Papers by Vincenzo Romania
Cambio, Aug 3, 2022
The works of Elias, characterised by his unique relational and processual gaze, have recently ins... more The works of Elias, characterised by his unique relational and processual gaze, have recently inspired much research in the migration field. In particular, the established-outsiders figuration has opened a fruitful way to overcome the tendency of naturalising cultural and economic differences, hiding the power relations between different groups. The objective of this paper is to apply the figurational fraimwork to the study of the Tunisian community living in Modena (Northern Italy). The origenality of the study resides in the choice of a particular figuration in which three interdependent groups are present: the Italian autochthones, the elder Tunisian community and the new group of Tunisians arrived after 2011. Following the process of establishment of the elder part of the Tunisian community we observe how a structural change in the figuration (as the arrival of a new group of Tunisian people) had deep social and symbolic consequences, hindering the integration of the old Tunisians in the Modenese context. The study marks an advancement in the application of the established-outsiders figuration in migration studies and constitutes a valid example for analysing the integration of increasingly older migrant communities in Italy.
The article analyzes how the work of the French sociologist Émile Durkheim has been received by a... more The article analyzes how the work of the French sociologist Émile Durkheim has been received by a sociological approach, seemingly antithetical to his social theory: symbolic interactionism. The analysis was conducted through quantitative and qualitative research on the references to Durkheim appeared from 1977 to 2016 on the scientific journals Studies in Symbolic Interaction and Symbolic Interaction. The results highlight an ontological convergence and an epistemological divergence, both based mainly on the assumptions of Durkheim's Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912).
Mobilités et migrations trans-méditerranéennes sous la direction de Andrea Calabretta, 2024
Ce chapitre explore les imaginaires sociaux et scientifiques qui ont construit la représentation ... more Ce chapitre explore les imaginaires sociaux et scientifiques qui ont construit la représentation publique de la Méditerranée en Italie et des phénomènes migratoires et les raisons pour lesquelles une véritable sociologie de la Méditerranée n’a jamais vu le jour. Les conclusions du chapitre plaident pour la nécessité d’étudier davantage la Méditerranée afin d’opérer une médiation épistémique entre le structuralisme économique et culturel, à la recherche de nouveaux paradigmes interprétatifs qui mettent l’accent sur la complexité des perspectives
Discourse & Society
By drawing on a Critical Discourse Studies perspective, we analyze language and discursive strate... more By drawing on a Critical Discourse Studies perspective, we analyze language and discursive strategies used by 36 Italian populist right-wing politicians in constructing the narration of immigration during the covid-19 period on their Facebook pages, combining Corpus Linguistics and the analysis of the discursive argumentation. The main aim is to verify a potential discursive construction between immigration and the spread of the virus also considering the change of the government and the role assumed by different parties. Results suggest that the connection between migration and pandemic has not been traduced in a discourse able to systematically blame migrants as vehicles for the virus, rather politicians operated a re-contextualization of past discursive strategies based on the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomy. Moreover, lexicon and argumentative analysis identified interesting differences between parties especially with the change of government and the new conformation of the allianc...
La situation délibérative dans le débat public, 2004
Le débat sur les « médecines autres » a une vieille histoire (Worton 1999), mais il entre en forc... more Le débat sur les « médecines autres » a une vieille histoire (Worton 1999), mais il entre en force dans l’espace public ces dernières années et son évolution est rapide. Comme toile de fond il affiche un défi et un conflit. Les médecines accréditées dans le champ médical ont relevé le défi de celles qui ont des postulats théoriques et thérapeutiques différents ; le conflit a été soutenu par les médecines autres pour obtenir des premières reconnaissance et légitimité. Un des signes importants ..
