Module ITAL1081: ITALY AND THE ARTS

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Italian)

ITAL1081: ITALY AND THE ARTS

Prerequisites

• Grade B or above at A level in a foreign European language, or equivalent

Corequisites

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: Italian Language 1B (ITAL1**2) OR Italian Language 1A (ITAL1071). Others: See Chairman/woman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To offer students the opportunity to examine essential aspects and themes of Italian cultural legacy.
• To introduce students to selected materials pertaining to different areas of cultural activity - the visual arts, the performative arts etc.
• To help student recognise different communication codes in the domain of the arts.
• To have students engage with their topics through a variety of critical approaches.
• To let students experience initial contacts with the topics and disciplines they shall be dealing with in the following years.

Content

• By navigating a variety of artistic material of variuos natures, students will explore the multifaceted dimension of Italian cultural and artistic legacy as it is practiced, discussed and experienced in today's Italy. These areas have been broadly identified as those represented by the visual, textual, performative, and mechanical arts. Such areas are presented here as essential to understand the current cultural debate in Italy and in Italian Studies. Through this module, students will have the opportunity to be introduced to cultural aspects, themes, and events they will study more in-depth in more advanced modules. The general approach will be dominated by a synchronic perspective. The starting point will be provided by landmarks of Italy's current artistic life, which will offer an opportunity for further investigation and reflection.

Learning Outcomes

• To gain familiarity with artifacts and manifestations of various nature in the following areas of Italian artistic production: literature, the visual arts, the performative arts, the mechanical arts.
• To become familiar with the notions of cultural history, cultural identity, and their relations to the development of the arts in Italy.

• To allow students to orient themselves in the artistic panorama of contemporary Italy.
• To allow students to discern between different inflections of common labels and styles attached to cultural artifacts (e.g. Renaissance, Baroque, Classic, Rococo, Romantic, Verism, Avant-Gard, Neo-reralism, Arte Povera, etc).
• To allow students to get acquainted with Italian places that host artistic productions (from poetry/book public readings to art exhibitions and festivals, museums, concert halls, opera, ballet, drama and move theatres, etc).
• To allow students to get preliminary insights on current Italian political programmes in the domain of artistic expression.
• To understand the intimate economic relations between artistic production and tourism industry.
• To show students different ways for of obtaining information about current Italian artistic productions on the media and on the web.

• To identify, define and carry out a critical appreciation of materials in relation to the themes introduced.
• To be able to select and evaluate primary and secondary sources.
• To gather, handle and evaluate validity of information orally and in writing.
• To work independently to complete to a deadline a project providing an interpretation or a solution of questions and problems posed by the module topics and in-class discussions.
• To become aware of the importance of codes and conventions in artistic production.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• In introducing students to the four selected areas (the visual, textual, performative and mechanical arts), lecturers will focus on the different critial approaches required by each area by highlighting the existence, as well as the peculiarity, of different artistic codes.
• The analysis of different codes will be focused on a single theme per code, so as to link them theoretically the exploration of materials and allow the students to develop adequate critical tools to deal with the codes.
• Weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars will be delivered in English, while some of the materials may also include Italian (especially in seminars).
• The module will provide the general background for subsequent concentration on more specific themes.
• Seminars will be used to read, examine, and analyse materials chosen for their relevance to the theme discussions during the lectures.
• Seminars will also be used to introduce students to the use of tools for accurate bibliographical research.
• Seminars will facilitate students to become independent learners, by working autonomously on well defined topics, under tutor's guidance, by giving seminar presentations in class reporting on the results of their research work. This approach will prepare them for both the project-based 2,000 word essay and the final examination.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative work might take the form of peer/question-driven discussions during the seminars, artwork identification quizzes, and self-assessment tests provided on DUO.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University