78904 - SEMIOTICS OF MEMORY (1) (LM)

Anno Accademico 2020/2021

  • Modalità didattica: Convenzionale - Lezioni in presenza
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Laurea Magistrale in Semiotica (cod. 8886)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

At the end of the course the student will have achieved the necessary tools to critically elaborate the main themes and aspects relating to cultural memory's problems in a semiotic perspective.

Contenuti

Memory studies are a relatively recent academic field, that aims at an interdisciplinary investigation on collective forms of remembering and processes of construction, transmission and communication of the past in contemporary societies and in contexts characterised by an intrinsic “semiotic complexity”.

At the same time, memory studies are often engaged in an incessant dialogue with other disciplines that have theorized on memory (philosophy, sociology, psychology, semiotics, cognitive sciences, anthropology and so forth).

The course will present and critically discuss the current debate in the field of memory studies, framing the main topics and issues in a semiotic perspective. Moving from a critical discussion of the notion itself of collective memory, the course will pinpoint the diverse “discursive arenas” (media discourse, historical discourse, juridical discourse, political discourse, public discourse…) that shape shared – as well as individual – memories (and, consequently, collective and individual identities).

The course of this year will focus specifically on the notion of Cultural Heritage, especially with regard to its semiotic, political and conflictual nature. 

Testi/Bibliografia

Mandatory reading materials:

  • Erll, A., Memory in Culture, New York: Palgrave, 2011(Chapter 1, 2 and 3).
  • Tamm, M., “Introduction: Juri Lotman’s Semiotic Theory of History and Cultural Memory”, in Lotman, J., Culture, Memory and History (edited by M. Tamm), New York: Palgrave, 2019.
  • Macdonald, S., Difficult Heritage. Negoziating the Nazi Past in Nuremberg and Beyond, London: Routledge, 2009 (Introduction, pp. 1-24)
  • Tunbridge, J.E.; Ashworth, G.J., Dissonant heritage : the management of the past as a resource in conflict, New York : J. Wiley, 1996 (Chapter 1-4)

Other texts will be suggested by the teacher along the course

Metodi didattici

The course is articulated in frontal lessons with presentations and other materials that will be made available to students through IOL.

Collective discussions, analysis and tests are essential part of the course. Students are expected to participate actively to class discussions and attendance is highly recommended.

IMPORTANT: due to the current situation of health emergency, at the moment the course is planned in a blended form (online and in presence). In the first part of the course, the class will be held in online mode, through the software Microsoft Teams. The second part of the class will be held in the classroom to a limited number of students (the modality of seat booking in classroom will be communicated through this page). In any case, it will always be possible to attend all the lessons in streaming through Microsoft Teams.

Students are invited to periodically check this page for updates, according to the evolution of the situation.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The exam will consist of a paper which will be discussed with the teacher in an oral exam, in which the student will be asked to defend the research hypothesis and the analysis carried out in the paper. The exam is aimed at assessing the understanding of the readings of the course and the capacity to apply this knowledge in the analysis of cultural memory issues.

Papers are expected to be between 4000 and 6000 words and have to be handed to the teacher at least 15 days before the date of the oral discussion. Final papers may be based on collective work in a group, and in this case their total length must be proportional to the number of people participating in the group.

Students who will not attend the course will have to present a paper of the same length on a topic previously agreed upon with the professor, and an oral examination on three of the papers from the reading list.

Mid-term tests and other class exercises will be scheduled during the course for attending students.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Multimedial equipment of the class

Microsoft Teams and other digital software for online lessons

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Francesco Mazzucchelli

SDGs

Istruzione di qualità Parità di genere Ridurre le disuguaglianze Pace, giustizia e istituzioni forti

L'insegnamento contribuisce al perseguimento degli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile dell'Agenda 2030 dell'ONU.