Cv & Bio

Paolo MagauddaHello, I’m Associate Professor in Sociology of Culture and Communication at the Padova University – Dept. FISPPA, where I work with the PaSTIS research unit (which I co-founded in 2008). I’m member of the Board of Directors and coordinator of the teaching activities of the PhD program in Social Sciences at the University of Padova. Since 2019 i’m Co-editor-in-chief of “Studi Culturali” the leading Italian scientific journal on the social study of culture. I’m also member of the boards of “Sociologica” and “Dancecult“.

Between 2013 and 2018 I have been Secretary of STS Italia, the Italian Society for the Social Study of Science & Technology, which gathers more than one hundred Italian STS scholars. In 2010 I founded (and co-edited up to 2021) the journal “Tecnoscienza and since 2019. In 2020 I got the ‘habilitation’ as Full Professor in Cultural Sociology (14/C2) within the Italian academic system.

My interests focus on a wide range of phenomena related to the nexus between technology, culture and society, with particular attention to the role of digital media in society, on the how consumer culture shapes technological modernity, popular culture as a crucial dimension for understanding science and technology in society and, last but not least, the relationship between music and technology.  My main academic sectors are science and technology studies, media studiescultural sociologyconsumer studiescultural studies and sound studies.


My full CV in italian (Updated oct. 2022)

My short academic Bio in english (Updated oct. 2022)



I have published more than eighty book chapters and refereed articles in many journals, including “Journal of Consumer Culture”, “Cultural Sociology”, “Science as Culture”, “Convergence”, “Annals of the International Communication Association”, “Computer Supported Cooperative Work”, “Revue d’Anthropologie des Connaissances”, “Journal of Science Communication”, “Journal of Peer Production”, “Appetite”, “Modern Italy”, “Rassegna Italiana di Sociologia”, “Polis”, “Sociologica”, “Studi Culturali” and “Tecnoscienza: Italian Journal of Science and Technology Studies”. Here you will find a showcase of many books and special issues:

///On media technologies ///

Schermata 2022-08-11 alle 17.00.32/// 2022 /// Young People and the Smartphone. Everyday Life on the Small Screen /// Palgrave /// with Michela Drusian and Marco Scarcelli.

Focusing on smartphone practices and experiences of youth today, this volume is the result of empirical research based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with young people aged 18-30. Grounded in media theory and analyzed through a blended lens of media and science and technology studies, the book offers detailed insights into the everyday use of smartphones.

SCIOLLA 1109.qxd/// 2021 /// Media digitali: la storia, i contesti le narrazioni ///Laterza /// with Gabriele Balbi

This handbook for italian speaking students aims to be innovative and to look at the relationship between society and digital media over a long period of time. This is in the belief that it is necessary to provide a broad and coherent picture of the ways in which digital media have become so relevant to contemporary societies.

Schermata 2019-06-21 alle 11.49.36/// 2019 /// Vite interconnesse: Pratiche digitali attraverso app, smartphone e piattaforme online /// Meltemi /// with Michela Drusian and Marco Scarcelli.

The book offers an analysis of the use of the smartphone among young people aged between 18 and 30. On the basis of the data collected and the most recent bibliographic documentation, the research investigates the implications of the use of platforms and mobile apps in relation to different spheres of the experience of young Italians, and in particular with respect to identity construction, social relations and consumption practices.

9781138630222 /// 2018 /// History of Digital Media. A Global and Intermedia Perspective /// Routledge ///with Gabriele Balbi.

This book text offers a comprehensive introduction to digital media history for students and scholars across media and communication studies, providing an overview of the main turning points in digital media and highlighting the interactions between political, business, technical, social, and cultural elements throughout history.

Fallimenti-digitali/// 2018 /// Fallimenti Digitali: un archeologia dei ‘nuovi’ media /// Unicopli  /// with Gabriele Balbi

The book brings together original contributions dedicated to different media sectors (from photography to networks, from TV to radio, from print to virtual reality, from cinema to video games) in order to explore and deconstruct the category of failure in the digital universe. The result is an ‘archaeological’ work of rediscovery and excavation in the recent history of what are (often improperly) called new media.

Schermata 2016-07-19 alle 09.28.14 /// 2016 /// Digital Circulation: Media, Materiality and Infrastructures /// Tecnoscienza /// with Gabriele Balbi and Alessandro Delfanti.

/// 2015 /// Sociologia dei nuovi media /// Pearson /// italian version ofNick Couldry’s bookMedia, Society, World“,

/// 2014 /// Storia dei media digitali. Rivoluzioni e continuità /// Laterza /// with Gabriele Balbi.

The book takes you on an original journey through the history of digital media, from the first half of the 20th century to the present day. It retraces the main stages in the history of the computer, the Internet, the mobile phone and the digitisation of certain sectors of the cultural industry such as music, the press, cinema, photography and radio and television.

/// On music and technology ///

Cover/// 2024 /// Platformed! How Streaming, Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence are Shaping Music Cultures /// Palgrave /// With Tiziano Bonini

Bringing together the perspectives from  science and technology studies, media studies, and the political economy of digital platforms, the book outlines the process of mutual construction between music digital platforms and the practices and cultural values of music in today’s society.

Schermata 2023-02-17 alle 10.13.31/// 2023 /// La musica nell’era digitale /// Il Mulino  /// with T. Bonini

Using examples, quantitative data and interviews with young music consumers and music industry professionals, the book guides the reader to understand how the platforms behind music production, distribution and listening work in the digital society.


Schermata-2013-05-28-a-13.09.48/// 2013 /// Special Issue on Sound Studies  /// “Studi Culturali” /// with Michela Drusian and Marco Scarcelli.

Schermata-2013-06-03-a-09.50.46/// 2013 ///Old and new music spaces /// “Lo Squaderno”  /// with A. Brighenti and A. Bruni

fb81c64cover23746/// 2012 /// Oggetti da ascoltare. HiFi, iPod e consumo delle tecnologie musicali /// Il Mulino 

/// On innovation and technology as culture ///

Schermata 2022-12-02 alle 19.11.01/// 2023 /// Co-creazione e responsabilità nell’innovazione tecnoscientifica dal basso /// Meltemi  /// With S. Arnaldi and S. Crabu

 


cover_issue_53_en_US/// 2022 /// Disentangling Futures from a Science and Technology Studies Perspective /// “Tecnoscienza: italian Journal of Science and Technology Studies  /// with S. Crabu.At the end of 2022 i co-edited with my colleague Stefano Crabu a special section of the journal Tecnoscienza on the  approaches to the study of the relationship between innovation and the future with a STS perspective, including articles by Barbara Prainsack, Marc Audétat, Philippe Sormani and Silvia Casini......

9788815287892_0_0_626_75/// 2020 ///Gli studi  sociali sulla scienza e la tecnologia  /// Il Mulino /// with Federico Neresini.

9789401791038/// 2014 ///Responsibility in Nanotechnology Development  /// Springer  /// with Simone Arnaldi, Arianna Ferrari and Francesca Marin

Cover/// 2014 /// A Matter of Design /// STS Italia A huge volume containing about 80 papers from the V STS Italia Conference, which I have co-organized in Milan in 2014. It is a open access publication and is the first book output by STS Italia Publishing.

innovazione-pop_3/// 2012 ///Innovazione Pop. Nanotecnologie, scienziati e invenzioni nella popular culture  /// Il Mulino

librosceienzatv/// 2011 ///La scienza sullo schermo. La rappresentazione della tecnoscienza nella televisione italiana /// Il Mulino /// with Federico Neresini