Learning objectives
The course aims to analyse contemporary educational processes from a sociological approach. At the end of the course the student is expected to be able to:
- to know and understand the main concepts and research strands of the sociology of educational processes, with special reference to contemporary authors in the discipline;
-to apply the concepts and research studied to a critical analysis of the role of the educational worlds in the reproduction of social inequalities, with special attention to neoliberal policies;
-to be able to independently analyse and interpret the political and non-neutral nature of formal education in the construction of school and social trajectories;
-to be able to communicate and make explicit in the sociological analysis of the educational worlds the field of conflict that characterises them, especially in relation to the contemporary neo-liberal dimension;
-to Be able to apply the knowledge and interpretative methods learnt during the course to the professional contexts of reference, putting them at the service of one's own professional action in various possible fields of intervention.
Prerequisites
The course does not have any mandatory prerequisites, however it is facilitated if courses in the sociological area and, in particular, courses in Sociology of Education have been taken previously
Course unit content
The course presents an introduction to the analysis of the educational and training worlds from a sociological approach, starting from a post-Bourdesian perspective. The programme privileges the study of the schooling of working-class youth subcultures, also from a gender perspective, as well as the analysis of the neo-liberal processes at work in schools and universities. In the last part of the course, the theoretical perspective of ‘border studies’ is proposed for the study of educational contexts, analysing the social frontiers that characterise them and the ways in which they are structured.
Full programme
The first part of the course deals with the analysis of the main research strands and theoretical approaches of the sociology of educational and training processes from a post-Bourdesian perspective, linked in particular to the recent tradition of qualitative and ethnographic research, starting with approaches such as Cultural Studies (Paul Willis) and interactionist approaches (Peter Woods). Various contemporary sociological studies on popular class youth subcultures in educational contexts, stigmatisation and racialisation processes, including from a gender perspective, are presented. Likewise, the neo-liberal processes at work in schools and universities are analysed, delving into the dimension of academic and cognitive precariousness, as well as the restructuring of crucial contemporary phenomena such as migration processes. Starting from the analysis of the social borders that take shape in the educational and training worlds, a final focus of the course presents the conceptual perspective of ‘border studies’, in a line of research that proposes the border as a ‘method’ and reflects on borders and processes of ‘differential inclusion’ at school, as well as on the representations and imaginaries that have been generated around undocumented migration in contemporary Europe.
Through the possibility of free choice of two essays from an extensive list and one book from several possible proposals, students can orientate a preference on the course focus most inclined to their own interests to be explored for the examination.
Bibliography
Three mandatory essays:
Willis P. (1997) Il significato di classe della controcultura scolastica. In: Morgagni E. e Russo A. (a cura di) L’educazione in sociologia. Testi scelti. Clueb: Bologna, pp. 293-319.
Woods P. (1997) Gli interessi e le strategie degli allievi. In: Morgagni E. e Russo A. (a cura di) L’educazione in sociologia. Testi scelti. Clueb: Bologna, pp. 259-291.
Antonelli F. (2018) Mena e le altre. Ritratto di ragazze di classe popolare fra esclusione scolastica e sociale. Etnografia e Ricerca Qualitativa, 2: 319-339.
Two essays of your choice from the list of essays in Elly (NB: In the document on the platform the indications for making your choice)
One book of your choice from the following two:
Caroselli A. (2022) Palestre di precarietà. Una etnografia delle pratiche conflittuali nella formazione tecnica e professionale. Verona: Ombre Corte.
Filippi D. (2024) Vita Curriculi. Università neoliberale, meritocrazia e la rincorsa al CV. Torino: Rosenberg & Sellier.
Or a book of your choice from the following two:
Giliberti L., Queirolo Palmas L. (2024) Boza! Diari dalla frontiera. Milano: Elèuthera.
Giliberti L. (2020) Abitare la frontiera. Lotte neorurali e solidarietà ai migranti sul confine franco-italiano. Ombre Corte: Verona.
(NB. Only one book in total to choose from the two lists)
The programmes are the same for attending and non-attending students.
Teaching methods
The course favours an approach centred on participation and the co-production of knowledge, foreseeing the use and integration of different teaching methods: frontal lectures; dialectical and interactive lectures based on moments of discussion; viewing of documentaries related to the themes in question and debate; seminar meetings with experts and members of associations.
Assessment methods and criteria
The examination is conducted by means of an oral interview, in which students will be able to demonstrate that they have acquired the main concepts and theories of the discipline, that they know how to analyse and argue the perspectives and results of the research of their choice, and that they have developed the ability to reason critically on the topics studied.
The assessment of the examination is based on the following indicators: knowledge and understanding of the syllabus content; critical ability to analyse, rework the content and argue the issues studied; ability to apply concepts and theories of the discipline to the research analysed and to one's own experience; ability to present the subject in a clear manner and with appropriate language.
The grade is awarded as follows:
- the insufficiency is determined by the lack of knowledge of the minimum contents of the teaching, as well as the absence of the other capacities made explicit by the assessment indicators;
- grades 18-22/30 correspond to barely sufficient/sufficient preparation;
- grades 23-26/30 correspond to more than sufficient preparation;
- grades 27-29/30 correspond to good/very good preparation;
- grades 30/30 and 30/30 cum laude correspond to excellent and exceptional preparation respectively.
Other information
All course materials, including pdf essays (both compulsory and choice essays) and the list of choice essays, can be found on the Elly Platform.
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
Goal 4: Quality education; Goal 10: Reduce inequalities
