Education

2002 - 2007 (31st of May 2007)
PhD in Sociology
The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, U.K.
Title of the thesis: “Immigration Control in Italian Political Elite Debates. A Political Discourse
Analysis of Immigration Control Policy in a Southern European Country”.
Supervisors: Dr. L. Schuster and Dr. C. Husbands
External examiners: Prof. L. Back (Goldsmiths College) and Prof. M. Martiniello (University of
Louvain).

2001 - 2002
MA in International Studies
University of Trento, Italy

1996 - 2001
Laurea (BA) in Sociology (110/110 summa cum laude)
University of Trento, Italy
Title of the thesis: “Immigration and New Ethnic Minorities. A Comparison of Processes of Integration
and Urban Segregation in Italy and the US”.

Academic career and teaching activities

- April 2017- April 2020: fixed-term Assistant Professor in Sociology of the
Environment and Territory (Ricercatore a tempo determinato A).

Teaching: Sociology of Territory (Advanced) (48 hours); Sociology of Environment (24 hours)

- December 2010- December 2016: fixed-term Assistant Professor in Sociology of the
Environment and Territory (Ricercatore a tempo determinato L.230/05 in SPS/10), Department of
Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento.

Teaching: Sociology of Territory (Advanced) (48 hours); Sociology of Environment (24 hours)

- 2017: Habilitation for Associate Professorship (ASN2016)

- 2011- 2017
Member of the board of the Doctoral School in Social Science of the University of Trento.
Member of the board of the PhD Program in Development Economics and Local Systems
(DELoS) (former Local Development and Global Dynamics (LDGD)) of the University of Trento.

Research interests

Environmental Sociology
Urban and Rural Sociology
Environmental conflicts
Energy transition
Sustainable development
Sustainable agriculture
Migration and development

Research work

Participation to competitive national and international research projects:

2018 - 2021

Bando: ERA-NET SusFood2. 

In charge of the project together with prof. Francesca Forno and Emanuela Bozzini.

Title of the project: Sustainable Food Platforms: Enabling sustainable food practices through socio-technical innovation.

Partners: Università degli Studi di Trento, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, University of Gothenburg , University College Cork

2011 – 2016
Research Officer
PRIN 2011(Research project of relevant national interest):
Title of the national project: “Sustainable Practices of Everyday Life in the Context of the Crisis:
Work, Consumption, Participation”. National coordinator: Prof. Bovone, Catholic University of
Milan.
Dr. Magnani worked as member of the local unit based at the University of Trieste. Research project
of the local unit: “Practices of green energy: Local circuits, intelligent networks and captive
markets”. Head of local unit: Prof. G. Osti, University of Trieste.

2007 - 2009
Research Officer
PRIN 2006 (Research project of relevant national interest):Title of the national project “Expertise, Institutions and Citizens in Environmental Conflicts”.
National coordinator: Prof. Pellizzoni. Dr. Magnani worked as member of the local unit based at the
University of Trento. Head of local unit: Prof. L. Struffi, University of Trento.

2007- 2008
Research Officer – Interuniversity center for the study of the welfare state (CRISS), Siena, Italy
INEQ project: “Inequality: Mechanisms, Effects and Policy”, VI European Research Framework
Program: "Citiziens and Governance in a Knowledge-Based Society.
Dr. Magnani worked as member of the research unit in charge of WP7: “Social Processes: Gender
and Ethnic Inequalities”. Head of research unit: Prof. Franzina, University of Siena.

2003 - 2006
Research Officer – University of Trento, Italy
Department of Human and Social Sciences
IMALP project: “Implementation of Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Alpine
Mountains”, V European Research Framework Program “Quality of Life and Management of
Living Resources”. Dr. Magnani worked as member of the local unit based at the University of
Trento. Head of local unit: Prof. L. Struffi, University of Trento.

Direction of research projects:
2009 – 2010
Post-Doc Research Fellowship awarded by the Province of Trento - University of Trento, Italy
Department of Sociology and Social Research.
Research project: “Immigration and partnerships with countries of origin: the national context and
the case of the Trento province” (IMMIGPARTNER).

Memberships in societies and scientific committees

- Ordinary Membership of ESA

- Membership of the board of the ESA Research Network 12 (Environment and Society)

- Membership of the Energy and Society network

- Membership of editorial boards:
Quaderni del Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, University of Trento.
Book Series ‘Energy, Environment and Society’ of the Italian editor Aracne.
Book Series ‘Circular Economy, Sociological Studies, Education’ of the Italian editor Pensa
MultiMedia.

Awards and honours

2004
Visiting PhD student at the European University Institute (EUI), Dept. of Sociology, Florence.

2003
University of London Central Fund Grant for PhD field studies.

2002-2006
Tuition fees waiver for the PhD in Sociology, Department of Sociology, LSE.

2001 - 2002
Full Scholarship from the University of Trento to attend the MA in International Studies.


2000 - 2001
Research Fellowship from the University of Trento to study at the Graduate Research Centre on
European Studies of the School of International Service, American University, Washington D.C.

1999 - 2000
Columbus Scholarship from the University of Trento to study for 6 months at the City University
of New York (CUNY), Department of Sociology, Hunter College, New York.
 

Conferences and lectures

 

2018

'Understanding renewable energy commons: translation, policentricity and intermediation' (con Dario Minervini), presentato alla Fourth Energy and Society Conference: Energy transitions in a divided world. Midterm conference of the European Sociological Association Research Network, 3-5 September, University of Essex, UK.

