MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY

The module is part of the TARS pathway comprised in the BA Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management.

Upon successful completion of the module, students will gain a good understanding of the media archaeological approach. They will also be able to distinguish and appropriately discuss it in terms of both disciplines involved and main themes. Basic objectives of the module are therefore:

- the ability to locate media archaeology at the crossroads between media history and pragmatics;
- the ability to learn and use the specific terms describing media archaeology in pertinent ways;
- the skill to frame media artefacts and configurations within a complex and relational historical context, highlighting interactions, borrowings, influences and genealogies. In this vein, students are expected to identify and discuss the logical connections between past, present and future media forms, in their plural and non-linear dimensions.

Essential to pass the module is the development of critical thinking. 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 for the students in order to fruitfully go through their university journey embracing a proactive approach, hopefully favouring an interactive learning experience based on a respectful yet dialogic environment in the classroom.

Content-wise, no entry requirements are requested. Some knowledge around audiovisual media may nonetheless make the module a little easier.
In terms of linguistic skills, in line with the minimum entry requirement of the whole programme, some knowledge of the English language is expected in order to be able to understand part of the bibliography.

The module is centred on the media archeological approach as both a topic to analyse and a method to adopt. The syllabus is based on the recent increasing interest in this approach that has been developed internationally and, eventually, in the Italian context.
The various disciplinary inputs feeding into media archaeology will be tackled first, so to acknowledge the nature of this approach as a methodology rather than a discipline per se. Also, the frontal lectures will illustrate how this approach can be fruitful in observing, operating and studying media artefacts and configurations.
Adopting media archaeology as a method, the working sessions and discussions will allow students to inquiry into new media cultures picking from suggestions and discourses coming from new media of the past, touching upon forgotten, eccentric and innovative media, apparatuses and practices of use.

Students coming to classes are expected to study
- their lecture notes
- the book
- the readings distributed in class over the course of the module. All readings will be made available on the module Moodle page.

Students that for any reasons will skip over 6 hours out of 30 are expected to study
- a selection of essays and a manual to be agreed with the lecturer
- Rossella Catanese, Bill Morrison, Decasia: The State of Decay. L’alchimia della rovina, DSL Press+Mimesis, Udine 2023
- A. C. Dalmasso, B. Grespi (a cura di), Mediarcheologia, Cortina, Milano 2024 (book available from nov 2023)
Please do make contact with prof. De Rosa by sending an email well in advance so that you have your bibliography ready to prep for the final exam.

NB: in order to determine in a transparent and fair way who needs to study what programme, students are asked to sign a lecture attendance register at the beginning of each session.

The students coming to classes will see their exam distributed over the course of the module. Specifically, they will have:
- a group presentation in class (40% of the overall module grade), based on the lectures and case studies discussed during the lectures.
- an individual written test (60% of the overall module grade) to assess the understanding of the concepts and themes covered throughout the module.

The students skipping 6 or more hours will be assessed solely on the basis of a written test (100% of the overall module grade), which will be different from that for attending students. The test is 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 designed 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 discussions. Among the teaching tools are standard teaching materials such as presentations, clips and the likes, which will be used during the frontal lectures; ad hoc tasks designed for the 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.

Please note that all teaching strategies are designed to offer a consistent module and therefore, regardless of the type of sessions, they are all equal for the purpose of determining the programme to study in light of the final exam.

Italian

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 6 hours out of the 30 hours planned 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.

written and oral