The primary objective of the course is the acquisition of the sociological skills necessary to interpret both modernization processes and tourism components. The teaching aims at making students familiar with the main categories, perspectives and the vocabulary of classical sociological theories and contemporary social research on modernity and tourism. Students are required to develop both sociological sensitivity to the topics they are interested in, and the ability to discursively communicate such sensitivity in the appropriate ways.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of modern and contemporary history is a necessary requirement for successful participation in the teaching.
Teaching Methods
The course adopts three main teaching methods: a) lectures, followed by class discussions; b) “flipped classroom,” with readings, reworking, and feedback by students on texts assigned by the professor; c) group exercises.
Assessment Methods
The method of verifying knowledge and skills consists of an oral exam, including open questions based on the contents and approaches presented. Attending students will be given the possibility to integrate the oral exam with a written text (to be done according to the teacher’s instructions). In any case, the assessment takes into account the relevance of the answers given to the questions asked, the clarity of presentation and the possession of the specific language of the discipline. Whenever possible, the attitude and contribution given by the students in class will be taken into account. A mark is given out of a maximum of thirty.
Contents
The main contents of the course concern the modernization process and its relationship with tourism development. The general framework for the content discussed in class sees contemporary tourism as an heterogenous field in which converge two opposing trends typical of late modern capitalist societies: on the one hand, the tendency to make the world at our disposal; on the other, the search for authenticity. In the context of such a framework this teaching will address the Anthropocene and the environmental challenge, urban studies, commodification processes and the search for authenticity, post-industrial economy, cultural consumption and events. There are two separate teaching programs for attending and non-attending students, as specified on both the e-learning page and the Leganto portal.
