"We celebrate our sixtieth anniversary looking forward to the next sixty years", the director of the Department Giuseppe Sciortino said at the opening of the celebration together with Rector Deflorian. The day included: a special lecture by Marzio Barbagli, a round table on the present and future of sociology, a photo exhibition and even the issue of a commemorative stamp
A celebration for the Department of Sociology and Social Research, for those who studied and taught there, for the University of Trento, of sociology as a discipline, since it all began here, in Trento. The atmosphere was joyful today at the various events organized by the Department in the historic Sociology Building in via Verdi 26, to celebrate the 60th anniversary since the first lecture was given at the then University Institute of Social Sciences. The Department graduated 12,821 students since then, and now has 1,558 enrolled students.
The first to take the floor after the entrance of the academic procession was the Rector, Flavio Deflorian: "A few minutes ago, as I climbed the stairs of the Sociology Building, I tried to imagine these spaces in the autumn of 1962, when the University Institute of Social Sciences opened its doors to the first 226 students. I thought of that small group of brave innovators who came from different parts of Italy to study a new and ambitious science. With the start of the lessons, the first Italian Faculty of Sociology was born in Trento, which would then open the way to our University. Today, sixty years later, we can celebrate that moment with pride, because we can look back and see the long road that we have travelled. In only a few decades, our University has managed to become a well-known and regarded institution at an international level, working side by side with long-established institutions. The University Institute of Social Sciences has also changed since that November 1962: it has grown, becoming a Faculty first and then a Department, and has faced new challenges while remaining a point of reference in the context of social sciences».
"On this occasion, I would like to talk about a valuable lesson that we have learned from 1962, for the University of today and tomorrow, which can be summed up in three words: vision, innovation, knowledge. With his vision, Bruno Kessler was able to define a far-reaching project, which was decisive for the social and economic development of Trento and its province. I hope that our University will be able to look to the future with the vision and imagination of its founder, to actively contribute to the growth of the region and its community. As for the second word – innovation – I think of how sociology was innovative in 1962, as a new discipline in Italian university: a risk that not many then were willing to take. I hope, therefore, that our University will always be open to innovation and new ideas, which are fundamental ingredients for success".
"And the third word, knowledge. Even today, as 60 years ago, sociology studies society as a whole, helping us understand the time in which we live. New and disruptive changes call for an adequate analysis by social sciences. I am thinking of the implications of population ageing, the crisis of democracy, parties and institutions, the importance of gender studies, the impact of technologies on employment and job creation. Computational social sciences, moreover, open new and unprecedented perspectives of research for the understanding of complex phenomena and their impact on society. This knowledge is fundamental to understand change and make important choices, which can address imbalances and respond to the challenges of today".
"Sixty years is an achievement," said the director of the Department, Giuseppe Sciortino, in his address. "Just look at the photos of the exhibition. They document the same activities that still characterize university life today, such as studying, talking, meeting, even celebrating. But by looking at those photos we realize that an era has passed. And that's why I would like to look ahead. If there is a legacy that sociology has passed down, that is the ability to look ahead, to innovate. At that time, in 1962, Italy seemed destined to be a society without sociology. Many factors had helped keep this subject out of the university environment. Until something changed. And it's interesting that that change did not occur in a big city but in the province. In Trento, a place that was considered a small town. Many people, including public officials of the time, were of the opinion that a subsidiary of the Faculty of Agriculture, or a programme of study in Forest Science, would have been more appropriate for Trento. But Bruno Kessler thought otherwise. He took on the risk of creating, in Trento, a degree course that did not exist elsewhere. He was convinced that the modernization of a territory had to be understood to be governed. Trentino had to open up. And sociology could be the key to achieve this goal".
"Since then sociology has spread and has capitalized on that experience. Sometimes, however, what happens is not what you wanted: sociology took a direction that sometimes was even hostile to the territory – Sciortino explained. In Trento, the Department of Sociology has grown beyond expectations, and has become a national and international reference point for the subject. There have been times of crisis, of course, but it has always looked ahead. This legacy is passed down to our students. And our students contribute with a different story, theirs. The same goes for faculty: most of the current teaching staff come from out of the region, have an international background, an open mind, a multidisciplinary approach. This innovation-oriented attitude has been and continues to be the signature of Trento. And it helped the university excel: the Department of Sociology was the first to launch a double degree, an English-taught programme, a data science degree programme, and has recently presented a proposal to the ministry to strengthen the social sciences through artificial intelligence. We have never stopped. Today the department adopts the highest standards of teaching and is open to the future, which is not here yet. We are celebrating our first sixty years and we are ready to plan for the next sixty."