2017

'Forms and challenges of civil society engagement in the energy transition: the case of Italy', presentato alla 13th ESA Conference, 29 August-1 September 2017, Athens, Greece.

2016

‘Italian renewable energy cooperatives between localism and social movement’, Paper accettato come guest speaker alla 3rd Energy and Society Conference (ESA RN12 Midterm conference) Transforming energy for society, Leipzig, Germany, 12-14 September, 2016.

'Policies and Practices of Housing Energy Retrofit in Northern Italian Cities' paper accettato al 3rd ISA Forum of Sociology, Vienna, 10-14 July 2016.

2015

‘Policy tools, energy certification agencies and social practices of energy retrofit in the compact city: a case study from Italy’, presentato al 12th European Sociological Association Conference, Prague, 25-28  August2015.

 

‘La società civile italiana nella transizione energetica: debolezze e nuove sfide’ (con G. Osti) presentato al X Congress of Italian Environmental Sociology, Bologna, 18-19 June 2015.

 

2014

 ‘Organized green consumers in Italy’s energy transition: challenges and strategies’, presentato alla 2nd Energy and Society Conference (ESA RN12 Midterm conference), Institute of Sociology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, 4-6 June, 2014.

 

2013

‘Community renewable energy and sustainable development in fragile rural areas’, presented at the 9th National Congress of Italian Environmental Sociologists - RisorsAmbiente: Policies, Practices and Cultures of Innovative Sustainability, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 4-5 October 2013.

 

‘Ecopreneurs, community-based renewable energy and alternative socio-technical approaches to sustainable development: a comparison of two community solar projects’, presented at the 11th ESA Conference – Crisis, Critique and Change, Turin 28-31 August, 2013.

 

 ‘Sustainable rural development and the energy transition: towards a modernized mixtures approach’ (with G. Carrosio), presented at the 25th Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology - Rural resilience and vulnerability: The rural as locus of solidarity and conflict in times of crisis, Florence, 29 August – 1 July 2013.

‘Renewable energy between business and social innovation’ presented at the conference Land grabbing also in Italy?, organized by Province of Rovigo and University of Trieste, Rovigo, 15-16 March 2013.

 

2012

‘Renewable energy and rural conflicts: ecological modernization vs. sustainable development?’, presented at the Energy & Society Conference (ESA RN12 Midterm conference), Institute of Social Sciences (ICS‐UL), Lisbon, Portugal, 22‐24 March, 2012.

 

‘Environmental justice and urban solid waste management: top-down and bottom-up representations in the case of Trento’s incinerator’, presented at the conference Environmental Justice. The distribution of natural resources between tenacious and fragile areas, organized by Province of Rovigo and University of Trieste, Rovigo, 13-14 April 2012.

 

‘Regional spillover effects of renewable energy generation in Italy’(with A. Vaona), presented at the 9th International Conference on the European Energy Market EEM12, EUI, Florence, 10-12 May 2012.

 

‘Characteristics and socio-demographic impacts of international migration on Alpine communities. A case study from Italy’, presented at the 13th World Congress of Rural Sociology, Lisbon, Portugal, 29-4 August 2012.

 

2011

‘The new inhabitants of the Alpine valleys of Trentino: the case of the Val Rendena (Tn)’, presented at the conference Living as foreigners in fragile areas. The integration of migrants in small towns, Province of Rovigo and University of Trieste, Rovigo, 19 March 2011.

 

‘Renewable energy, Alpine agriculture and the limits of the ecological modernization discourse. A case study of a conflict over a biogas power plant’, presented at the 24th Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology - Inequality and Diversity in European Rural Areas, Chania, Greece, 22-25 August 2011.

 

‘Renewable energy and rural alpine communities: opportunity for sustainable rural development or tool to support industrialized and de-territorialized agriculture?’, presented at the 8th National Congress of Italian Environmental Sociologists, Catholic University, Brescia, 23-24 September 2011.

 

‘Civil society, institutions, science and non-human actors in conflicts over municipal waste management infrastructures: a case study from Italy’, presented at the 10th Conference of the European Sociological Association - Social Relations in Turbulent Times, Geneva, Switzerland, 7-10 September 2011.

Other work

Organization of seminars:

2018-2019 (with Francesca Forno). Organizing for Sustainability: food, energy and fair tradeUniversity of Trento, Department of Sociology and Social Research. Chair: Michel Micheletti.

2017-2018 (with E. Bozzini and Lorenzo Beltrame). Title: Environment and Society. University of Trento, Department of Sociology and Social Research. The cycle of seminars amounts to 12 hours, 2 credits.

2016 - 2017 (with E. Bozzini) Title: Natural resources and conflicts: energy, water and
biodiversity. University of Trento, Department of Sociology and Social Research. The cycle of
seminars amounts to 12 hours, 2 credits.
2015 – 2016 (with A. Pretto) Title: Methodological approaches for the study of territory.
University of Trento, Department of Sociology and Social Research. The cycle of seminars
amounted to 12 hours, 2 credits.
2012 – 2013 (with A. Bruni) Title: Technologies and territories: organizing the sustainability of
social practices. University of Trento, Department of Sociology and Social Research. The cycle of
seminars amounted to 12 hours, 2 credits.

 

Review for international and national journals:
Society & Natural Resources, Journal of Rural Studies, Organization & Environment, Business and
Society, International Migration, Journal of Ethnic and Racial Studies, Energy Policy, Energy Research and Social Sciences, Land Use Policy, Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, Journal of Cleaner production, Sustainability, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Mountain Research and Development, International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems, Partecipazione e Conflitto, Sociologia Urbana e Rurale.