Filippo FIMIANI | AESTHETICS AND VISUAL CULTURE Prorgam 2002/2023

Generalities: FILIPPO FIMIANI

Academic Year: 2022/2023

Study Class: Master Corporate Communication and Media

Teaching Activity: AESTHETICS AND VISUAL CULTURE (9 CFU = 60 HOURS)

EDUCATIONAL GOALS

The educational purpose is twofold: to provide the methodological and hermeneutical tools to understanding of the contemporary visual culture studies and to introduce and allow an analysis of the practices of remediation and transmedia storytelling by the new viewing mobile devices and new spectatorship’s figures. The student has to acquire an appropriate and up to date interdisciplinary knowledge to interpret critically the images, fixed and moving, as media capable of activating symbolic experiences, habits and tastes, actions and consumption, beliefs and feelings characterizing our daily life and the communication society, and as matter of an incessant process of appropriation and remix of self-representation and sociality. The students can experiment these practices and test these fields during verification activities provided by the course itself and the workshop in collaboration with Linea d’Ombra Festival.

PRE-REQUIREMENTS

Would be desirable notions of semiotics, aesthetics, modern and contemporary art history, history of cinema and media.

TEACHING METHODS

Theoretical and methodological lessons and practical exercises.

HOW TO VERIFY LEARNING

Constant checks, group and individual, and the creation of an audiovisual product and a scholar paper.

CLASS CONTENTS

Self.ie.s. Contemporary self-narrations

The course will provide students with a historical and thematic reconstruction of the main proposals and interpretations, in the field of contemporary visual culture, of the practices, the poetics and the aesthetics of the Selfie. These images are not only an updated version of the self-portrait but, by their very origin and networked nature, they are assemblages and complex and ambiguous inter-mediated gestures with social agency: their horizon of production and consumption is in fact both the identity (individual and collective) and the media, the embodied and singular experience of the becoming of the Self, of its subjectivization, and its public and viral aesthetic narration also through appropriation and remixing practices.

The digital devices of visualization devices at our disposal, such as smartphones and tablet, with their material and formal high or low qualitiesimply new figures of spectator and performer-consumer and new kinds of narration and representation of the Self and the others, the world and the objects: the course aims to provide the appropriate interdisciplinary tools to critically read these contemporary media practices. During the constant verification activities foreseen by the course, in collaboration with Linea d’Ombra Festival too, the student will be able to recognize and stress the implications and effects on the cultures of consumption—from fashion to tourism, and so on—, and, at the same time, the ideological rhetoric and the emancipatory potential of these practices and images.

REFERENCES TEXTS 9CFU

STUDENTS WHO ATTEND CLASSES AND PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP

• André Gunthert, Immagine condivisa, Contrasto 2016
• Nicholas Mirzoeff, Come vedere il mondo: Un’introduzione alle immagini: dall’autoritratto al Selfie, dalle mappe ai film (e altro ancora), Johan & Levi 2017, cap.2 (pp.15-85)
• Juan Fontcuberta, La furia delle immagini, Einaudi 2016, capp.5, 9 (pp.32-46, 77-118)
• Marsha Berry, Performing Selfies with Smartphones, in Marsha Berry, Creating with Mobile Media, Palgrave Macmillan 2017, pp.45-64
• Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth, The Selfie as Image (and) Practice: Approaching Digital Self-Photography, in Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth (eds.), Exploring the Selfie: Historical, Theoretical, and Analytical Approaches to Digital Self-Photography, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, pp.1-23
• Edgar Gómez Cruz, Helen Thornham, Selfies beyond self-representation: The (theoretical) f(r)ictions of a practice, in «Journal of Aesthetics & Culture», 7(1), 2015, pp.1-10
• Aaron Hess, The Selfie assemblage, in «International Journal of Communication», 9, 2015

https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3147

FOR THE WORKSHOP, IN ADDITION TO THE REFERENCE TEXTS, A CHOICE OF 1 OF THE TOPICS:

1) Consumption / Formats

- Joonas Rokka, Robin Canniford, Heterotopian Selfies: How Social Media Destabilizes Brand Assemblages, in «European Journal of Marketing», 50(9/10), 2016, pp.1789-1813

- Dave Neal, Miriam Ross, Mobile Framing: Vertical Videos from User-Generated Content to Corporate Marketing, in Max Schleser, Marsha Berry (eds.), Mobile Story Making in an Age of Smartphones, Pallgrave McMillan 2018, pp.151-160

2) Places/Out of place

- Jens Ruchatz, Selfie Reflexivity: Pictures of People Taking Photographs, pp.49-82, in Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth (eds.), Exploring the Selfie: Historical, Theoretical, and Analytical Approaches to Digital Self-Photography, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, pp.49-82