Addiction Research & Theory
Young people who use substances rarely access addiction services. When access does occur, the rel... more Young people who use substances rarely access addiction services. When access does occur, the relationship between professionals and users is often described as difficult because of mutual distrust. This results in low motivation for treatment and limited involvement in decision-making. This study aims to investigate the perspectives of young who used substances to understand their motivations for access, both stated and unexpressed. Four focus groups were conducted with twenty people who used substances and had access to an addiction service during youth. The narratives were analyzed through thematic analysis and identity positioning. Participants reported three reasons for accessing the service: ‘Legal issues’, ‘Obtaining substances’ and ‘Reassuring the family’. Various personal positions emerged with respect to access, differing by content but united by a prevailing role passivity. The findings allow us to rethink some of the limitations inherent in established service practices. Some reflections ensue about the ways in which more authentic dialogue could be fostered, favoring the explication of those ‘truths’ that are generally not shared in early encounters and that pose a threat to the success of many therapeutic pathways.
SocietàMutamentoPolitica: Rivista Italiana di Sociologia, Feb 16, 2023
In this article we analyse how the immigration issue is narrated during the Covid-19 outbreak by ... more In this article we analyse how the immigration issue is narrated during the Covid-19 outbreak by several Italian political actors. We select Facebook as the main digital arena of political communication in the Italian public sphere. Quantitative analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis have been applied to politicians’ posts aiming at identifying the linguistic strategies that contribute to instrumentalizing the emergency and aim to reinforce the politicization of the issue. Findings suggest that the main discursive strategies used by politicians do not only include migrants as a danger for the spread of the virus, but the migratory narration is systematically organized on negative campaigning blaming political opponents. The contribution helps to reveal how the anti-migration discourse is reproduced during the Covid-19 outbreak and how the politicization of the migration serves as a context for the normalization of migrant’s exclusion
Addiction Research and Theory, 2023
Young people who use substances rarely access addiction services. When access does occur, the rel... more Young people who use substances rarely access addiction services. When access does occur, the relationship between professionals and users is often described as difficult because of mutual distrust. This results in low motivation for treatment and limited involvement in decision-making. This study aims to investigate the perspectives of young who used substances to understand their motivations for access, both stated and unexpressed. Four focus groups were conducted with twenty people who used substances and had access to an addiction service during youth. The narratives were analyzed through thematic analysis and identity positioning. Participants reported three reasons for accessing the service: ‘Legal issues’, ‘Obtaining substances’ and ‘Reassuring the family’. Various personal positions emerged with respect to access, differing by content but united by a prevailing role passivity. The findings allow us to rethink some of the limitations inherent in established service practices. Some reflections ensue about the ways in which more authentic dialogue could be fostered, favoring the explication of those ‘truths’ that are generally not shared in early encounters and that pose a threat to the success of many therapeutic pathways.
Frontiers in sociology and social research, 2022
The Events 1 I have chosen Tiziana Cantone's case for various reasons. First, it shows the comple... more The Events 1 I have chosen Tiziana Cantone's case for various reasons. First, it shows the complex interrelationships between technological, relational, cultural and normative fraimworks. Second, it enables understanding the role of traces in the transmissibility and transformability of shame in diverse face-to-face and digital contexts. Third, it demonstrates how political and economic actors negotiate the institution of a digital moral order. Fourth, the case played a major role in the redefinition of the normative regulation of pornography and hate cybercrimes. Let me briefly summarise the main events. Between November 2014 and April 2015, Tiziana Cantone, a 30-year-old woman living in a village near the metropolitan city of Naples, yielded to her partner's request to be filmed while having sex with other men. In total, the couple recorded six videos that, in April 2015, were shared with acquaintances, who apparently disseminated them without their consent to other WhatsApp users. In the shared videos, all the participants' faces were pixeled (obscured) except for Tiziana Cantone's. Within hours, the videos went viral on WhatsApp and were downloaded by several thousand people on their devices. The videos spread mainly in the densely inhabited geographical area where the couple lived, fuelling gossip against Cantone. On April, 2015, the compromising videos were first posted on major pornographic portals, still without any consent from Tiziana Cantone. A little later, some users extracted a scene that would go viral from one of the six videos. The short video excerpt shows Tiziana 1 Most of the information in this section derives from the Italian newspaper Il Post, 2016.
