Insegnamento
VISUAL CULTURE
Docente
RITA SASSU
The aim of the course is to provide the methodological and epistemological tools for the proper understanding of figurative art and critically interpreting artifacts, sculptures, monuments and complex architectural spaces, emphasizing the power of images in the Greco-Roman world.
The student will be able, by the end of the course, to contextualize a specific representation (object, building, site or landscape) in the relevant archaeological and semantic context, understanding the cultural, social and political meaning conveyed.
The course “Visual culture” will focus on a selection of emblematic ancient Greek and Roman artefacts, buildings, monumental complexes and landscapes, in order to investigate the power and impact of images in shaping people’s thoughts, their approach to the pertinent society and their attitude towards the ruling powers.
By combining the methodological tools of archaeology with art history, humanities, technologies, anthropology and social sciences, the processes of production and reception of images, as well as their related economic, social, and ideological aspects will be considered. To achieve this goal, the rules and conventions of the systems of representation of the Greek and Roman cultures will be explained, together with their ideology, system of symbols, mythology and collective imaginary.
The concept of visuality and the cultural content of images will be illustrated through a series of lectures exploring the communicative strength of artworks, architectures, urban and rural sites of the Classical world, intrinsically permeated by visual inputs. With the aim of understanding the relationship between (1) the viewers, (2) the images and (3) the messages delivered, the socio-economic meanings of visual spaces (such as public spaces, sanctuaries, funerary areas) and objects (such as statues, jewels, figurative pottery) will be studied and critically discussed.
Reference texts, PowerPoint presentations and further materials will be provided during the lessons and uploaded in a dedicated moodle page.
The teaching activity is developed through the combination of video lectures, individual study, and interactive activities (webinars). The course is developed through: 30 hours of frontal teaching: - 30 video lectures (the professor presents the course contents, in a way similar to classroom frontal teaching, supported by slides); 6 hours of interactive teaching: - interactive participations to the webinars. For the learning of the discipline, video-lectures, slides and other teaching materials are available to students on the page of the course. Professor and tutor will assist the students during the entire academic year through e-mail correspondence and, at the student's request, video-reception (dates and times to be agreed in advance with the professor and the tutor.
The procedures to complete the self-assessment are provided (quiz).
The evaluation will consist in an oral exam (questions concerning general and specific topics addressed during the lessons; recognition/description of monuments, landscapes and objects analyzed during the lessons; knowledge of the examined archaeological sites, architectures, complexes and their meanings).
Students are strongly encouraged to attend the webinars, whose calendar is periodically published in the home page of the course. Active participation to the webinars will be evaluated for the final assessment.
The acquired knowledge and competencies will allow the graduates to continue their researches (eg. as PhD candidates) and to be employed as professional archaeologists in a wide range of potential institutions, such as those connected to cultural heritage.