- Dean Keep, Smartphones and Evocative Documentary Practices, in Marsha Berry, Max Schleser, Mobile Media Making in an Age of Smartphones, Palgrave Macmillan 2014, pp.41-50

3) Fashion/Celebrity

- Anne Jerslev & Mette Mortensen, What is the self in the celebrity selfie? Celebrification, phatic communication and performativity, in «Celebrity Studies», 7(2), 2016, pp.249-263

- Samita Nandy, Persona, Celebrities, and Selfies in Social Justice: Authenticity in Celebrity Activism, in José Ricardo Carvalheiro, Ana Serrano Tellería (eds), Mobile and Digital Communication: Approaches to Public and Private, LabComBooks 2015

https://labcom.ubi.pt/livro/141

4) Bodies/Intimacy/Gender

- Amparo Lasén, Digital Self-Portraits, Exposure and the Modulation of Intimacy, in José Ricardo Carvalheiro, Ana Serrano Tellería (eds), Mobile and Digital Communication: Approaches to Public and Private, LabComBooks 2015

https://labcom.ubi.pt/livro/141

- Paul Frosh, The Gestural Image: The Selfie, Photography Theory, and Kinesthetic Sociability, in «International Journal of Communication», 9, 2015

https://www.ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3146

5) Techniques/Making

• Nanna Verhoeff, Mobile Screens, Amsterdam UP 2012, cap.2 (pp.51-72)

- Kata Szita, New perspectives on an imperfect cinema: Smartphones, spectatorship, and screen culture 2.0, in «NECSUS: European Journal of Media Studies», 9, 2020, pp.31–52

• Max Schleser, Connecting through Mobile Autobiographies: Self-Reflexive Mobile Filmmaking, Self-Representation, and Selfies, in Marsha Berry, Max Schleser, Mobile Media Making in an Age of Smartphones, Palgrave Macmillan 2014, pp.148-158

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT ATTEND CLASSES AND THEN DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP

• André Gunthert, Immagine condivisa, Contrasto 2016
• Nicholas Mirzoeff, Come vedere il mondo: Un’introduzione alle immagini: dall’autoritratto al Selfie, dalle mappe ai film (e altro ancora), Johan & Levi 2017, cap.2 (pp.15-85)
• Juan Fontcuberta, La furia delle immagini, Einaudi 2016, capp.5, 9, (pp.32-46, 77-118)
• Marsha Berry, Performing Selfies with Smartphones, in Marsha Berry, Creating with Mobile Media, Palgrave Macmillan 2017, pp.45-64
• Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth, The Selfie as Image (and) Practice: Approaching Digital Self-Photography, in Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth (eds.), Exploring the Selfie: Historical, Theoretical, and Analytical Approaches to Digital Self-Photography, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, pp.1-23
• Edgar Gómez Cruz, Helen Thornham, Selfies beyond self-representation: The (theoretical) f(r)ictions of a practice, in «Journal of Aesthetics & Culture», 7(1), 2015, pp.1-10
• Aaron Hess, The Selfie assemblage, in «International Journal of Communication», 9, 2015

https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3147

- Amparo Lasen, Self-(Re)presentation in mobile Communication Practices, in Rich Ling, Leopoldina Fortunati, Gerard Goggin, Sun Sun Lim, Yuling Li (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Mobile Communication, Oxford University Press 2020, pp.355-368

• Max Schleser, Connecting through Mobile Autobiographies: Self-Reflexive Mobile Filmmaking, Self-Representation, and Selfies, in Marsha Berry, Max Schleser, Mobile Media Making in an Age of Smartphones, Palgrave Macmillan 2014, pp.148-158
• Paul Frosh, The Gestural Image: The Selfie, Photography Theory, and Kinesthetic Sociability, in «International Journal of Communication», 9, 2015

https://www.ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3146

• Edgar Gómez Cruz, Photo-genic assemblages: Photography as a connective Interface, in Edgar Gómez Cruz, Asko Lehmuskallio (eds.), Digital Photography and Everyday Life: Empirical Studies on material visual Practices, Routledge 2016, pp.228-242

IN ADDITION TO THE REFERENCE TEXTS, A CHOICE OF 2 OF THE TOPICS:

1) Consumptions/Formats

- Joonas Rokka, Robin Canniford, Heterotopian Selfies: How Social Media Destabilizes Brand Assemblages, in «European Journal of Marketing», 50(9/10), 2016, pp.1789-1813

- Dave Neal, Miriam Ross, Mobile Framing: Vertical Videos from User-Generated Content to Corporate Marketing, in Max Schleser, Marsha Berry (eds.), Mobile Story Making in an Age of Smartphones, Pallgrave McMillan 2018, pp.151-160