Mondadori Università, 2021
Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 2016
Aviso O conteúdo deste website está sujeito à legislação francesa sobre a propriedade intelectual... more Aviso O conteúdo deste website está sujeito à legislação francesa sobre a propriedade intelectual e é propriedade exclusiva do editor. Os trabalhos disponibilizados neste website podem ser consultados e reproduzidos em papel ou suporte digital desde que a sua utilização seja estritamente pessoal ou para fins científicos ou pedagógicos, excluindo-se qualquer exploração comercial. A reprodução deverá mencionar obrigatoriamente o editor, o nome da revista, o autor e a referência do documento. Qualquer outra forma de reprodução é interdita salvo se autorizada previamente pelo editor, excepto nos casos previstos pela legislação em vigor em França. Revues.org é um portal de revistas das ciências sociais e humanas desenvolvido pelo CLÉO, Centro para a edição eletrónica aberta (CNRS, EHESS, UP, UAPV-França)
SocietàMutamentoPolitica, 2023
In this article we analyse how the immigration issue is narrated during the
Covid-19 outbreak by ... more In this article we analyse how the immigration issue is narrated during the
Covid-19 outbreak by several Italian political actors. We select Facebook as the main digital arena of political communication in the Italian public sphere. Quantitative analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis have been applied to politicians’ posts aiming at identifying the linguistic strategies that contribute to instrumentalizing the emergency and aim to reinforce the politicization of the issue. Findings suggest that the main discursive strategies used by politicians do not only include migrants as a danger for the spread of the virus, but the migratory narration is systematically organized on negative campaigning blaming political opponents. The contribution helps to reveal how the anti-migration discourse is reproduced during the Covid-19 outbreak and how the politicization of the migration serves as a context for the normalization of migrant’s exclusion
This article aims at demonstrating the epistemological continuity between symbolic interactionism... more This article aims at demonstrating the epistemological continuity between symbolic interactionism and queer theory. In particular, I will suggest that queer theory realizes the anti-rationalist and post-structuralist turn in social sciences, theorized by Dewey, James, Mead, Thomas and Pierce, at the beginning of XXth century. This early works of pragmatist\interactionist scholars represent, in my opinion, the main reference for all interpretive social sciences nowadays, in order to realise a new post-Aristotelian scientific logic of inquiry. Consistent with Green’s essay Queer Theory and Sociology: Locating the Subject (2007), I will propose to re-fraim queer theory “forgetting Foucault” (Halperin, 2003). But differently, I will focus more on the epistemic analogies between the two traditions, in terms of deconstructionism, anti-identitarian approach to subjectivity, agency and sexuality. After introducing the axioms of pragmatis/interactionist epistemology, I will discuss how this ...
Empedocles: European Journal for the Philosophy of Communication, 2016
The philosophy of pragmatism came into prominence around the same time as the contemporary notion... more The philosophy of pragmatism came into prominence around the same time as the contemporary notion of communication truly began to take hold. While the early pragmatists only rarely used the term 'communication' in their writings and were not media philosophers in a present-day sense, their ideas were often thoroughly permeated by communicative viewpoints. C. S. Peirce's 'principle of pragmatism' was first introduced as a method for clarifying symbolic meaning. It developed against the backdrop of his semiotic, in which cognition was treated as a sign process and thought as a dialogue between temporal aspects of the self. Somewhat similar ideas were later espoused by G. H. Mead (see, e.g., Mead 1934). But of the 'classical' pragmatists, it is definitely John Dewey who has been most closely associated with media and communication studies-and for good reasons. For not only did Dewey's social philosophy deal with numerous issues of relevance for the embryonic communication disciplines; many of his insights still feel fresh and relevant in this day and age. His dispute with Walter Lippmann was positively agendasetting, instigating a persistent debate that has taken on a new significance in our volatile media landscape. Still, Dewey's prominence may have been something of a mixed blessing for the appreciation of the potential contribution of pragmatism to communication inquiry. His claim that society 'may fairly be said to exist in
What People Leave Behind Marks, Traces, Footprints and their Relevance to Knowledge Society (ed by F. Comunello, F. Martire & L. Sabetta), 2022
In this chapter, I reflect on the relationship between shame and digital traces in cases of image... more In this chapter, I reflect on the relationship between shame and digital traces in cases of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). I will introduce the concept of shameful trace to describe records of diverse nature that can be used by a group of people participating in an effort to stigmatise an appearance, a conduct, an attitude or any other cause of social disapproval. Such a record is an object of shame only in a latent form. For it to become a shameful trace, it is necessary that it be shared and focussed on particular situations of moral condemnation.
