Gerardo Pastore

Gerardo Pastore, PhD in History and Sociology of Modernity, is Associate Professor of General Sociology at the Department of Political Science, University of Pisa, where he teaches Sociology of Globalisation, Sociology of Social Control and Deviance, and Sociology of Health. He holds the Italian National Scientific Habilitation (Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale) as Full Professor (Prima Fascia) in General Sociology, competition sector 14/C1 – General Sociology (10 July 2025).

His research interests lie in critical sociology, social inequalities and processes of emancipation, with particular attention to the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion within contemporary welfare and penal institutions. A substantial part of his work examines prison as a total institution and as a generator of social suffering, focusing on the lived experience of incarceration, the reconfiguration of social relations, and the organisation of care in contexts of deprivation of liberty. Additional areas of expertise include qualified mobility, knowledge-based societies, and transformations of social control in late modernity.

From 2016 to 2024, he was a member of the research group of the Departamento de Sociología I (Theory, Methodology and Social Change) at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, within the research line "Educación en prisión e inclusión social", coordinated by Prof. Antonio Viedma Rojas. From 2017 to 2024, he participated in the research programme Aux frontières du politique : entre performances de la Culture et Invariants at the Université de Corse – Pasquale Paoli (UMR CNRS LISA 6240), contributing to comparative analyses of culture, politics and marginality in Mediterranean contexts.

At the University of Pisa, he is Co-Director of the research group KAIRÓS – Research Group on Social Control, Imprisonment, Prisoners’ Education and Social Inclusion, and Coordinator of the Research Centre on New Migrations and Qualified Mobility “UBIQUAL” (since 2018). Since 2019, he has also served as Department Delegate for the University Prison Education Centre (Polo Universitario Penitenziario). At national level, he is Coordinator of the working group supporting the National Conference of Rectors’ Delegates for University Prison Education Centres (CRUI), contributing to research activities, project development and international cooperation on prison education and the right to study.

He has participated in several national and international research projects, including two PRIN projects (2004; 2010/2011) and the European “VIS Network” project on support and assistance to victims of crime.

He is currently involved in two European-funded projects. He is a member of the research team of the Erasmus+ PARTNER project - Participatory Approach for Training, Empowerment, and Health Education Resources in Prisons. In parallel, he is a member of the interdisciplinary research team of the Horizon Europe – EU4Health PACE project (Path to equity: expanding access to cancer-preventing vaccination for adults and juveniles in European carceral settings). Within PACE, he contributes to the analysis of structural and intersectional vulnerabilities in prison, the design of participatory interventions, and the development of evidence-based guidelines aimed at reducing health inequalities and strengthening prison health as an integral component of public health.

His academic activity combines teaching, research and third-mission engagement with institutions, professionals and civil society organisations operating in the fields of penality, social services and health. He regularly participates in national and international conferences and supervises graduate and postgraduate research in sociology, criminology and health studies

SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS:https://arpi.unipi.it/simple-search?query=&needescape=1&rpp=10&sort_by=bi_sort_2_sort&order=DESC&filter_field_1=author&filter_type_1=authority&filter_value_1=rp06975#.YDj