78042 - Visual Studies (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the students:

- will acquire a thorough knowledge of the conceptual models of cultural analysis for both still and moving images;
- will be updated about the disciplinary approaches useful to investigate the contemporary visual experience;
- will be able to contextualise these methodological tools in the context of both film and photograpohy theory

They will also develop the methodological tools useful to:

- analyse the visual experience as a site for social interaction;
- recognise the main characyyers of visual communication through various media and sites of production and consumption;
- examine the impact of still and moving images beyond the devices traditionally designed for visual consumption.

Course contents

The course will be focused on consideration some of the notions that, in the contemporary debate, have investigated in an interdisciplinary perspective the relationships between different forms ad devices of visual production:

- Still/Moving Image;
- Media archaeology;
- Anachronism;
- Informational images
- Iconoclash/iconophilia;
- Aesthetics of attraction.

Part of the course will be dedicated to the role of still and moving images in Italian culture after World War II, with particular attention to the construction of racialized representations in media such as photography, television and cinema.

Readings/Bibliography

Andrea Pinotti e Antonio Somaini (a cura di), Teorie dell'immagine. Il dibattito contemporaneo, Raffaello Cortina, 2009.

One text among:
Gaia Giuliani (a cura di), Il colore della nazione, Le Monnier, Firenze, 2015 (pp. 1-140).
Christian Uva, L'immagine politica. Forme del contropotere tra cinema, video e fotografia nell'Italia degli anni Settanta, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2015.

Teaching methods

Classroom-taught lesson. Students will be required to collectively discuss the themes addressed in the lessons and the delivered hand-outs.
The students that will attend at least the 80% of the class (12 lessons out of 15) will be allowed to discuss a paper (see instructions below) as a part of the exam,

Assessment methods

Students entitled to discuss a paper as a part of the examination are required to arrange topic and bibliography with the teacher.
Papers must be max 3000-word (plus notes and references) and written according to the guidelines provided by the School for MA theses. Collective papers are possible, as far as the contribution of each author is clearly acknowledged.
Papers will be discussed at last two weeks after the end of the course.

For those who do not discuss papers, exams consist in a written test that combine multiple choice and open questions. The test will last 110 minutes and taken by a video terminal. At the exam date, students shall show their university badge or ID card to access the computer system by their institutional credentials (firstname.surname @ studio.unibo.it + personal password). They are invited to check their institutional credentials before the exam. Students with DSA certification may extend the test duration communicating this request to the teacher upon exam registration.

The test is made of 16 multiple choice questions to assess the basic knowledge of the students, and 4 open questions, in which students are required to in-depth analyse the main course contents on the basis of images and examples taken from the textbooks.

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Noto