Course Topics
What is society and how it is observed: issues, problems and methodology of sociology Basic concepts of sociology: role, status, group, class, structure, institution. The stages and design of social research: from hypotheses to theoretical dimension, operational concepts for field research. Qualitative research: life histories The protosociologists and main theories Early Sociology: Introduction to the basic concepts of sociology in the work of K. Marx É. Durkheim, solidarity; the study of suicide; the elementary forms of religious life. Max Weber: the process of rationalization in modernity; typologies; the social action and power. Structure of values. Georg Simmel, How society is possible, the conflict of modern civilization; The elitists: G. Mosca, R. Michels., V. Pareto: The logical and non-logical actions, the circulation of elites, the concept of the ruling class. Contemporary sociological approaches

Teaching format
Lectures and class presentations.

Educational objectives
Principles and foundations of sociology sps07 general sociology, area di base The aim of the course is to provide students with a general ability to understand social dynamics and their overall implications in the communication society. The learning outcomes need to refer to the Dublin Descriptors: - Knowledge and understanding - Applying knowledge and understanding - Making judegments - Communication skills - Learning skills

Assessment
- written exam - (open-ended questions) + optional oral exam to verify the elaboration of experiences and/or topics of the course + Project work (written projects/applied projects/class presentation)

Evaluation criteria
The final grade will be based on: relevant to the written exam (with questions): - ability to interact with the concepts and theories and apply them to everyday situations; - logical structure - ability to argue - accuracy For the oral exam: speaking skills, argumentation skills, critical analysis skills, ability to summarize in one's own words, reflection. Written projects or class presentations will be evaluated with a plus or a minus on the basis of: - communication skills shown - abilities to summarize topics - ability to argue - accuracy