Ateneo - UPO

The course will provide a general overview of the mechanisms of social communication, with a particular focus on both the ethical aspects of communication by public institutions and on disinformation and its impact on individual and collective decision-making. It will also explore how the persuasive and manipulative aspects of communication are conceptually linked to behavioural economics.

R. Thaler, Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, and Future, in "American Economic Review", 106, 7, pp. 1577-1600
Noggle, Robert, "The Ethics of Manipulation", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2026 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = .
The slides and scientific articles shared during the lectures will be considered integral material.

The course aims to:

1) provide the fundamental conceptual tools for understanding processes of pragmatic, argumentative, and persuasive communication in public and organizational contexts;
2) develop the ability to recognize and critically analyze persuasive strategies, forms of manipulation, argumentative fallacies, and disinformation mechanisms, including in relation to the processes studied by behavioral economics;
3) develop communicative, argumentative, and deliberative skills applicable to managerial and professional contexts, with particular attention to the ethical implications of communication, the vulnerability of recipients, and responsible management.

The course integrates asynchronous online activities with interactive in-person activities, making particular use of case analysis, argumentative exercises, simulations, and debating activities.

No prerequisites

The course adopts a blended learning approach, designed to coherently integrate asynchronous online activities (2 CFU) with sessions in person (1 CFU).
The asynchronous activities are primarily devoted to introducing and systematising the key theoretical concepts of communicative pragmatics and behavioural economics, providing interpretative models, analytical frameworks and tools for understanding individual, group and organisational dynamics.
The In-person session focuses on the development of soft skills and the practical application of theoretical content through case studies, simulations, role plays and group work. During these sessions, students are encouraged to critically reflect on organisational behaviours, engage with different perspectives and experiment with effective communication, collaboration and decision-making practices.
The course includes practical exercises and collaborative projects aimed at strengthening transversal skills such as teamwork, leadership, conflict management and self-awareness in organisational contexts.
Overall, the course design seeks to balance flexibility and active participation, fostering experiential learning and the ability to transfer theory and skills to real organisational situations, with particular attention to issues related to innovation and sustainability.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Assessment is based on:

- group project work: 30% of the final grade;
- individual final written exam: 70% of the final grade.

The project work involves the analysis of a case of public, organizational, digital, or persuasive communication. Students will be required to identify the communicative strategies used, reconstruct their argumentative structure, recognize any manipulative elements, fallacies, or forms of disinformation, and formulate a critical and ethically grounded evaluation. The project work primarily assesses:

- ability to apply knowledge and understanding;
- making judgements;
- argumentative skills;
- communication skills;
- ability to collaborate.

The evaluation takes into account conceptual accuracy, depth of analysis, argumentative rigor, the ability to distinguish between description and normative evaluation, clarity of exposition, and the quality of collaborative work.

The final written exam includes: 10 multiple-choice questions; 1 open-ended question. A multiple-choice answer that is not given is the same as a wrong multiple-choice answer.

The multiple-choice questions primarily assess knowledge and understanding of the fundamental concepts of pragmatics, argumentation, persuasion, manipulation, disinformation, and behavioral economics. The open-ended question requires the critical analysis or discussion of a problem, a short case, or a thesis related to the course topics, and specifically assesses:

- ability to apply concepts;
- making judgements;
- ability to construct an argument;
- clarity and appropriateness of communication.

The ten multiple-choice questions carry a maximum total of 10 points, and the open-ended question carries a maximum of 20 points. Incorrect or unanswered multiple-choice questions do not incur penalties.

The written exam is passed with a minimum score of 18/30. The final grade is derived from the project work (30%) and the individual written exam (70%). The grade bands are as follows:

- 18–20: essential knowledge of the concepts and sufficient ability to recognize the fundamental elements of an argument or a communicative case;
- 21–23: correct knowledge and adequate analytical ability;
- 24–26: good knowledge, ability to correctly apply theoretical tools, and fair critical autonomy;
- 27–29: comprehensive knowledge, strong argumentative analysis skills, and good independent judgement;
- 30–30 cum laude: in-depth understanding, ability to critically analyze complex cases, originality of argumentation, high independent judgement, and full command of disciplinary language.

