Bio
Pierluca Birindelli PhD, Sociologist and Cultural Anthropologist, is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Alumnus and Docent (University of Helsinki). He teaches at Gonzaga University in Florence, International Studies Institute and New Haven University.
Birindelli earned his PhD in Sociology at the University of Florence and has been a PhD Visiting Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and at Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Université de Paris). In 2010, he was awarded the qualification of Researcher in Social Sciences (Sociology and Cultural Anthropology) by CNR (Italian National Research Council) and in 2013 became Docent in Sociology at the University of Helsinki. In 2014 he received a Faculty Development Grant by Gonzaga University in Florence to write the monograph The Passage from Youth to Adulthood. In 2016 he was awarded with the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (MSCA) under the European Commission funding program “HORIZON 2020 Excellent Science”. He was nominated (2017) MSCA fellow of the week and awarded with an ulterior grant by the Department of Social Research (University of Helsinki) to carry out the research project “International Student’s Self-Identity Abroad”.
Birindelli taught in several academic institutions: University of Florence, Georgetown University, Kent State University, International Research Master in Social Sciences (University of Helsinki).
He is currently EU Expert in Social Sciences and Humanities (funding program “HORIZON Europe 2021-2027”). Within the European Sociological Association he is an active member of the research networks “Global, Transnational and Cosmopolitan Sociology” (board).
Birindelli has authored a number of articles addressing the themes of individual and collective identity, four books on youth and generations, and two monographs about narrative identity in late Modernity.
Courses Taught at the Institute
- Identity and Culture
- Sociology of the Arts
Credentials
- 2003 Ph.D. in Sociology of Culture and Communication, University of Florence
- 1999 M.A., Media, Communication and Cultural Studies, University of Florence
- 1998 Laurea in Political Science, University of Florence
Honors & Latest Projects
Pierluca Birindelli has published in Italian two books on the passage from youth to adulthood (Clicca su te stesso 2006; I giovani italiani tra famiglia e scuola 2010), a monograph about self-identity in late modernity (Sé: Concetti e pratiche 2008) and a number of articles addressing the themes of individual and collective identity. In English, he is the author of the book The Passage from Youth to Adulthood: Narrative and Cultural Thresholds (2014).
Birindelli adopts a multidisciplinary approach: Sociology; Social and Cultural Anthropology; Psychology, Communication, Narrative Studies.
His research interests include: Individual and Collective Identities; Cultural Globalization and Cosmopolitanism; Education and Human Development in Comparative Perspective; Media, Self and Society. His current research project is a qualitative and comparative study: “The Cultural Experience of International Students: Narratives from North and South Europe”.
Visit his website and the Cultural Experience of International Students blog.
Latest publications
Birindelli, P. (2023). The Experience of International Students: Biographical Narratives and Identities. Soc (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-023-00809-0
Birindelli, P. (2022). Narrative Identity: A Personal Roadmap. Franco Angeli: Milano. https://www.francoangeli.it/Libro/Narrative-Identity?Id=28227
Teaching Philosophy
My primary goal is to foster students’ critical thinking and imagination. I believe that the best way to obtain this objective lies in the capacity to construct a dialogic environment, where is crystal clear that learning together, the best we can, is our mission (nothing more, nothing less). Students shall never censor themselves, but always express their opinions upon any theme—and the discussion about sensitive themes shall never be avoided in a social science class—keeping in mind that reading, studying and being curious is the only way to construct thoughtful interpretations. Students should also try to take the challenge of exploring unknown cultural territory, not expecting to receive the “perfect map”— you go from A to B and then to C and so on —in advance.
Most Rewarding Moments
When students express their opinions and at the same time are willing to question them.
Favorite Quote
The primary task of a useful teacher is to teach his students to recognize “inconvenient” facts—I mean facts that are inconvenient for their party opinions. And for every party opinion there are facts that are extremely inconvenient, for my own opinion no less than for others (Max Weber)