A shared project for society and cultural heritage
The Ph.D. in Philosophical, Social, Cultural Heritage and Environmental Sciences is designed to train highly qualified professionals for research activities in public and private entities, as well as for relevant liberal professions. These professionals contribute to the realization of the European Higher Education Area (European Higher Education Area-EHEA) and the European Research Area (European Research Area-ERA).
The PhD course is designed to align with the vision and mission of the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Cultural Industries, established in 2017. It is grounded in research across the humanities, social sciences, and various forms of creativity. This collaborative endeavor is focused on fostering a dynamic dialogue between tradition and contemporaneity, with a commitment to continuing updating knowledge.
This dialogue emphasizes strong interdisciplinarity, cultivated through a series of connections that aim to train researchers who understand the impact of humanistic knowledge on building cohesive, inclusive societies that respect the environment and diverse forms of cultural heritage.
To this end, we promote cross-disciplinary teaching activities and collaborations with other humanistic and scientific doctorates of the University. We also promote doctoral research that can integrate the methodologies of several fields, without prejudice to the specialised level of the disciplinary competences to be trained. Specifically, the interaction between philosophical and socio-anthropological disciplines, as well as between pedagogical and artistic disciplines, can foster knowledge and planning in areas such as reflection on socialisation codes and forms, cognitive mechanisms and reality perception, training in landscape custody and awareness, and in the preservation of both material and immaterial cultural heritage, also with a view to intercultural and intergenerational relations. The city of Parma's strong connection with the museum system, dedicated not only to the artistic heritage but also to the gastronomic and business heritage, is being leveraged by this research. A steering committee, which includes Italian and international scholars, local stakeholders and stakeholders involved in the overall project, including research financed by ministerial grants, is being coordinated by the doctorate. To promote training in the dissemination of research results, transversal modules are offered to the entire doctoral school on scientific communication, participation in conferences and competitive calls.
These training activities are focused on doctoral students, whose growth as an integral part of the scientific community is promoted and fostered. This includes participation, also as speakers, in national and international congresses, workshops and/or training schools.
In the domain of cultural heritage, a notable strength of the course lies in the endeavours of the Communication Study and Archive Centre (CSAC). The primary function of the CSAC is the collection, preservation, cataloguing and promotion of diverse forms of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The Centre's activities encompass scientific consultancy, pedagogical support and the organisation of exhibitions, employing innovative and captivating design to engage the PhD students.