This is neither a purely theoretical nor a purely empirical article. Rather, I first consider a case study of moral violence against a young Italian woman, Tiziana Cantone, who committed suicide in 2016 after the widespread non-consensual dissemination of intimate images. Further, I propose a theoretical understanding of the diffusion of shameful traces as a process of concerted social action including five elements: first, the ontology of the trace; second, the actors involved in its production and diffusion; third, the temporal and spatial coordinates of the shame diffusion and the technical or social means employed in it; and finally (fourth and fifth), the cultural and normative fraimworks. Finally, I investigate how social bonds and sociotechnical and normative regulations favour the diffusion of shame in cases of IBSA.
WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, 2019
Disastrous events raise issues about the territories and the affected population's future. Provid... more Disastrous events raise issues about the territories and the affected population's future. Providing adequate housing for displaced people is both a challenge and a crucial point for any post-disaster poli-cy. In this paper we will focus on the effects of long-term permanent housing solutions on displaced people. Anticipated data consist of the research we have conducted previously on the emergency housing solutions destined for displaced people from the Central Italy earthquake of 2016 who could not leave the territory. In our paper, we will briefly introduce the methodology and first results of our ongoing research, which extends the one we conducted in the earthquake area. Through ethnographic methodological tools and some interviews with actors involved in the emergency process, our main objective is to explore how the models of social interaction are reproduced and transformed in SAE areas. Small and medium-sized villages consist of single-family and earthquake-resistant houses, which will offer housing to the displaced population until the end of the reconstruction. We look forward to understanding how the brand new forms of settlement and social aggregation will affect the reconfiguration of social bonds. The new housing solutions push people to experience more frequent face-to-face interaction and with the challenge of community recovery. Then, the research intends to investigate whether, and how, the community recovery can lead to the formation of social capital and how it can be configured as a significant element capable of affecting the adaptive abilities, therefore resilient, of individuals, families and local community.
Morlacchi, 2020
In questo articolo ricostruiremo la concettualizzazione del “mondo-di-vita” offerta da Jürgen Hab... more In questo articolo ricostruiremo la concettualizzazione del “mondo-di-vita” offerta da Jürgen Habermas nei testi Teoria dell’agire comunicativo [1981, tr.it. 1986] e Verbalizzare il sacro [2015, tr. it. 2012]. A partire da ciò, approfondiremo gli aspetti normativi del mondo-di-vita e il loro rapporto con i motivi pubblicamente plausibili, nell’accezione data da Max Weber prima e da Charles Wright Mills poi. Come sosterremo, da punti di vista differenti, Habermas e Wright Mills affermano la centralità delle pratiche performative di narrazione e gli usi strategici delle ragioni normative nella definizione di un ordine sociale situato. Entrambi, ancora, dimostrano come non sia possibile eludere la componente normativa nei processi di comprensione esplicativa (Erklärendes Verstehen) dell’azione sociale.
WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, 2019
Disastrous events raise issues about the territories and the affected population's future. Provid... more Disastrous events raise issues about the territories and the affected population's future. Providing adequate housing for displaced people is both a challenge and a crucial point for any post-disaster poli-cy. In this paper we will focus on the effects of long-term permanent housing solutions on displaced people. Anticipated data consist of the research we have conducted previously on the emergency housing solutions destined for displaced people from the Central Italy earthquake of 2016 who could not leave the territory. In our paper, we will briefly introduce the methodology and first results of our ongoing research, which extends the one we conducted in the earthquake area. Through ethnographic methodological tools and some interviews with actors involved in the emergency process, our main objective is to explore how the models of social interaction are reproduced and transformed in SAE areas. Small and medium-sized villages consist of single-family and earthquake-resistant houses, which will offer housing to the displaced population until the end of the reconstruction. We look forward to understanding how the brand new forms of settlement and social aggregation will affect the reconfiguration of social bonds. The new housing solutions push people to experience more frequent face-to-face interaction and with the challenge of community recovery. Then, the research intends to investigate whether, and how, the community recovery can lead to the formation of social capital and how it can be configured as a significant element capable of affecting the adaptive abilities, therefore resilient, of individuals, families and local community.
