Mission

The Department of Political and Social Sciences (DSPS) of the University of Florence has as its mission the promotion of education, research, and knowledge in the fields of politics, institutions, and contemporary social phenomena.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, the Department is committed to training informed, critical, and responsible citizens and professionals capable of interpreting and addressing the complexity of social, political, and economic transformations at the local, national, and global levels. In this perspective, the Department's activities are aimed not only at the student community and young researchers in training, but also at public institutions, third-sector organizations, businesses, and more broadly at civil society, contributing to the development of advanced skills, the dissemination of political-social culture, and the strengthening of the quality of public debate.

The Department promotes the development of solid analytical and methodological skills, essential for understanding political and social phenomena, and supports the production of scientific knowledge oriented toward both theoretical advancement and practical application. Within this framework, DSPS pursues goals of social impact, contributing to the building of more inclusive, democratic, and sustainable societies.

A qualifying element of the Department's mission is the tight integration among teaching, research, and public engagement (third mission). Research activities constantly feed into the educational offerings, updating their content and methodologies, while teaching serves as a laboratory for experimentation and knowledge dissemination.

In parallel, knowledge-enhancement initiatives make it possible to transfer research findings to society, promoting dialogue with local areas and with various institutional and social actors, and contributing to the co-production of knowledge and solutions to complex problems. Furthermore, the Department adopts a specific internationalization strategy aimed at improving its ability to attract foreign scholars and students; facilitating and promoting the international mobility of its students, scholars, and technical staff; and developing high-quality research projects funded by international and European bodies and institutions.

Disciplines The disciplinary affiliations of faculty and researchers range from political philosophy to the history of institutions and political thought, from political science to contemporary history, from the history of international and regional relations to sociology in its many branches: general sociology, sociology of cultural and communicative processes, sociology of economic processes and labor, sociology of the environment and territory, sociology of political phenomena, and sociology of deviance and social change.

Teaching DSPS is the primary affiliated department of the "Cesare Alfieri" School of Political Sciences, which offers 7 degree programs, including 2 bachelor's and 5 master's degrees. Among the latter, double-degree paths with foreign universities are also offered. In addition, DSPS organizes 4 university master's programs. Erasmus mobility is significant and growing, especially for incoming students. DSPS has numerous collaboration and exchange agreements both with universities in EU countries and with universities in non-EU or extra-European countries. Finally, DSPS participates in 2 PhD programs: "Social and Political Change" and "Political and Social Sciences."

Research In recent years, research conducted at DSPS has addressed various topics, including the history of humanitarianism in Mediterranean Europe between 1945 and 1990; social work and human mobility in Europe; new forms of hate and racism in contemporary society; the contestation of European values; political-administrative capacity and policy coherence in the sustainable development of local communities; higher education management in Asia; the effectiveness of health communication campaigns; immigration and collective remittances; the socially sustainable transition to climate neutrality; the governance of religious diversity at the city level; the formulation and implementation of the NRRP in Europe; the role of intellectual and expert networks in political and economic transformations on Europe's periphery between 1975 and 2022; digitalization and local development; public policy in cultural and creative industries; the politicization of social conflicts in the era of globalization; conflict governance in the Mediterranean; operaismo (workerism) and the vocabulary of social and political inclusion; COVID as a cultural trauma; Europe and the Spanish colonies in the 18th century; political receivership in local administrations; narcotics regulation from a criminological and economic perspective; and social transformations and the crisis of expertise.

Knowledge Enhancement and Public Engagement DSPS contributes to the development of society and the local area by organizing scientific outreach initiatives and promoting educational and cultural activities aimed at a non-academic public. Events in recent years in which DSPS has participated include "ScienzEstate" at the Social Sciences campus, "UniFI Green Week," initiatives for the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women," "Election Nights," the "US 2024 Election Breakfast," the debate with Italian representatives to the European Parliament ("What do EU think?"), the "150th Anniversary" of the "Cesare Alfieri" School of Political Sciences, and the conferral of an honorary degree upon the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.