ANTHROPOLOGY OF IMAGES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

The course introduces key issues of visual culture studies, discussing different theoretical approaches and focusing on emblematic case studies. Students learn how to "read" images and built space across the ages, adopting the point of view of cultural studies and historical anthropology. The case studies vary from class to class; students will pay special attention to Mediterranean and Near Eastern case studies, but will also be expected to go beyond this specific region and seek a comparative and global approach.

1. Knowledge and understanding of:
- theory and methods of Image Studies, with a specific focus a cultural anthropological perspective
- issues and scientific challenges of the study of images in the Eastern Mediterranean

2. Applying knowledge and understanding:
- you can discuss the meaning and function of emblematic images discussed in class from the perspective of Image Science
- given a topic discussed in class, you can design a simple research strategy to address it

3. Making Judgements
- you can formulate your own interpretative hypothesis for the images discussed in class
- you can formulate your own critical opinion of the textbooks and articles read in class

4. Communication
- you learn to cooperate in groups to solve problems
- you learn how to act proactively in class;
- you exercise your ability to speak appropriately in front of an audience
- you exercise your ability to write a short academic essay

5. Lifelong learning skills
- you can frame images from the perspective of cultural anthropology and image studies
- you can quickly scan a scientific article for essential information
- you can study texts written in a language different than your mother tongue
- you can pitch your own ideas to a stakeholder and/or a wider public

Command of the English language. Interest in visual strategies and affinity to visual communication. Interest and affinity to Urban Design Studies.

The topic of the course is "Contested Images" We will focus on the political and affective dimensions of monuments. People build monuments as markers of history and repositories of collective memory. Then some monuments are forgotten, others are hated and destroyed, or modified and reborn as something else. In this course, we will investigate the lives of monuments, and why we build them. We will try to understand different paradigms of monumentality, and why certain monuments endure and others fall, or fail. We will use case-studies from the urban landscape of Venice and Rome, in particular. We will use the case studies and selected writings from historians, theorists, archaeologists, architects and artists to discuss how monuments relate to space, politics, religion, and the public sphere. We will also look into counter-monuments, anti-monuments, and iconoclasm.

The course is divided into two parts. In the first part, based on directed readings, students learn and discuss different theoretical perspectives. In the second part, students apply the theoretical tools to selected case studies and share their research in an oral presentation. At the end of the class, students are expected to hand in a written essay on their case study of choice.

This course requires the active participation of each student. Reading assignments will be discussed in class. In order to pass the final exam, students are required to prepare an oral presentation and a short essay on a case study of choice.

Students will refer to the papers and book chapters uploaded on the Moodle platform

For general reference, the following books are suggested:
Alfred Gell, Art and agency: an anthropological theory, Oxford 1998
Robert Layton, The anthropology of art, Cambridge 1981

For the topics of this year's course, refer to:
Federico Bellentani, "The meanings of monuments. A semiotic and geographical approach to monuments in the Post-Soviet Era", Berlino 2021
Germano Maifreda, "Immagini contese. Storia politica delle figure dal Rinascimento alla cancel culture", Milano 2022

The successful student is required to participate proactively in-class activities, including homework and oral presentations (70% of final grade) and to write a short essay on a selected topic (30% of final grade).

Lectures, integrated by research and study activities in class. Participants are required to prepare recommended readings and written assignments before the lecture, to prepare presentations, to engage in class activities, access and interact with materials uploaded on the Moodle platform.

Italian

Students planning to pass the final examinations without attending lectures are required to contact the teacher via email in due advance in order to discuss the possibility of tailored contents and an appropriate timetable.

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