The Joint International Doctorate in Social Representations, Culture and Communication is an interdisciplinary, international and cross-sectoral PhD programme offering advanced training in the social sciences.
Drawing on various research traditions, the programme covers the study of social representations, cultural studies, media and communication studies, gender and diversity studies, studies on democratic participation, post-colonial studies and forms of social action.
Coordinated by Sapienza, the programme awards a joint degree with the universities of Pécs and Iași. It involves a network of prestigious international universities and research centres in Europe, Latin America, North Africa and Asia, making it a point of reference for a broad scientific community.
Educational objectives: The programme provides a solid theoretical and methodological grounding for further research and entry into the public and private sectors. Students will gain advanced knowledge of the theory of social representations, the sociology of cultural and communicative processes, and related subjects. Students will also develop relevant soft skills in areas such as project design, scientific communication, and public outreach.
Themes
The PhD programme focuses on complex problems and socially relevant issues within the framework of its curriculum, including:
- Environmental sustainability and ecological transition, particularly in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals, energy transition processes, risk perception and socio-technological innovations.
- Migration and intercultural relations, including discursive processes of intergroup relations, stereotyping and inclusion, and empowerment, agency and advocacy practices in sensitive areas such as health and education.
Postcolonial studies and relations with the mediatisation of decolonisation dynamics.
- Democratisation processes, cultural heritage and the construction of citizenship, including institutional discourse analysis, sociology, political psychology, populism, communication, processes of affective polarisation, analysis of the public sphere (including in relation to the use of AI), power and peace studies, as well as projects for cultural change and innovation.
Practices of democratic participation and civic engagement; processes of mobilisation of resistance communities, urban groups, and global social movements.
Diversity communication and inclusion, particularly the role of media (both traditional and algorithmic) in framing and combatting discrimination against women, sexual minorities, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups. |