Economic Sociology and Sociology of Organisations

The course aims to introduce students to the analysis of the socio-economic processes characterizing the contemporary societies, with particular regard to the organizational dimension. The first module introduces the basic elements of economic sociology and presents its theoretical and analytical bases, whereas the second module addresses the empirical issues: a comparison between the models of capitalism currently present in Europe and the study of social stratification and inequality in Italy and in Europe. The third module introduces the sociology of the organization. This module provides the main theoretical elements for studying organizations from a sociological perspective, analysing the plurality of their structures.

At the end of the course, students will have an in-depth knowledge of the analytical tools to analyse and interpret the complex interrelations between economic, political and social factors that characterise contemporary societies. Moreover, students will be also able to interpret, even critically, quantitative empirical evidences used in academic and professional contexts. Students will then have the opportunity to complete and integrate the knowledge they have acquired in other technical course, such as Methodology of Social Research and Statistics. From the point of view of the study of organizations, at the end of the course, the students will be able to analyse the complexity of the organizational processes, both in industrial and service organizations. Finally, as the final exam can be integrated, voluntarily, from a group presentation, students will have the opportunity to improve their communication and synthesis skills.