LITERATURE FOR VISUAL CULTURES

The course “Literature for Visual Cultures” is part of the related/integrative educational activities of the BA program in Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management. Its aims are: (1) to study literature in relation to visual culture, and (2) to develop the ability to situate a literary work or a work of visual art both within a theoretical framework and in its historical context.

Knowledge and understanding
(1) Knowledge and understanding of the main issues involved in the study of literature in relation to visual culture
(2) Knowledge and understanding of the historical and cultural context to which a literary work or a work of visual art belongs

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
(1) Ability to situate a literary work or a work of visual art within a theoretical framework and to place it in its historical and cultural context
(2) Ability to understand and comment on both a literary text and a work of visual art using appropriate terminology
(3) Ability to undertake further study independently

Independent judgement
(1) Ability to develop independent judgement with regard to the topics covered in the course

Communication skills
(1) Ability to communicate acquired knowledge effectively in spoken form, using appropriate terminology
(2) Ability to interact respectfully with peers and the instructor, both in person and online

Learning skills
(1) Ability to work critically with the texts on the syllabus and with the relevant bibliography

No prior knowledge is required.

Medea, Macbeth, St. Matthew’s executioner as painted by Caravaggio, Don Giovanni in Mozart’s opera, Stavrogin in Dostoevsky’s "Demons," Humbert Humbert in Nabokov’s "Lolita," the bloody, crucified bodies in Hermann Nitsch’s "Theater of Orgies and Mysteries," Diabolik, the master thief, the scenes of violent submission in Mapplethorpe’s “'X' Portfolio," the shattered glass sheets at the foot of the "Tower of the Falling Pictures" in Anselm Kiefer’s "Seven Heavenly Palaces," Maximilien Aue in Jonathan Littell’s "The Kindly Ones," Walter White in "Breaking Bad," the children in Michael Haneke’s "The White Ribbon," the crazed, derelict figure of Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips’s "Joker": the history of the arts is full of characters, figures, performances, objects, compositions, and spaces that have a negative connotation or that evoke a primary violence; elements with which readers and spectators establish a specific type of empathetic relationship that is both ambivalent and destabilizing, inspiring attraction and repulsion all at once. We will call this relationship negative empathy and, by reading Euripides’s "Medea" and William Shakespeare’s "Macbeth," and by commenting on a dossier of iconographic materials, we will consider it as a peculiar aesthetic experience that tests the limits of art consumers’ capacity to take an ethical stance and art’s potential to provoke moral reflection on the fate of collective life.

Euripide, Medea (431 a.C.), trad. it. e introduzione di Maria Grazia Ciani, commento di Davide Susanetti, Venezia, Marsilio, 1997.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth (1606-7), trad. it. Agostino Lombardo, in Id., Teatro completo di William Shakespeare, a cura di Giorgio Melchiori, vol. 4: Le tragedie, I Meridiani, Milano, Mondadori, 1976, pp. 837-1037.
Stefano Ercolino e Massimo Fusillo. Empatia negativa. Il punto di vista del male, Milano, Bompiani, 2022.

Part of the material for the exam will consist of a dossier of iconographic materials, which will be uploaded to the course Moodle page.

Students who are unable to attend classes are required to prepare one of the following texts:
Anna Donise, Critica della ragione empatica. Fenomenologia dell’altruismo e della crudeltà, Bologna, il Mulino, 2020.

Assessment will consist of an oral examination lasting approximately twenty minutes. The examination will be divided into two parts: the first will assess knowledge of the literary works and works of visual art discussed in class, while the second will be devoted to assessing knowledge of the theoretical texts.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Evaluation criteria:
28-30 cum laude: Students demonstrate an excellent command of the topics covered in the course and of the assigned readings. They are able to organize and prioritize information effectively and to use appropriate terminology with confidence.
26-27: Students demonstrate a good command of the topics covered in the course and of the assigned readings. They are generally able to organize and prioritize information effectively and to use appropriate terminology correctly.
24-25: Students demonstrate a fair command of the topics covered in the course and of the assigned readings. Their oral presentation is clear overall, although they do not always express concepts with precision or use appropriate terminology consistently.
22-23: Students demonstrate a limited and partly superficial command of the topics covered in the course and of the assigned readings. Their oral presentation is not always clear and shows an imprecise use of disciplinary terminology.
18-21: Students demonstrate a superficial command of the topics covered in the course and of the assigned readings. Their oral presentation is often unclear and does not make effective use of disciplinary terminology.

(1) Lectures
(2) In-class and online discussion