- Docente: Marco Santoro
- Credits: 6
- SSD: SPS/08
- Language: English
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Italian Studies, European Literary Cultures, Linguistics (cod. 9220)
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will have a general knowledge of mass culture in Italy, having studied the creation, production, circulation processes and use of the social meanings; they will be capable of analysing the phenomena and processes of contemporary life such as its means of communication (new and old media), consumption and production of cultural heritage (music, paintings, newspapers, books, etc.), connections between cultural processes and social inequalities and the organisational bases of media and artistic communication, the wide range of different forms of consumption, production, organisation, financing and evaluation of cultural heritage and objects. Students will be capable of recognising various phenomena linked to communication and of analysing these from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Course contents
The course is virtually articulated in two parts. Part one will offer the main conceptual and theoretical tools useful for studying popular culture in contemporary societies. Moving from cultural studies and the sociology of popular culture, this first part introduces students to a toolbox of concepts and models especially designed to address the production, circulation, consumption and evaluation of cultural items as songs, films, food, and television series.
In the second part we will examine some typical examples of Italian popular culture putting them in their proper social and cultural context. Among the cultural objects/cultural genres to be studied as epitome of pop Italian culture are Italian pop songs and especially the highly influential musical genre of canzone d'autore, the 'spaghetti western', the comics icon "Tex", Italian pasta, and a few cultural items linked to the social phenomenon of the Mafia (including songs, films, and TV series).
Issues of gender, ethnicity and class will be addressed along with issues of history, religion, and politics. A special focus will be devoted to the articulation among the regional, national and international scales of production/consumption/circulation.
the course is "virtually" articulated in two parts because in fact the two parts will be enmeshed and entangled - using Italian cultural data to illustrate theories and concepts, and viceversa.Readings/Bibliography
The reference textbook is:
Grazian, David. Mix It Up: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Society. New York: W.W. Norton, 2017 (last edition).
To this textbook add the following article:
- Holt N. Parker, “Toward a Definition of Popular Culture,” History and Theory 50 (May 2011)
A set of further texts (i.e. a Syllabus) focused on Italian popular culture will be made available to students through this website in due time (before the course begins). The Syllabus will includes 7/8 texts (articles or book chapters in English) on Italian popular music, on Italian popular cinema, on Italian comics, on Italian food, and on the Mafia as a cultural and mediatized phenomenon.
Teaching methods
Frontal teaching with the help of slides
Assessment methods
Oral exam with possibility to present a paper on a topic agreed in advance with the teacher.
Teaching tools
Some slides will be made available (not the whole set)
Office hours
See the website of Marco Santoro