SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

This teaching will provide students with the analytical and methodological tools necessary for a critical approach to interpret current socio-economic and political dynamics in the Southern Mediterranean, by exploring the relation between economic policies, social justice and development as well as the multiple alternatives in response to the dominant development model.

- Students will acquire the analytical and methodological instruments for a critical understanding of the complex social, economic and political dynamics of Southern Mediterranean, through the analysis of a number of key issues (labour, energy, environment and agriculture), numerous case studies and a plurality of sources.

- By problematizing the concepts of social justice and development, students will learn to assess economic policies and cooperation projects according to criteria that valorise bottom-up perspectives.

- Drawing from the analysis of alternative ideas and practices to the dominant development strategies in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and other Southern Mediterranean countries, students will start thinking and reflecting on possible proposals aimed at promoting social justice in the Mediterranean.

- Finally, students will acquire the following skills: Ability to assess, through a critical approach, statistics, documents, projects and policies toward Southern Mediterranean countries in the field of energy, industry, agriculture and employment.

Criteria for admission are the same as for the study programme..

The first part of the course will offer a brief introduction to the following topics:
- Main socio-economic problems of Arab countries
- Historical overview of development strategies implemented from the 1960s to the present.
This introduction will serve as a starting point for the in-depth study of the issues and case studies that will be examined in the second part.

The second part will focus on the following themes, considered central to understanding how the relationship between social justice and development is articulated:
- Informal economy and decent work
- Reproductive labour and gender equality
- Natural resources, environmental justice and social justice
- Agriculture and food sovereignty

For each of these themes, the main problems and causes will be analysed, as well as the policies and projects implemented by governments and international actors in Arab countries. For each theme, alternative discourses and practices that have emerged from below to address the problems and causes discussed will also be explored. In particular, attention will be paid to proposals by scholars, civil society groups and social movements, as well as projects and initiatives aimed at promoting more just, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies.

There is no textbook or volume dedicated to all the topics covered in the course. Therefore, the reference texts for the examination will be academic articles, book chapters, documents from international agencies and reports from non-governmental associations.

The exam programme will be published by May and the texts will be available on the moodle platform.

Non-attending students are requested to contact the lecturer.

The course has two modes of assessment.

The student can choose between two modes:

(a) The first mode consists of four intermediate tests during the course and a written test at the end. During the lectures, students will be asked to work in groups on the four topics mentioned above. At the end, the student has to submit a policy paper of about 3000 words on one of the four topics of his or her choice.

b) The second mode, which replaces the first one, consists of a single final test: an oral examination on the four topics of the programme.

- Power-point presentations
- Case study analysis
- Group activities
- Class discussion
- Analysis of audio sources and videos
- Analysis of secondary sources (academic literature) and primary sources (interviews, official documents, statistical data..)
- Complementary readings on the covered topics (not compulsory for the exam)

Italian

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development