SOCIOLOGIA DELLA SOSTENIBILITA'

The course analyses the relationship between society and the environment through the main categories of general sociology, conceiving sustainability as a cross-cutting process that encompasses social, cultural and institutional dimensions. The aim is to explore how contemporary crises highlight and, at the same time, produce new social inequalities. Sustainable development is examined through a number of guiding principles, such as biodiversity, resilience, responsibility and social justice, and through the analysis of concrete issues such as climate change, the circular economy and urban regeneration. The reconstruction of the historical evolution of the concept of sustainability and its discontinuity with respect to modernity will be central to the development of the course, also enhancing an interdisciplinary perspective that integrates knowledge from the social and natural sciences in order to understand the complexity of the sustainable transition and identify more effective solutions. The role of institutions, social participation and everyday practices in the construction of more equitable and therefore more sustainable forms of coexistence will also be examined. The objective is to provide the student with critical tools to understand sustainability as a social as well as an environmental issue.

The following learning outcomes are expected to be achieved:

1) Knowledge and understanding: acquire advanced knowledge of the main theoretical and methodological approaches of the sociology of sustainability, understanding the relationships between environmental, economic, technological and social transformations and exploring concepts such as sustainability, biodiversity, resilience, degrowth, social justice and responsibility.

2) Applying knowledge and understanding: apply sociological concepts, theories and methods to the analysis of complex problems related to the sustainable transition, such as climate change, the circular economy, human mobility, urban and territorial regeneration, digitalisation and disability, including through interdisciplinary approaches and the analysis of concrete cases.

3) Making judgements: develop the ability to critically interpret sustainable transition processes and policies, integrating social, environmental and economic dimensions and evaluating the different forms of responsibility, inequality, conflict and participation connected with sustainability and social justice.

4) Communication skills: acquire the ability to communicate analyses, results and interpretations relating to sustainability processes clearly and rigorously, adapting language and methods of communication to specialist and non-specialist audiences and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue.

5) Learning skills: develop autonomous and continuous learning skills aimed at updating knowledge and interpretative tools in relation to the evolution of sustainability issues, social and technological innovations, and environmental and territorial transformations.

The course will consist of lectures on the main topics covered in the programme.

No prerequisites are required.

Attendance is not compulsory.

INSTITUTIONAL SECTION:

1) Introduction; History, concepts and principles of sustainability; The operational principles of sustainability: (Bio)diversity; Degrowth/Development; Networking; Resilience; Responsibility; Social justice.

2) Dynamics and problems of sustainability: Climate change; Green-sharing economy and circular economy; Human mobility; Urban and territorial regeneration; Digitalisation; Dis-ability.

MONOGRAPHIC SECTION:

One of the three sections of the course reader (Sections 3, 4 or 5), to be chosen by the student:

3) Socio-ecological crisis and youth mobilisation: Processes of rationalisation and the ethics of responsibility: Max Weber’s challenges to the environmental question; Environment and sustainability in the risk society: between metabolic rift and the tragedy of the commons; Cooperative behaviours in favour of environmental sustainability. The quantitative background of the research; Highly convinced, fairly well informed, little engaged, not listened to at all: young people and the contradictions of ecological behaviour in contemporary society; How Fridaysforfuture matters. Mobilisation for implementing socio-ecological practices.

4) Responsibility and climate justice: Hot, very hot, lukewarm. Ambivalences and contradictions in responsible commitment to environmental protection; Enough false promises! Conversations with Fridays For Future on the ethics of responsibility in favour of the environment; Fridays for Future and the Ethics of Responsibility: Chances and Contradictions; “Climate (in)justice”: young people against climate inequalities for a more equitable future.

5) Climate protest, emotions and narratives: Repertoires of resistance: The right to feel in European radical climate movements; Emotional Text Mining and climate protest: a computational analysis of the narratives of Italian activism; Out of #Satania. Multimodal socio-semiotic analysis of the narratives of young people from Catania on urban degradation and the environmental crisis.

The examination consists of a mid-course test (halfway through the course) and an oral examination (during the examination session chosen by the student).

Mid-course test: it covers the volume Nocenzi M. (ed.), Sostenibilità e sviluppo sostenibile. Una lettura transdisciplinare, UTET Università, 2025, pp. XIII–XXV, 3–164–224. The test consists of 30 multiple-choice questions and lasts 1 hour. The test is assessed out of thirty.

The mid-course test will be carried out through the Exams platform (https://exam.net/it/), in person, in the lecture room.

Validity of the assessments: The marks obtained in the two assessments are valid for one academic year.

Oral examination: it covers the course notes Cambiamento climatico, giovani e mobilitazione ecologica. One of the three sections of the course reader (Sections 3, 4 or 5), to be chosen by the student.

Determination of the final mark. The final mark is determined by the arithmetic mean of the two marks obtained: the mark of the mid-course test and the mark of the oral examination.

The overall assessment will take into account knowledge and mastery of the contents, the ability to understand and make connections between the different topics, and the ability to use sociological concepts and categories appropriately. For the oral examination, the ability to argue, clarity of presentation and appropriate use of disciplinary language will also be taken into consideration.

CRITERIA FOR THE AWARD OF THE FINAL MARK

• Examination not passed: insufficient knowledge of the fundamental contents of the course and difficulty in using the main sociological concepts.

• 18–21: minimal and sufficiently adequate knowledge of the contents; basic ability to understand and make connections between topics; sufficiently clear presentation.

• 22–25: fair knowledge of the contents; adequate ability to understand, analyse and make connections between the main topics; reasonably clear presentation and overall appropriate use of disciplinary language.

• 26–28: good knowledge and understanding of the contents; good ability to analyse, make connections and apply sociological concepts; clear presentation and appropriate use of disciplinary language.

• 29–30 with honours: in-depth and complete knowledge of the contents; high ability to critically analyse, make connections and independently rework the topics; full mastery of sociological concepts and rigorous and appropriate presentation.

Assessment of learning may also be carried out online, should circumstances so require.

In order to guarantee equal opportunities and in compliance with current legislation, interested students may request an individual meeting in order to arrange any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, according to the learning objectives and specific needs. Students may also contact the CInAP contact lecturer (Centre for Active and Participatory Integration — Services for Disabilities and/or Specific Learning Disorders) of their Department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).

- In the architecture of sustainability, the meso level includes:

a. international agreements and constitutional principles;

b. programmes, organisations and indicators;

c. individual and community everyday practices.

- The principle of networkedness interprets social processes mainly through:

a. the individual characteristics of subjects;

b. the relationships that connect subjects and distribute the effects of their actions;

c. the economic structures that determine collective behaviours.

- What characterises the “experimentalist governance” proposed by Sabel and Victor?

a. The definition of a stable division of responsibilities between public authorities and economic actors;

b. Flexible coordination among different actors in order to experiment with concrete solutions alongside global agreements;

c. The transfer of climate-related decisions to local communities, independently of international objectives.

- Social justice mainly concerns:

a. the distribution of resources, opportunities, rights and power;

b. the recognition of cultural differences among individuals;

c. the guarantee of identical outcomes for all social groups.

- From a relational perspective, social differences become inequalities when:

a. they are recognised in relationships between groups;

b. they are institutionalised and produce systematic disparities;

c. they depend on different individual abilities.

- Why does a transformative conception of resilience not simply aim to restore the previous condition?

a. Because the previous condition may have been unequal and unsustainable;

b. Because every crisis necessarily results in negative change;

c. Because adaptation prevents social systems from preserving their functions.