Presentation

Mission

The Department of Philosophy and Communication Studies engages in both fundamental and applied research in the philosophical sciences and in those sectors that belong to disciplines of communication. The research activity explores the traditions of thought with multiple approaches such as theoretical and moral, historical-philosophical, logical-epistemological, aesthetic, juridical and sociological; it analyzes as well the linguistic and semiotic modes of communication, theories and practices of psychology, systems and forms of geography, considering also their mutual connections and with other humanistic and scientific disciplines.

Within the Department strategy, the following are the specific objectives to pursue: progress of scientific research; dissemination of research results; promotion of theoretical, practical and instrumental knowledge related to the disciplines characterizing the Department in civil society and business; the translation of such knowledge in the teaching of courses related to the Department; the design and the making of research projects.

History

The FILCOM Department was created in 2012 from the union of the two pre-existing Departments of Philosophy and of Sciences of Communication. Over the years, numerous and productive interactions between different disciplinary competences have developed within the new institution. Thus, the research activities, the educational offer and the very conception of the Department’s role within the local, cultural and productive environment benefitted of a new multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective.

After a first period of decline in the number of Department’s members – due to a very high turnover, which was a generalised academic phenomenon involving the entire country – FILCOM has reversed the trend: in recent years, it was enriched with numerous young researchers and scholars coming from abroad  in the capacity of teachers, some of whom have brought in high-profile projects of  international standing. Such a planning activity increasingly characterises the members of the Department, who solidly take part in making submission to national and international projects, often obtaining significantly positive outcomes.

Disciplines addressed at the Department boast a long and in part original historic tradition within the University of Bologna and on the Italian scene. Recent history has further confirmed its prominent position and outstanding academic quality, as the results of the QS ranking have been testifying for the last few years. The training offer for students interested in the fields of philosophy and communication have noteworthily broadened in the recent years. At the same time, there has been a steady increase in the number of both undergraduate and graduate students.

Furthermore, FILCOM is one of the winners of the Strategic Departmental Development Project (PSSD) of the University. This project aims at improving the Department itself from the point of view of interdisciplinarity and international scope. The PhD programme Philosophy, Science, Cognition and Semiotics (PSCS), expression of all the disciplines composing FILCOM, has exhibited a positive evolution in terms of qualification, interdisciplinarity and internationalisation since the very origins of the Department itself.

The two buildings of the Department (via Zamboni 38 and via Azzo Gardino 23) are the historical sites of the two previous Departments. Both of these structures, through a synergic cooperation that incorporates their history and function, continue to be places of research and training for all scholars and students who intend to investigate issues concretely related to the distinctive disciplines of the Department.