The Curriculum in Sociology trains highly specialised scholars for the analysis of the cultural processes of social change typical of highly complex societies, through the acquisition of sociological skills complemented by the contribution of the disciplines of social statistics, anthropology and political science.

In particular, the interdisciplinary nature of this curriculum and its methodological approach, developed through specific internationalisation experiences, constitute a unique training context for research in Italy. In this context, it is possible to develop research projects that focus on the analysis of theoretical and empirical frames relating to the forms of mobility of individuals, social and economic exchanges, interactions with technoscientific elements, with the media and the environment, and the spread of new and old forms of poverty. In the interdisciplinary perspective adopted by this doctorate, a comparison of research methods becomes relevant, which seeks to overcome the qualitative-quantitative dichotomy in order to arrive, where possible, at integrated proposals capable of observing, analysing and interpreting the social phenomena under study in an innovative manner.

The Curriculum Programme aims to provide a basic educational and methodological background that includes theories and research approaches on cultural and communicative processes as well as theoretical models and analysis tools on interaction and cultural constructions. Faced with the numerous areas of research of interest in the social sciences, this doctoral course focuses on three crucial areas to grasp the most significant discontinuities that deserve appropriate theoretical and research study:

1. Institutional Processes and Practices of Social Production and Reproduction
2. Science, Technology, Innovation and Media Studies
3. Intercultural Relations—Mobility, Religions, Family and Genders

These three areas indicate paths of study and theoretical reflection that can find multiple connections with other research topics, understood as complementary and interconnected, to develop skills for the analysis and management of the forms of contemporary social complexity. The priority objective is to maintain a training context that considers how the above-mentioned processes today present themselves in continually multiscalar forms. Particular emphasis is therefore placed on research in diverse social contexts, including at the supranational level and through extended periods of research abroad. The doctoral project we are proposing therefore starts from these areas, which can be investigated in their intersections, but also in their autonomy, because of the issues that exist within them. 

This project aims to enhance the interdisciplinarity of theoretical and methodological approaches by favouring research projects that cross traditional scientific and disciplinary fields. The doctorate favours empirical and theoretically oriented analyses that rely on a predominantly interpretative approach. Innovative and multi-method research paths that effectively develop the joint use of qualitative and quantitative methods or that experiment with new models of analysis to cope with social and technological changes are appreciated within the framework of the PhD.

In relation to the general training requirements and the chosen research area, doctoral students will be specifically involved in the direction of a work-in-progress programme to support and focus on their own research projects.

More information about the research lines

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