Corporate and Public Administration Communication

The course analyses the phenomenon of consumption from a sociological perspective, as a social and communicative act, focusing on the dimension of the consumption experience, its agency and its relationship with the socio-cultural context and its link with power strategies. In particular, the course intends to provide knowledge and skills useful for understanding the social and symbolic meaning of the consumption act, the social dimensions of the consumption experience, the role of consumption objects in recognition processes, the function of identity construction and communication, and the socio-cultural trends of consumption. A specific focus will be devoted to emerging consumption practices such as critical consumption, responsible consumption, antagonistic consumption, prosumerism and the relationship between consumption tactics and power strategies. The course is divided into three parts. The first part, consisting of 12 lectures of 2 hours each, aims to provide knowledge and skills related to the main sociological approaches to the theme of consumption, the notions of consumption and experience, the social, economic, psychological and anthropological aspects of consumption behaviour, and the principles, theories, terms, rules, procedures, methods and techniques relating to the area of study of consumption. The second part, consisting of 6 lessons of 2 hours each, aims to train the student to understand and manage the complexity of consumer behaviour, to identify determinants and models of choice, to analyse socio-cultural trends that influence lifestyles and the consumption experience, especially in relation to the most recent practices of critical and antagonistic consumption. The third part, consisting of 6 lectures of 2 hours each, focuses on the application of the knowledge of the sociology of consumption to the performance of tasks, the resolution of theoretical or practical problems and the critical evaluation of specific consumption practices.

Basic knowledge of sociology

For attending students: 1. V. Codeluppi, Sociologia dei consumi, Carocci, Roma, 2022 + preparation of a paper on one of the topics proposed in class For non-attending students: 1. V. Codeluppi, Sociologia dei consumi, Carocci, Roma, 2022 2. F. Forno, P. Graziani, Il consumo critico. Una relazione solidale tra chi acquista e chi produce, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2016.

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended, given the learning objectives and the focus of the course.

For the students attending the course, learning will be assessed by means of an essay on a topic agreed upon with the lecturer and an oral exam. Non-attending students will be tested by means of an oral exam. The final assessment is structured as follows: Grade: 28-30 - Descriptive parameters: The learning objectives have been achieved at an excellent level. In particular, the student demonstrates excellent knowledge, capacity for expression, ability to use appropriate language with respect to the specificity of the discipline, confidence in exposition, ability to evaluate critically and analytically, ability to link topics and to present original examples. Grade: 24-27 - Descriptive parameters: The educational objectives have been achieved at a good level. In particular, the student demonstrates good knowledge of the topics of the course, a satisfactory ability to express himself/herself, a certain competence in the use of specialist language, good confidence in exposition, and a fair ability to evaluate critically and analytically and to present original examples. Grade: 18-23 Descriptive parameters The educational objectives have been achieved at a sufficient level. In particular, the student demonstrates that he/she has some formative gaps, does not always use appropriate language and shows elementary thematic, analytical and communicative knowledge and skills. Grade: <18 - Descriptive parameters: The learning outcomes have not been achieved to a sufficient level. In particular, the student demonstrates that he/she does not always use appropriate language, lacks critical capacity, has serious learning gaps and has difficulty in orienting him/herself in relation to the topics of the course.

The class will use lectures, analysis of case studies, exercises, possible testimonies of professionals, and flipped classroom. The lectures, the flipped classroom experiences, the testimonies of professionals and the analysis of case studies are functional to the acquisition of knowledge and comprehension skills indicated in the learning objectives. Flipped classroom and exercises are functional to the development of communication skills, analysis and critical evaluation skills, and autonomous learning skills.

The course analyses the phenomenon of consumption from a sociological perspective, as a social and communicative act, focusing on the dimension of the consumption experience, its agency and its relationship with the socio-cultural context and its link with power strategies. In particular, the course intends to provide knowledge and skills useful for understanding the social and symbolic meaning of the consumption act, the social dimensions of the consumption experience, the role of consumption objects in recognition processes, the function of identity construction, gender representaion and communication, and the socio-cultural trends of consumption. A specific focus will be devoted to emerging consumption practices such as critical consumption, responsible consumption, antagonistic consumption, prosumerism and the relationship between consumption tactics and power strategies. The course is divided into three parts. The first part aims to provide knowledge and skills related to the main sociological approaches to the theme of consumption, the notions of consumption and experience, the social, economic, psychological and anthropological aspects of consumption behaviour, and the principles, theories, terms, rules, procedures, methods and techniques relating to the area of study of consumption. The second part aims to train the student to understand and manage the complexity of consumer behaviour, to identify determinants and models of choice, to analyse socio-cultural trends that influence lifestyles and the consumption experience, especially in relation to the most recent practices of critical and responsible consumption and to the sustainability issues. The third part focuses on the application of the knowledge of the sociology of consumption to the performance of tasks, the resolution of theoretical or practical problems and the critical evaluation of specific consumption practices.

Basic knowledge of sociological concepts and theories.

For attending students: 1. Codeluppi V., Manuale di sociologia dei consumi, Carocci, Roma, 2022. 2. Roberti, G. (2022), Female influencers: Analyzing the social media representation of female subjectivity in Italy, "Frontiers in Sociology", 7 (available at the enclosed link https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2022.1024043/full). For attending students the submission of a final paper and participation in classroom exercises is mandatory. Slides published by the professor on Google Classroom are considered an integral part of the examination programme. For non-attending students: 1. Codeluppi V., Manuale di sociologia dei consumi, Carocci, Roma, 2022. 2. Roberti, G. (2022), Female influencers: Analyzing the social media representation of female subjectivity in Italy, "Frontiers in Sociology", 7 (available at the enclosed link https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2022.1024043/full). 3. F. Forno, P. Graziani, Il consumo critico. Una relazione solidale tra chi acquista e chi produce, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2016. Slides published by the professor on Google Classroom are considered an integral part of the examination programme.

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended, given the learning objectives and the focus of the course.

For the students attending the course, learning will be assessed by means of an essay on a topic agreed upon with the lecturer and a written exam. Non-attending students will be tested by means of a written exam. The final assessment is structured as follows: Grade: 28-30 - Descriptive parameters: The learning objectives have been achieved at an excellent level. In particular, the student demonstrates excellent knowledge, capacity for expression, ability to use appropriate language with respect to the specificity of the discipline, confidence in exposition, ability to evaluate critically and analytically, ability to link topics and to present original examples. Grade: 24-27 - Descriptive parameters: The educational objectives have been achieved at a good level. In particular, the student demonstrates good knowledge of the topics of the course, a satisfactory ability to express himself/herself, a certain competence in the use of specialist language, good confidence in exposition, and a fair ability to evaluate critically and analytically and to present original examples. Grade: 18-23 Descriptive parameters The educational objectives have been achieved at a sufficient level. In particular, the student demonstrates that he/she has some formative gaps, does not always use appropriate language and shows elementary thematic, analytical and communicative knowledge and skills. Grade: <18 - Descriptive parameters: The learning outcomes have not been achieved to a sufficient level. In particular, the student demonstrates that he/she does not always use appropriate language, lacks critical capacity, has serious learning gaps and has difficulty in orienting him/herself in relation to the topics of the course.

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The teaching will use lectures, analysis of case studies, exercises, possible testimonies of professionals, and flipped classroom. The lectures, the flipped classroom experiences, the testimonies of professionals and the analysis of case studies are functional to the acquisition of knowledge and comprehension skills indicated in the learning objectives. Flipped classroom and exercises are functional to the development of communication skills, analysis and critical evaluation skills, and autonomous learning skills.