2) Places/Out of place

- Dean Keep, Smartphones and Evocative Documentary Practices, in Marsha Berry, Max Schleser, Mobile Media Making in an Age of Smartphones, Palgrave Macmillan 2014, pp.41-50

3) Fashion/Celebrity

- Anne Jerslev & Mette Mortensen, What is the self in the celebrity selfie? Celebrification, phatic communication and performativity, in «Celebrity Studies», 7(2), 2016, pp.249-263

- Samita Nandy, Persona, Celebrities, and Selfies in Social Justice: Authenticity in Celebrity Activism, in José Ricardo Carvalheiro, Ana Serrano Tellería (eds), Mobile and Digital Communication: Approaches to Public and Private, LabComBooks 2015

https://labcom.ubi.pt/livro/141

4) Bodies/Intimacy

- Amparo Lasén, Digital Self-Portraits, Exposure and the Modulation of Intimacy, in José Ricardo Carvalheiro, Ana Serrano Tellería (eds), Mobile and Digital Communication: Approaches to Public and Private, LabComBooks 2015

https://labcom.ubi.pt/livro/141

- Paul Frosh, The Gestural Image: The Selfie, Photography Theory, and Kinesthetic Sociability, in «International Journal of Communication», 9, 2015

https://www.ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3146

5) Techniques/Making

• Nanna Verhoeff, Mobile Screens, Amsterdam UP 2012, cap.2 (pp.51-72)

- Kata Szita, New perspectives on an imperfect cinema: Smartphones, spectatorship, and screen culture 2.0, in «NECSUS: European Journal of Media Studies», 9, 2020, pp.31–52

• Max Schleser, Connecting through Mobile Autobiographies: Self-Reflexive Mobile Filmmaking, Self-Representation, and Selfies, in Marsha Berry, Max Schleser, Mobile Media Making in an Age of Smartphones, Palgrave Macmillan 2014, pp.148-158

REFERENCES TEXTS 6CFU AND ERASMUS

STUDENTS WHO ATTEND CLASSES AND PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP

• André Gunthert, Immagine condivisa, Contrasto 2016
• Nicholas Mirzoeff, Come vedere il mondo: Un’introduzione alle immagini: dall’autoritratto al Selfie, dalle mappe ai film (e altro ancora), Johan & Levi 2017, cap.2 (pp.15-85)
• Juan Fontcuberta, La furia delle immagini, Einaudi 2016, capp.5, 8, 15 (pp.32-46, 77-118, 182-204)
• Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth, The Selfie as Image (and) Practice: Approaching Digital Self-Photography, in Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth (eds.), Exploring the Selfie: Historical, Theoretical, and Analytical Approaches to Digital Self-Photography, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, pp.1-23
• Aaron Hess, The Selfie assemblage, in «International Journal of Communication», 9, 2015

https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3147

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT ATTEND CLASSES AND THEN DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP

• André Gunthert, Immagine condivisa, Contrasto 2016
• Nicholas Mirzoeff, Come vedere il mondo: Un’introduzione alle immagini: dall’autoritratto al Selfie, dalle mappe ai film (e altro ancora), Johan & Levi 2017, cap.2 (pp.15-85)
• Juan Fontcuberta, La furia delle immagini, Einaudi 2016, capp.5, 8, 15 (pp.32-46, 77-118, 182-204)
• Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth, The Selfie as Image (and) Practice: Approaching Digital Self-Photography, in Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth (eds.), Exploring the Selfie: Historical, Theoretical, and Analytical Approaches to Digital Self-Photography, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, pp.1-23

- Jens Ruchatz, Selfie Reflexivity: Pictures of People Taking Photographs, pp.49-82, in Julia Eckel, Jens Ruchatz, Sabine Wirth (eds.), Exploring the Selfie: Historical, Theoretical, and Analytical Approaches to Digital Self-Photography, Palgrave Macmillan 2018, pp.49-82

- Amparo Lasen, Self-(Re)presentation in mobile Communication Practices, in Rich Ling, Leopoldina Fortunati, Gerard Goggin, Sun Sun Lim, Yuling Li (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Mobile Communication, Oxford University Press 2020, pp.355-368

• Max Schleser, Connecting through Mobile Autobiographies: Self-Reflexive Mobile Filmmaking, Self-Representation, and Selfies, in Marsha Berry, Max Schleser, Mobile Media Making in an Age of Smartphones, Palgrave Macmillan 2014, pp.148-158
• Edgar Gómez Cruz, Photo-genic assemblages: Photography as a connective Interface, in Edgar Gómez Cruz, Asko Lehmuskallio (eds.), Digital Photography and Everyday Life: Empirical Studies on material visual Practices, Routledge 2016, pp.228-242
• Nanna Verhoeff, Mobile Screens, Amsterdam UP 2012, cap.2 (pp.51-72)