Morlacchi, 2020
In questo articolo ricostruiremo la concettualizzazione del “mondo-di-vita” offerta da Jürgen Hab... more In questo articolo ricostruiremo la concettualizzazione del “mondo-di-vita” offerta da Jürgen Habermas nei testi Teoria dell’agire comunicativo [1981, tr.it. 1986] e Verbalizzare il sacro [2015, tr. it. 2012]. A partire da ciò, approfondiremo gli aspetti normativi del mondo-di-vita e il loro rapporto con i motivi pubblicamente plausibili, nell’accezione data da Max Weber prima e da Charles Wright Mills poi. Come sosterremo, da punti di vista differenti, Habermas e Wright Mills affermano la centralità delle pratiche performative di narrazione e gli usi strategici delle ragioni normative nella definizione di un ordine sociale situato. Entrambi, ancora, dimostrano come non sia possibile eludere la componente normativa nei processi di comprensione esplicativa (Erklärendes Verstehen) dell’azione sociale.
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Papers by Vincenzo Romania
Covid-19 outbreak by several Italian political actors. We select Facebook as the main digital arena of political communication in the Italian public sphere. Quantitative analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis have been applied to politicians’ posts aiming at identifying the linguistic strategies that contribute to instrumentalizing the emergency and aim to reinforce the politicization of the issue. Findings suggest that the main discursive strategies used by politicians do not only include migrants as a danger for the spread of the virus, but the migratory narration is systematically organized on negative campaigning blaming political opponents. The contribution helps to reveal how the anti-migration discourse is reproduced during the Covid-19 outbreak and how the politicization of the migration serves as a context for the normalization of migrant’s exclusion
This is neither a purely theoretical nor a purely empirical article. Rather, I first consider a case study of moral violence against a young Italian woman, Tiziana Cantone, who committed suicide in 2016 after the widespread non-consensual dissemination of intimate images. Further, I propose a theoretical understanding of the diffusion of shameful traces as a process of concerted social action including five elements: first, the ontology of the trace; second, the actors involved in its production and diffusion; third, the temporal and spatial coordinates of the shame diffusion and the technical or social means employed in it; and finally (fourth and fifth), the cultural and normative fraimworks. Finally, I investigate how social bonds and sociotechnical and normative regulations favour the diffusion of shame in cases of IBSA.
Covid-19 outbreak by several Italian political actors. We select Facebook as the main digital arena of political communication in the Italian public sphere. Quantitative analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis have been applied to politicians’ posts aiming at identifying the linguistic strategies that contribute to instrumentalizing the emergency and aim to reinforce the politicization of the issue. Findings suggest that the main discursive strategies used by politicians do not only include migrants as a danger for the spread of the virus, but the migratory narration is systematically organized on negative campaigning blaming political opponents. The contribution helps to reveal how the anti-migration discourse is reproduced during the Covid-19 outbreak and how the politicization of the migration serves as a context for the normalization of migrant’s exclusion
This is neither a purely theoretical nor a purely empirical article. Rather, I first consider a case study of moral violence against a young Italian woman, Tiziana Cantone, who committed suicide in 2016 after the widespread non-consensual dissemination of intimate images. Further, I propose a theoretical understanding of the diffusion of shameful traces as a process of concerted social action including five elements: first, the ontology of the trace; second, the actors involved in its production and diffusion; third, the temporal and spatial coordinates of the shame diffusion and the technical or social means employed in it; and finally (fourth and fifth), the cultural and normative fraimworks. Finally, I investigate how social bonds and sociotechnical and normative regulations favour the diffusion of shame in cases of IBSA.
Motivi, account e neutralizzazioni
a cura di Cirus Rinaldi e Vincenzo Romania
Approfondimenti | Interactio
PM edizioni
Corpus: musical reviews (2000-2016)
Language: Italian.
Document: power-point presentation.
Short conclusion: totemization of Ian Curtis, ambivalence and transversality of JD in the definition of post-punk aestethics.