Expressive forms of the social.

Course topic: Images of intimacy and love in contemporary society.

CONTENTS

The course aims to investigate the relationship between subjective inclinations and society, taking as main reference the theme of love and intimacy. During the lessons, with the help of specific texts, we will try to understand how emotions affect social behavior and how society shapes subjective convictions with reference to the emotional world.

Reference texts:

M. Cerulo, Sociologia delle emozioni, Bologna, Il Mulino;

G. Turnaturi, Amorevoli difficili incontri, Napoli - Salerno, Orthotes;

A. Giddens, Le trasformazioni dell’intimità, Bologna, Il Mulino;

G. Simmel, Sull’intimità, Roma, Armando;

G. Simmel, Frammento postumo sull’amore, Milano, Mimesis;

FORMATIVE OBJECTIVES

The course aims to provide the student with the critical tools prepared by the sociology of emotions, to understand some aspects of subjective behavior that do not seem to affect the structure of society and which, in reality, constitute the premise of many social phenomena underway in the contemporary age. Students must be able to organize the approach to the problems that will be called to face, having in mind the unconscious aspect, affective and emotional aspects that affect the behavior of the individuals involved in their intervention in terms of social assistance.

The final assessment consists of an oral exam on the entire syllabus. The aim is to assess students’ skills and in particular, an understanding of the issues discussed during the course, an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme, a correct command of the specific language as well as critical and methodological abilities will be evaluated. The grading scale goes from 1 to 30 with honours (cum laude): 1-17 fail, 18-21 sufficient, 22-24 fair, 25-27 good, 28-29 very good, 30-30 with honours (cum laude) excellent.