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.

The topics covered in Visual Cultures I will be conducive to a better understanding of the module content.
Language-wise, students are expected to be fluent in English as per programme minimum entry requirement.
Basic editing and a/v skills are not necessary but are a plus.

Second of two Visual Cultures modules, this class moves from an advanced starting point, 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. We will eventually focus on what make this delivery possible by familiarising with concepts such as the touchscreen, 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 observe such processes. We will also practice the desktop as a creative surface for a number of hands-on sessions aimed at experimenting in first person the concepts we studied in a practical and creative way. The outcome of the hands-on sessions will be a short video-essay dealing with the topics explored during the theoretical sessions. Please consider no previous experience or skills in filmmaking is required.

Students are expected to study the selected readings distributed session by session through Moodle.
The volume, M. De Rosa, Camille Henrot, Notes on Desktop Cinema (Mimesis, 2024) will be used as a support to approach key concepts that will be tested in teh hands-on sessions.

Students will be assessed as follows:
- a practical coursework (40% of the overall module grade) consisting of a media artefact to be created over the course of the module IN GROUPS. No specific skills nor technologies are requested, but some basic in editing and a/v production may be of help.
- an oral test (60% of the overall module grade) to assess the INDIVIDUAL understanding of the concepts and themes covered throughout the module.

Bibliography and assessment methods are the same for non-attending students, too. They are however invited to contact the teacher by email, so as to understand the structure of the module and fundamental issues addressed during the lectures.

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.
We will combine frontal lectures, working sessions and critical discussions. The timetable has been adjusted in order to accommodate hands-on sessions and giving time enough to the students to practice and receive feedback in a workshop environment.
You will be supported in your work and interaction with fellow students and the lecturer by a set of teaching materials such as presentations, clips, hands-on skill sessions and the likes. The latter is particularly important, as the module has been designed and scheduled so that you can have work and feedback sessions.
In order for everybody to participate in stimulating sessions an active participation is required. You are also required to do your weekly reading for a more evenly distributed learning process.

English

Students are very warmly suggested to take their classes, especially to develop a correct learning curve when it comes to the hands-on workshop activities.

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