TELEVISION AND AUDIOVISUAL COMMUNICATION

The course contributes to the achievement of the degree programme’s objectives by providing conceptual and argumentative tools for developing specialist knowledge in the field of television studies, with particular attention to television as a medium of artistic expression.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

* discuss the use of the television medium in contemporary artistic practices;
* interpret the history of television in relation to the cultural, social, and technological transformations of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries;
* devise and produce a short experimental television schedule;
* develop, in essay form, a critical reflection on contemporary television forms, relating them to artistic practices and visual communication.

No prerequisites are needed.

The course aims to explore and understand the development of television forms in relation to artistic practices, with particular attention to guerrilla television, artists’ television, community television, and other alternative experiments. It will examine the ways in which these audiovisual forms have positioned themselves, more or less explicitly, in opposition to the development of institutional television channels, as well as the reciprocal influences between experimental practices and mainstream television.

In accordance with the objectives of the degree programme, students will be asked to write a short essay presenting and supporting the curatorial rationale for an alternative television programme, conceived either as a broadcast schedule or as an exhibition. They may draw on materials presented during the course or on other content identified through individual research.

The course will also include sessions devoted to the reading and discussion of the assigned texts, together with additional materials provided during classes.

Spampinato, Francesco. Art vs. TV: A Brief History of Contemporary Artists’ Responses to Television. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.
Lazzari, Lorenzo. Rivendicazioni in videotape: Movimenti per una Barcellona comunitaria (1977–1983). Roma: Carocci, 2025.
Martínez, Chus, ed. Are You Ready for TV? Barcelona: Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, 2010.
Baudrillard, Jean. “Requiem per i media.” In Per una critica dell’economia politica del segno, a cura di Pierre Dalla Vigna, 159–79. Milano–Udine: Mimesis, 2010.
Joselit, David. Feedback: La televisione contro la democrazia, trad. Luca Peretti (Milano: Postmedia Books, 2016).
Benčić. Branka, ed. Cinemaniac > Think Film: Video Television Anticipation (Vodnjan: Apoteka—Space for Contemporary Art, 2017).

The assessment will consist of an oral examination on the assigned readings and the topics discussed in class, together with the presentation of a short essay on the themes addressed during the course.

written and oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

Maximum mark: 30/30 with honours

Up to 17 points: preparation and discussion of the short essay.
Up to 13 points: oral examination on the assigned readings and course content.

Lectures combined with participatory discussion of the audiovisual materials analysed. Students will also present and discuss their proposals for the short essay in class.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development