The Department of Rural and Urban Studies and Sociology of Social Change  comprises 14 academic and teaching staff members.

Within the department, several thematic research

teams can be distinguished, focusing on:

• Rural sociology (with a particular emphasis on

social innovations in rural areas);

• Urban sociology (including, among others, the

revitalization of post-industrial cities and quality of life in urban areas);

• The functioning of local government;

• The condition of civil society (including issues

of civic engagement, social capital, and the functioning of the nonprofit sector);

• Social inequalities and social exclusion;

• Demography, social gerontology, and social policy;

• Sociology of gender (gender studies);

• Sociology of the family;

• Sociology of the body;

• Sociology of physical culture.