B025882 - POLITICAL CULTURE AND SOCIAL WORK

Formation and transformations of the national political cultures. Geography and history of the territorial political cultures. The political culture in the transformation of the Italian political system. Political cultures and local politics in Italy. Political cultures and social politics of the Regions and the local governments. The social capital. Political cultures and social capital. Geography and history of the social capital in Italy.

Attending students:
the reference books will be indicated at the beginning of the course.


Not attending students:
Carlo Baccetti, Fare politica senza il partito – ARCI e case del popolo nell’Empolese-Valdelsa, Pisa, Pacini Editori, 2016;
Giovanni Moro, Contro il non profit, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2014;
Robert D. Putnam, Capitale sociale e individualismo – Crisi e rinascita della cultura civica in America, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2004.

KNOWLEDGE Introduction to the specificity and articulations of political cultures. Subnational political cultures in Italy, in the context of European political cultures. Political culture as a form of collective consciousness that develops historically in relation to the specificity of the territory. Reflections on the relationship between transformation of political cultures and transformation of local politics. Relationship between territorial political cultures and social capital.

SKILLS ACQUIRED AT THE END OF THE COURSE Identify and orientate oneself among emerging social problems, the welfare and policy models of the services of reference, the relative organizational dynamics, the social and political characteristics of the local contexts, also in a comparative key. Ability to place welfare models and territorial social work in the context of the cultures and political identities in which they developed and operate.

The first two modules of the course will be occupied by lectures, with the use of slides. The third module provides insights in form of seminars. In particular, students are asked to present written in-depth reports on topics previously treated by the teacher. The reports will be discussed in the classroom and form an integral part of the final evaluation. At the end of the first and second modules there are intermediate tests to verify the knowledge acquired. Intermediate exams are written. The intermediate written exam - which lasts 90 minutes - involves answering a certain number of questions (at least 3 sufficient answers out of 5 questions) that require open answers, with a maximum length of the answers (usually 30 lines). The questions focus on the knowledge acquired during the course.

Oral examination, with possibility to discuss written reports.

Some general aspects of the recent transformation of the Italian political system are illustrated, and the transformations deepen particularly that concern the local political system. Municipalities and Regions. They introduce and the characteristics of the territorial political cultures are discussed and they illustrate the transformations, also in relationship to the changes of the regional political systems. A specific excursus will concern Tuscany. The process of formation of the social capital will be deepened and will be discussed the relationship between territorial cultures and social capital. Will finally be discussed as the change of the political culture modifies the political offer of the local and regional governments, with specific reference to the social politics.