Preparation for the final exam will be based on the texts indicated in the Syllabus, the slides, and the scientific articles made available. The materials, cases, and exercises used in the debating activities and interactive sessions also constitute useful material for preparing the project work.

The course will focus on emerging organisational challenges, such as diversity and inclusion management and the evolution of hybrid, remote, and virtual work settings, along with their impact on communication — across its logical-critical, argumentative, and persuasive dimensions — as well as on peer collaboration, leadership, and organisational well-being. In this regard, the course will examine key aspects of late-20th-century pragmatics: theoretical principles of social communication will be applied to techniques of persuasive rhetoric and to students’ own practice of public communication, with the aim of strengthening their autonomy of judgment. Examples will be drawn both from ancient philosophical texts (with particular reference to Aristotle) devoted to the persuasive effectiveness of public speech, and from contemporary marketing language, in order to illustrate — critically rather than philologically — the potential, limits, and ethical implications of public communication within the behavioural economics. Practical activities inspired by debating formats will be carried out during the lessons.
Gender mainstreaming: the course will examine the role of language, stereotypes and gender bias in public and organisational communication, analysing their implications for persuasion, ethics and decision-making.

Knowledge and Understanding. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

- know the main concepts of the pragmatics of communication;
- understand the role of context, communicative intention, and intersubjectivity in the interpretation of messages;
- know the main characteristics of argumentative and persuasive communication;
- understand the conceptual differences between persuasion, influence, and manipulation;
- know the main mechanisms of disinformation and some of the principal argumentative fallacies;
- understand the relationships between persuasive communication, decision-making processes, and behavioral economics.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding. Students will be able to:

- apply the tools of pragmatics and argumentative analysis to texts, speeches, public messages, and organizational communications;
- identify persuasive strategies, implicatures, presuppositions, and fallacies;
- recognize forms of manipulation and disinformation;
- analyze cases of public, managerial, institutional, and digital communication;
- use the tools acquired to construct coherent and effective arguments.

Making Judgements. Students will be able to:

- critically evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of communicative strategies;
- distinguish between legitimate forms of persuasion and problematic forms of manipulation;
- formulate well-reasoned judgments on the ethical implications of language use;
- recognize the role of individual vulnerability, cognitive biases, and informational asymmetries in communication;
- critically evaluate phenomena of disinformation and manipulative communication.

Communication Skills. Students will be able to:

- construct clear, coherent, and logically structured arguments;
- present and defend a position both orally and in writing;
- recognize and critically respond to alternative arguments;
- participate effectively in discussion and debating activities;
- adapt style, register, and communicative strategy to context and audience;
- appropriately use disciplinary terminology in English.

Learning Skills. Students will be able to:

- independently use the theoretical tools acquired to analyze new forms of communication;
- critically examine texts and cases concerning persuasion, manipulation, argumentation, and disinformation;
- transfer the communicative and critical skills acquired to different professional contexts;
- independently update their knowledge in relation to the evolution of communicative and digital environments.

Minimum expected learning level:
To achieve a passing grade, students must demonstrate knowledge of the main concepts of pragmatics, argumentation, persuasion, manipulation, and disinformation, and be able to use them to recognize and describe the fundamental elements of simple communicative cases. They must also be able to construct a comprehensible and substantially coherent argument.

Advanced expected learning level:
To achieve an advanced level, students must demonstrate the ability to independently analyze complex communicative cases, critically distinguish between different forms of persuasion and influence, identify fallacies and implicit presuppositions, evaluate the ethical implications of communicative strategies, and formulate original, rigorous arguments appropriate to the context.