Cirsdig
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The Inter-University Centre for Research on the Sociology of Law, Information and Legal Institutions (CIRSDIG) is a network created in 1988 by the Universities of Messina and Macerata in Italy.
Aims
The Center aims:
- to develop research activities in the sociology of law and studies on legal institutions, with particular focus on the aspects of communication and information law;
- to implement Ph.D. courses, awards, and scholarships (CIRSDIG is, in fact, one of the promoting institutions of the Ph.D. courses on "Analysis and Theory of Political Institutions, Social and Communicative Changes" at the University of Messina, "Sociology of Legal and Political Institutions and Analysis of Administrative processes" and "Theory of Information and Communication" at the University of Macerata);
- to promote the exchange of information among scholars in a framework of cooperation with public and private institutions;
- to stimulate interdisciplinary approaches.
Projects
Over the years, CIRSDIG has realized a number of scientific research projects, published a series of working papers,[1] and organized several events. Specifically, the Centre has studied law and communicative processes by means of empirical research conducted by Italian and foreign scholars. In addition to the research activities in the field of law and legal communication, the Centre has developed studies on journalism and communication. Among the others, the Center has studied the “journalistic construction of electoral campaigns”, deviance, youth, and immigration. Recently, the Centre has produced a research in the field of education, "The Normative Impact of the Legislation on Schooling and Education in Calabria", financed by the Local Government of Calabria.
The quality of the working papers published by the Center is remarkable, peer-reviewed, and freely distributed. These studies address a vast number of topics (media, crime, legal change, family, etc.) and represent an interesting experience in the landscape of the Italian research and publishing market. By using the flexibility of the Internet, and thanks to the support of an international-based community of scholars, these working papers present a relevant scientific quality and have a cost equal to zero.
Other roles
Apart from the research activities, CIRSDIG organizes seminars, conferences, and other similar events. In May 2001, an international conference on the new communicative and social codes was held at the University of Messina. Participants included Michel Maffesoli, Eric Landowski, Oscar Correas, and Roque Carrion-Wam, among others. Presented papers were later published in two books. Another important event organized by the Center is the conference on Youth, Values and Liquid Society, held in Messina in 2004, with participants coming from various Italian universities: Mario Morcellini, Valerio Pocar, Antonio La Spina, and Domenico Carzo.
CIRSDIG plays an important role in the local academic and civic communities, particularly by involving public opinion in a successful attempt to raise issues and to discuss about phenomena that had not been carefully observed by the cultural and scientific worlds. In 2006, for example, an important research project was carried out on the subject of usury and organized crime in the city of Messina – a study that raised the interest of the national press. Today, the Centre covers a larger spectrum of interests and is focused principally on "social change" in the Southern Italian society. To do so, new studies on New Media, multiculturalism, and social protections have been promoted.
In May 2006, CIRSDIG began a new empirical study on "Cultural Consumption and Social Imaginaries: Gender Perspectives", which is still in progress.
