The paper presents a political economy approach, aimed at achieving a better understanding of macro social change, with special reference to the case of contemporary Italy. The political economy framework outlined in the paper stresses the systemic nature of societal processes, starting from the changes occurring in economic activities, the division of labor, and class and regional forces in the aftermath of World War II. In this context, the public sector and, in particular, the class of political entrepreneurs and mediators has played a key role in the rise and the incipient demise of the Italian pattern of development. Finally, as far as the cultural sphere is concerned, the model outlined here focuses on religion and mass media as other relevant factors in a success story, which is now turning into decline.

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Collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task where each individual depends on and is accountable to each other. These include both face-to-face conversations, working group and online forums, chat, etc. The aim of this paper is to outline the main features of a project of collaborative learning in an international context: the Erasmus Intensive Programme Sono un Migrante to be implemented at the University of Salerno. Funded by the Italian Erasmus LLP Authority, the project involves the participation of students and teachers from 7 different universities of 6 EU countries.

Migration research has long highlighted the role of factors influencing migration flows at the structural level. Recent literature has shifted researchers’ attention to the individual drivers influencing the definition of migration strategies and, before that, the individual propensity for mobility. In this paper, we present the results of a multiple regression model applied to data collected by means of an online survey of students at the universities of Salerno (Italy) and Extremadura (Spain). The model highlights the low prominence achieved by factors such as gender and parental cultural capital on this propensity. A more important role is played by the personal experience of living abroad, a proactive attitude toward the future, and the propensity to seek professional self-fulfillment even at the price of sacrificing one’s territorial affiliation.

Migration flows from a southern European country to another one have received scarce attention so far. This is especially true for Italians migrating to Greece or, more specifically, the Athens area. Thus, there are limited insights as to the reasons why Italians are leaving and why they have been choosing Greece as their destination. This paper looks at their motives for migrating and their destination choice in order to understand the diversity of migratory trajectories through a typology. In order to do this, we carried out in-depth interviews to Italians living, both permanently and temporarily, in the Athens area, employing snowball sampling. As a result, we have identified 5 types of Italian immigrants in Athens: Mediterranean, nomadic, work, entrepreneurial, and marriage migrants. Mediterranean migrants are driven by the typically Mediterranean character of climate, landscape, food, and culture in their deliberate choice of Athens. Nomadic migrants have casually chosen Athens to satisfy their need of continuous physical mobility and multiple moorings as a defining aspect of their identity. Work migrants are motivated by the search of a job regardless of the place and work content. Entrepreneurial migrants are motivated by a vocation for a professional career in Athens. Finally, for marriage migrants, the choice of Athens is a consequence of a couple choice and shared life projects.