies 

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LUCA RAFFINI (President)

ANDREA FABRIZIO PIRNI

STEFANO BONABELLO (Substitute)

ANDREA CATANZARO (Substitute)

MARCO LIBBI (Substitute)

AGOSTINO MASSA (Substitute)

PAOLO PARRA SAIANI (Substitute)

ANNA REGGIARDO (Substitute)

DOMENICO ANDREA SCHIUMA (Substitute)

ANDREA SCOLARI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The coursel begin the 9 October 2023. 

Class schedule

SOCIOLOGY OF PUBLIC OPINION AND INSTITUTIONAL COMMUNICATION

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

ERASMUS students can take the exam in English, Spanish or French. The Commission is designated by the Department Council and chaired by the course professor.    

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Oral examination. The evaluation criteria are:  competence and fluency of argumentations, precision of scientific language, link capability between related subject, arguments in support of autonomous reasoning, synthesis capabilities.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Non-attending students are asked to contact the teacher at least three months before the exam session they decide to take the exam.