ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY

The course introduces the students to the key themes, concepts and theoretical perspectives of economic sociology. It contributes to the acquisition of a basic sociological culture that fosters an understanding of the dynamics of contemporary societies. Thus, the course aims at providing basic knowledge useful for understanding economic facts as social facts. To this end, the course offers weekly interactive activities, workshops, and exercises to experiment with the application of acquired knowledge in the real world. Each year, the professor presents a relevant theme or topic of study. For the Academic Year 2024/2025 the topic is: "Culture & Tourism in Venice". Students will need to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts by applying them to the real world (in this case, Venice).

At the end of the course students:
- Are familiar with the main terms and concepts used in classical sociology for the study of economic processes and in particular for understanding the rise of capitalism;
- Are familiar with the main themes and concepts used in the "new economic sociology";
- Are able to understand the main interpretative categories of the discipline;
- Are able to use the fundamental concepts to study and to understand sociological researches;
- Are able to analyse and discuss contemporary problems investigated by sociologists, with particular attention to socio-economic phenomena;
- Are familiar with and able to identify phenomena related to social and economic innovation.

It is suggested that students have basic knowledge of sociological theories (or are familiar with the basic concepts and theoretical approaches of sociology).

Five thematic blocks constitute the course.
The blocks consist of 2-3 lessons each:
The arguments of the blocks are the following:
1. Introduction to economic sociology and its terminology (1st week of the course);
2. The classics of economic sociology, including Marx, Weber, and Durkheim (2nd week of the course);
3. The economic sociology of embeddedness, featuring Polanyi, Granovetter, and neo-institutionalist sociologists (3rd week of the course);
4. The economic sociology of innovation, exploring Schumpeter and open innovation-triple helix innovation (4th week of the course);
5. Social innovation and its impact on local communities (5th week of the course).
After each thematic block, a workshop is conducted by the professor to apply the knowledge gained during the lectures to the monographic theme of the course: "Culture & Tourism in Venice".

In this way, the first part of the course (weeks 1 and 2) introduces the main notions useful for the analysis of contemporary economic problems and explores the main themes and approaches of classical economic sociology. In this part, the focus is on the theme of the economy as an institutional process and on the concept of embeddedness of economic processes in social systems (with particular attention to the work of Marx, Weber, Polanyi and Schumpeter). The second part of the course (weeks 3, 4, and 5) is dedicated to topics that have dominated the research agenda of economic sociologists in recent years, especially to study of social construction of economic innovation. This part focuses on the recent development of economic sociology, with particular attention to the structuralist approach of Granovetter, the new sociological institutionalism of Zukin, Powell and DiMaggio, and the new and emerging approaches to economic and social innovation.
The arguments of the two parts of the course will be directly applied to the analysis of the phenomena related to the monographic theme of the course.

Carlo Trigilia, Economic Sociology: State, Market, and Society in Modern Capitalism, Blackwell Publishing
Other papers will be suggested during classes and uploaded within the Moodle space of the course.

The examination is organised in two parts: production of a written text on the course topics (maximum 20 points) + written test based on 20 multiple choice questions (maximum 10 points).
- Evaluation method for multiple choice questions (max 10 p.):
The test consists of 20 multiple-choice questions, with three/four alternatives of which only one is correct. For each correct answer, 0.5 points are assigned; for each incorrect answer, 0.2 points are deducted; each missing answer is worth 0 points. Maximum total score for the first test: 10 points.
- Evaluation method for the essay (max 10 p.):
A. Scores in the range of 12-14.5 will be awarded in the presence of:
i) Sufficient knowledge and applied comprehension skills in reference to the programme;
ii) Limited ability to collect and/or interpret data, formulating independent judgments;
iii) Sufficient communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language pertaining to the economic functioning of public services;
B. Scores in the range of 14.6-17.5 will be awarded in the presence of:
i) Fair knowledge and applied comprehension skills in reference to the programme;
ii) Fair ability to collect and/or interpret data, formulating independent judgments;
iii) Fair communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language pertaining to the economic functioning of public services;
C. Scores in the range of 17.6-20 will be awarded in the presence of:
i) Good or excellent knowledge and applied comprehension skills in reference to the programme;
ii) Good or excellent ability to collect and/or interpret data, formulating independent judgments;
iii) Fully appropriate communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language pertaining to the economic functioning of public services.

Honours will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and applied comprehension skills in reference to the programme, judgment skills, and communication abilities.

The final assessment, in general, focuses on:
- Understanding of the main themes, concepts, theories, and empirical elements covered in the course;
- The ability to clearly articulate these key elements and the terms of historical and contemporary debates on economic processes;
- The ability to apply concepts and theories to concrete cases;
- The ability to critically address questions and problems.

The course will be based on lectures and workshops
During the plenary lessons, the main themes, concepts and theories will be introduced also with the use of PowerPoint presentations and different documents (photos, videos, etc.). Here, the professor is available to answer general questions about the course content, study materials, examination methods, etc.
For the workshop/laboratory meetings, students will be organised into small groups and they will have to explore and apply concepts and present their main outputs in dialogue with the professor. The workshops are designed to aid understanding, stimulate critical analysis and discussion of contemporary issues and problems in the light of the theoretical and empirical contribution of economic sociology.

English

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development