If Émile Durkheim was the first author to establish and give substance to the discipline of sociology in the academic world, we owe its arrival and diffusion in Italy to Franco Ferrarotti , today one of the most well-known and translated Italian sociologists abroad. Born in 1926 in the small Piedmontese village of Palazzolo Vercellese, he avoided farm work due to his poor health, as he himself recounts. Thus, from an early age, staying at home, he developed a great passion for culture and knowledge. " The classics of literature and philosophy were adventure novels for me, " he states. From Sanremo, where he moved as a teenager, he often went to Nice to read the great authors and important works of sociology, since this type of literature was not yet available in Italy.
In 1949, he graduated in philosophy from the University of Turin. During his studies, in addition to figures such as Calvino and Pavese, he met and collaborated with the great Nicola Abbagnano, with whom he founded " Quaderni di sociologia ," the first sociology journal in Italy, in 1951, of which he became editor. During those same years, he engaged in a bitter and intense conflict with Benedetto Croce over the cognitive validity of the social sciences, arguing, contrary to the philosopher, for their scientific nature and the importance of such knowledge. From 1951, he worked with Adriano Olivetti. For various reasons, he then left for America. In the US, he met other important sociologists such as Herbert Blumer and Edward Shils, spending a very fruitful period of ideas, experiences, and studies between Chicago and New York.
The birth of sociology
Upon his return to Italy, he began teaching his first courses in sociology and social work, which, however, were not yet fully recognized at the academic level and also had to be periodically renewed annually. In 1961, he obtained the first chair of sociology offered by a competitive competition at the University of Rome "La Sapienza." Thus, sociology became a fully recognized science and a recognized academic discipline in Italy. Just a year later, he contributed to the creation of another important sociology faculty, now one of the most renowned in Italy, at the University of Trento , where he was awarded his second chair. A multifaceted and eclectic author, he has explored a variety of themes and topics, from the labor market to religion , from post-industrial society to power and its management, to social marginalization and migration . Franco Ferrarotti has also succeeded in combining both theoretical approaches and fieldwork. Traveling throughout Europe and the rest of the world, he studied and collaborated at the most prestigious universities, working closely with the great names in sociology, including Zygmunt Bauman . In his works and words, we can find all the passion and love for sociology, as well as the great ability to engage and amaze that distinguishes him. He is currently Professor Emeritus at Sapienza University and Honorary President of the National Association of Sociologists.
The Dean's thoughts
The Dean's broad interests and extensive investigations are impossible to confine within finite and defined fields. In general, he has always been able to grasp and describe the changes in Italy and contemporary society, from industrialization to the post-modern present. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches (among the first to adopt the latter methodology in Italy), he has discussed the transformations of the city and its suburbs in " Rome from Capital to Suburb " and " Lives of Slum Dwellers: A Contribution to the Sociology of Marginality ," often leading his students to observe with their own eyes the realities of Rome's urban periphery. In 1977, in " Youth and Drugs ," he addressed what is now a phenomenon common to all social classes. He was even the first to address the issues of immigration and cultural exchange in Italy in his books " The Coexistence of Cultures ," " Beyond Racism, " and again in " The Enigma of Alessandro: A Meeting of Cultures and Civil Progress ." Ferrarotti has written extensively, from his early works and sociological investigations in the 50s that paved the way for sociology in Italy to his latest works on globalization , the digital revolution , and even music . We will always be grateful to him for having brought and established in Italy a discipline that, unfortunately, still awaits the recognition it deserves.
Valerio Adolini
