The study centre wishes to study the phenomenon of urban suffering, in other words the suffering that is specific to the great metropolises.
Urban Suffering is a category that describes the meeting of individual suffering with the social fabric that they inhabit. The description, the understanding and the transformation of the psychological and social dynamics that develop from the meeting of personal stories with institutions, in other words individuals and environments, too often hide one of the two components of the suffering/city dyad. The category of Urban Suffering allows us to research, know and transform the intersection of individuals and environments with the moral and political ambition to build citizenship, in other words a community of citizens.
Social exclusion, marginalization, absolute and relative poverty, unemployment, discrimination, immigration are different and often intersecting axes of the psychosocial vulnerability of many minorities, that together constitute the majority of the citizens of the great cities of the world: a cross-section nation of the official nations that has in common a violation of human rights that diminishes and incapacitates the social and psychological forms of full citizenship and the possible aspirations of happiness of the women, men, teenagers, elderly and children of the city.
The SOUQ Study Centre works towards:
researching and generating innovative models for the understanding of the phenomenon of Urban Suffering;
documenting experiences and good practices for promoting full citizenship and urban health at a national and international level;
facilitating the networking of knowledge and experiences of the promotion of full citizenship, rights and urban health;
contributing to the training of entrepreneurs of urban transformation and governance;
influencing cultural and political processes of urban governance;
creating a workshop available to governments and local institutions for the discussion of matters of citizenship, health and urban suffering.
SOUQ Areas
health/mental health
deinstitutionalization/fighting exclusion
poverty
work/social entrepreneurship
justice/rights/prisons
immigration/racism
welfare
business
habitat/city planning
public administration/services
The SOUQ Study Centre publishes and recommends:
SouQuaderni
A biyearly, online and bilingual (Italian/English) journal that includes in each number two or three monographic interdisciplinary papers on subjects of urban suffering, two columns (Practice waiting for theory and Theory waiting for practice) and noted international references. The journal promotes and presents networks and connections with big cities all over the world that have similar situations, analogous environments of urbanization and therefore marginalization and new poverty.
SouQuaderni makes use of a qualified international scientific board that guaranties the strategic and cultural stance.
Published works:SouQuaderni April 1st 2010; November 2nd 2010; April 3rd 2011; November 4th 2011
SouQAnnuario
An annual publication published by “Il Saggiatore”, that collects a selection of articles published online and further original contributions pertaining to the areas of research of the Study Centre.
Recently published:Annuario 2010: SOUQ 2010- Governare confusioni urbane, il Saggiatore, Milano 2010
In the process of being printed, expected in November 2011: SOUQ 2011_ Resistenza Urbana, Il Saggiatore, Milano 2011
SouQConferences/Seminars:
2009Strade Liberate. Conference with Benito Baranda (Hogar de Cristo, Cile): “Integrazione sociale dei senza fissa dimora”
2010Paura e Cura. Conference with Adolfo Ceretti (Università Milano Bicocca):“I luoghi della paura”
2010La città feroce: salute mentale e precarietà urbana. Conference with Vikram Patel (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases): “Poverty, development and mental health”
2011 Conference and Seminars with Arthur Kleinman (Harvard University): “Social Suffering in Urban Spaces”, prevista in dicembre 2011
SouQInternational Forum: International forum dealing with matters of urban suffering and the innovative experiences in the big cities of the North and South of the world with the contributions of the experts of the international Souq network.
2011, Urban Suffering, Human Rights and Good Governance, Conservatorio di Milano
CineSouQ:
An annual review of videos, short-films and movies that document: cities, fear, exclusion, health services and mental health services, urban entrepreneurship, human rights, social inclusion.
Stefano Allovio, Angelo Barbato, Bianca Beccalli, Giovanni Bianchi, Lucia Castellano, Adolfo Ceretti, Ota De Leonardis, Sergio Escobar, Giorgio Ferraresi, Luca Formenton, Nicoletta Gandus, Giovanni Grandi, Francesco Maisto, Paolo Oddi , Pier Luigi Porta, Ivo Quaranta, Margherita Saraceno, Martina Tombari.
International Correspondents:
Rajiah Abu Sway, Palestine. Benito Baranda, Chile. Hugo Cohen, Argentina. Pedro Gabriel Delgado, Brazil. Manuel Desviat, Spain. Melvyn Freeman, South Africa. John Jenkins, Great Britain. Itzhak Levav, Israel. Ambrogio Manenti, Iran. Hugo Mercer, Argentina. Alberto Minoletti, Chile. Srinavasan Murthy, India. Fernanda Nicacio, Brazil. Soumitra Pathare, India. Dainius Puras, Lithuania. Jean Luc Roelandt, France. Wolfgang Rutz, Germany. Dynath Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka. Sashi Sashidaran, Great Britain. Stelios Stylianidis, Greece. Naotaka Shinfuku, Japan. Rangaswami Thara, India. Roberto Tykanory, Brazil. Robert Van Voren, Netherlands. Lakshmy Vijaikumar, India.
SouQuaderni Editorial Committee
Angelo Barbato, Bianca Beccalli, Virginio Colmegna, Silvia Landra, Francesco Maisto, Marzia Ravazzini, Benedetto Saraceno (scientific director), Martina Tombari.
The study centre wishes to study the phenomenon of urban suffering, in other words the suffering that is specific to the great metropolises.
Urban Suffering is a category that describes the meeting of individual suffering with the social fabric that they inhabit. The description, the understanding and the transformation of the psychological and social dynamics that develop from the meeting of ...
The Urban Suffering Studies Center - SOUQ - arises from Milan, a place of complexity and economic and social contradictions belonged to global world.Tightly linked to Casa della Carità Foundation, which provides assistance and care to unserved populations in Milan (such as immigrants legal and illegal, homeless, vulnerable minorities), the Urban Suffering Studies Center puts attention on ...
