VISUAL CULTURES II

The module is part of the historical and artistic cluster within the MA in Arts Management. It is designed to provide the students with an in-depth understanding of the key features of contemporary visual cultures with a particular emphasis on screen cultures and its dynamics and products.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will gain a good understanding of the products of contemporary visual cultures. They will also be able to distinguish and appropriately discuss the trends characterising the circulation, use and re-use of images in the digital and postdigital environment. Basic objectives of the module are therefore:

- Develop the ability to learn and use the specific vocabulary describing visual and screen cultures in pertinent ways;
- Acquire the skill to frame images and image technologies within the appropriate context, demonstrating their understanding of forms, authors and key issues across a variety of texts and experiences elicited through screen media;
- Showing an excellent familiarity in elaborating a consistent and pertinent argumentation about the studied topics.

Essential to pass the module is a basic development of critical thinking, so as to be able to recognise the logics and processes regulating contemporary visual culture artefacts, as well as the relationships amongst them. Ultimately, such critical thinking is expected to be individually articulated, constructively structured and collectively discussed using case studies, concepts and module readings alike. This is truly an essential skill not only because it will contribute to favour a respectful and dialogic environment in the classroom, but also and rather primarily because it is a key transferable skill required by the job market for pretty much each and every professional profile in line with the overall master’s programme.

Some knowledge around contemporary visual cultures is required. Students who took Visual Culture I are particularly welcome on this module.
Language-wise, students are expected to be fluent in English as per programme minimum entry requirement.

Second of two Visual Cultures modules, this class moves from an advanced starting point (hence, if you only have 6 CFU in your exams plan, please make sure to pick the other one!), whereby the visual is connected to the surfaces making it available for consumption in our contemporary context. Observing a variety of surfaces will allow us to dive into the materiality of screen media, which are the main kind of devices delivering visual contents nowadays. We will eventually focus on what make this delivery possible by familiarising with concepts such as the touchscreen, infrastructures, the digital interface, and the desktop.
The latter will be our specific focus as it lends itself to work both as a metaphor and an epistemic tool enabling us to easily understand and navigate the digital space of image circulation, manipulation, use and re-use. We will attempt to use the desktop as a 'portal' to both observe and try to practice with such processes. A selection of desktop cinema works will be our launchpad to look deeper into and grasp these mechanisms.

Students attending the 70% of the module or more are expected to study the selected readings distributed session by session through Moodle.

Students attending less than the 70% of the module are expected to contact the lecturer over email at the beginning of the module and agree on an alternative bibliography. Please be aware that the given bibliography is by no means punitive, it is instead tailored in order to cover the topics studied in the classroom and make sure everyone taking the module is assessed on the basis of a fair and even amount of work.

Students attending the 70% of the module or more will be assessed as follows:
- individual exam (60% of the overall module grade);
- group-coursework (40% of the overall module grade).

Students attending less than the 70% of the module will be assessed exclusively on the basis of an oral test (100% of the overall module grade) aimed at both checking the correct understanding of the concepts discussed in the bibliography, and the ability to inform a critical discussion of the same concepts.

The module adopts a mix of teaching strategies and tools to favour knowledge transfer, as well as to create a participatory and stimulating teaching environment.
Among the teaching strategies are frontal lectures, working sessions and critical discussions. Among the teaching tools are standard teaching materials such as presentations, clips and screenings, as well as the likes which will be used during the frontal lectures; ad hoc tasks designed for hands-on working sessions to be carried on individually and in groups; readings to be distributed and collectively studied during the discussion sessions with the help of interactive digital platforms. To this end, whilst it is not mandatory, note that bringing a laptop or tablet to the classroom is not may be of great help.

English

Students are warmly suggested to take their classes. When this is not possible, please do get in touch with your lecturer at the beginning of the module and say so.
Students who will skip over 30% of the module are expected to prepare a specific programme designed as a replacement of the activities which took place in class and they missed. Further details in the section 'Bibliography/Testi di riferimento'.

Ca' Foscari applies the Italian law (17/1999; 170/2010) for the support services available to students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities. If you have either a motor, visual, hearing or another disability (Law 17/1999), or a specific learning disorder (Law 170/2010) and you require support (classroom assistance, tech aids to carry out exams or personalised exams, accessible format materials, notes retrieval, special tutoring as study support, translators or else), please contact the Disability and DSA office disabilita@unive.it.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development