Some of the students of those years attended the conference in the Aula Kessler today. "Many of them – director Sciortino emphasized – remember well where they are from, some are still in touch with the department and in fact are the first alumni of the University". As a representative of those first students, Fabrizio Ferrari addressed the audience to bring the greetings of one of the founders of the faculty, Franco Ferrarotti. "Sixty years of history and commitment have passed and sociology has trained a number of individuals who made the history of our country, such as Rostagno, Bernardi and Braga. In 1968, the first World Congress of Sociology was held in France, and we attended it to meet the greatest sociologists of the time. At that point, Trento entered the world of sociology and never left. Today Italy still needs sociologists and sociology."
The government representative in the Province of Trento, Gianfranco Bernabei, wished happy birthday to the department which has marked the history of our country, a fundamental era for politics, society and has trained people who have left their mark.
The Provincial Councillor for Education Mirko Bisesti joined the celebration because it is important for the University and for Trentino, highlighting the strong bond between the University and Trentino and the University's contribution to the change that has occurred in the community in recent years. "The University – he said, on behalf of the Provincial Government – has accompanied the history and the evolution of Trentino, which is a history of autonomy and responsibility. Trentino – he added – will continue to invest in research and education because this means to invest in development and social cohesion, all the more today, at a time when we are facing great changes and challenges".
Sixty years of history
The first lecture was given by Giorgio Braga who, at 10 am on 5 November 1962, for the first time taught sociology to students in Italy. That day marked a starting point for the study of the social sciences. The Faculty of Sociology of Trento was the first, and for a long time the only university of social sciences in Italy, and contributed, like no other, to the advance of sociology in Italy - including, since 1983, thanks to the PhD in Sociology and Social Research - and to the opening of sociology to interdisciplinarity. This has been a characteristic of the Department since then and it still makes the university stand out in the national academic environment.
In the years that followed that first lecture, the presence of the Faculty of Sociology would contribute to bring about change in the city of Trento and in local society. This was shocking at first, because of the turmoil caused by the student movement. But then the city of Trento and its University grew closer, found their balance and opened up to many other disciplines.
The afternoon programme
Later on, at 12.00, professors Andrea Cossu and Marta Villa of the University of Trento and Katia Malatesta of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage of the Autonomous Province of Trento, will offer guided tours of the Department.
A round table on the present and future of Italian social sciences will take place in the afternoon at 3.00 in Aula Kessler (in person and via video link). The round table will be attended by Maria Carmela Agodi (Italian Association of Sociology), Filippo Andreatta (Department of Political and Social Sciences - Bologna), Gabriele Ballarino (Italian Society for Economic Sociology), Sara Bentivegna (Society, Culture, Communication), Rita Bichi (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan), Marco Bontempi (Department of Political and Social Sciences, Florence), Dora Gambardella (Department of Social Sciences, Federico II), Emanuela Mora (Department of Sociology, Catholic University), Roberto Pedersini (Department of Social and Political Sciences, Milan), Carlo Pennisi (Italian Conference of Sociological Departments), Francesco Ramella (Department of Culture, Politics and Society, Turin), Sonia Stefanizzi (Department of Sociology and Social Research, Milan-Bicocca).
To close the day, the photographic exhibition "Sessanta e non sentirli" will be unveiled at 6.00 in the Aula Kessler with addresses by Franco Marzatico, director general of the Strategic Mission Unit for the protection and promotion of cultural heritage and activities of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Giuseppe Sciortino, director of the Department of Sociology and Social Research, and the curators: Marta Villa of the University of Trento and Katia Malatesta of the Historical Photographic Archive of the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage of the Province of Trento. The exhibition will be open to the public until 8 April 2023 at the Department in via Verdi 26.
A stamp will be issued to celebrate the anniversary. Those who wish can visit the Department on Saturday from 10.00 in the morning to 4.00 in the afternoon to have the stamp obliterated on one of the postcards that have been printed for the occasion.
For the full programme and further information visit: https://www.unitn.it/sessanta-non-sentirli
Further information on the event is available on UniTrentoMag, the University's web magazine, at: https://www.unitn.it/sessanta-non-sentirli