OVERVIEW

The class aims to introduce the aesthetics of fiction, narrative and depiction, with case studies drawn from visual arts such as painting, comics, cinema and television. The guided reading of some papers or book chapters is aimed at creating awareness of the debates that characterize contemporary reflection on fiction, narrative and depiction.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at analysing aesthetic themes from a multidisciplinary perspective. Particular attention will be given to the contributions to the debate made by the psychology of perception, the constructivist perspective in the cognitive field, the ontology of the virtual, the semiotic approach to art and communication theory. Readings of one or more classic texts will be chosen on the basis of the problem object of research. 

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students are expected to manage the concepts of fiction, narrative and depiction, and to situate them in the domain of aesthetics. Students are also expected to be able to apply these notions to their specific areas (philosophical methodology, art history, modern literature...). Students having 9 credits will take part in reading and discussion of some articles or book chapters. Such seminary‑like activity will familiarize students with contemporary debates about fiction, narrative and depiction, and will encourage them to the critical discussion of theses and arguments proposed by philosophers participating in those debates.

The expected outcomes are the following:

1) To be able to provide an appropriate characterization of the notions of fiction, narrative and depiction, and to address related philosophical issues.

2) To connect the notions of fiction, narrative and depiction among them, and to individuate their occurrences in the history of culture and especially in contemporary culture.

3) To highlight the relationship between the cultural practices of fiction, narrative and depiction, on the one hand, and psychological faculties such as perception, imagination and emotions on the other.

4) To recognize the specificity of fictions and narratives made of images, and to point out analogies and differences with respect to literary fictions and narratives.

5) To reflect on the specific features of fiction, narrative and depiction in forms of art such as painting, comics, cinema, television.

6) To consider the place of fiction, narrative and depiction in the domain of art, gaining awareness of the fact that certain fictions, narratives and pictures are works of art while others are not so.

7) To critically read texts in contemporary debates on fiction, narrative and depiction, identifying their theses and arguments.

In particular, outcomes from (1) to (6) are expected from students of the Humanities and Social Sciences Schools who have included the discipline in their plan for 6 credits, while students who have included the discipline in their plan for 9 credits are also expected to achieve outcome (7).

PREREQUISITES

Although the class is taught in Italian, understanding of texts written in English is required.

TEACHING METHODS

ONLINE LESSONS IN MS TEAMS

TEAM CODE: mneavwq

The class consists of 54 hours (40 for students having 6 credits), with phases of collective discussion and learning verification. Seminar activities are foreseen for students having 9 credits. The students in the philosophy degree have the option of writing a critical note (between 1000 and 1200 words in length), agreed with the professor and concerning a text (article or book chapter) that focuses on one of the topics of the class; the critical note should be sent to the professor by an agreed date prior to the exam, and will then be presented during the exam; the student is expected to be able to reply to comments and objections on what is written in the text presented to the professor.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Program for students having 6 or 8 credits:

- The notions of fiction, narrative and depiction in the framework of philosophy and aesthetics

- The characterization of fiction and its link with the imagination

- The characterization of depiction and images, and their link with perception

- The characterization of narrative and its link with the temporal and causal order of events

- The combination of fiction, narrative and depiction

- Fiction, narrative and depiction in various art forms

- Fiction and narrative without depiction: the literary paradigm

- The comparison between literary and visual fictions: the question of the narrator and the “secondary fiction”

- Fiction, narrative and depiction beyond art

Additional program items for students having 9 credits:

- The main debates on fiction, narrative and depiction in contemporary aesthetics

- Analysis of theses and arguments on fiction, narrative and depiction in contemporary aesthetics

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

REFERENCES

Students having 6 CFU:

ENRICO TERRONE, Filosofia del film, Carocci, Roma, 2014.

KENDALL WALTON, Mimesi come far finta. Sui fondamenti delle arti rappresentazionali, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2011 (original edition: Mimesis as Make-Believe, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990).   

Students having 9 CFU:

ENRICO TERRONE, Filosofia del film, Carocci, Roma, 2014.

KENDALL WALTON, Mimesi come far finta. Sui fondamenti delle arti rappresentazionali, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2011 (original edition: Mimesis as Make-Believe, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1990).

Bibliographic references concerning supplementary readings will be provided during the class. Some of the supplementary texts will be available on the page in Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ENRICO TERRONE (President)

FEDERICO ZUOLO

MARIA SILVIA VACCAREZZA (Substitute)

LESSONS

Class schedule

THEORY OF THE AESTHETIC OBJECT

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is oral. For students in the philosophy course who have 9 credits, the exam includes the discussion of a text among those read and commented during the class, as well as the critical note for those who want to exploit this option.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

During the class, the active participation of students is encouraged and valued while discussing particular aspects of the program. The final test, an oral exam, will allow to assess the level of understanding the philosophical ideas that has been thought, the mastery of them and the ability to present them, as well as the disposition for critical analysis of theses and arguments, and the propensity to their construction. The student who shows understanding of the basic notions and issues concerning fiction, narrative and depiction, and presents them clearly and coherently, but only in their essential lines, is assessed as “sufficient”. The student who masters the basic notions and issues concerning fiction, narrative and depiction, and is able to analyze them is assessed as “good”. The student who, in addition to mastering the basic notions and issues concerning fiction, narrative and depiction, and being able to analyze them, also proves to be inclined to the construction of original theses and arguments is assessed as “outstanding”. The provenance of the students from different academic areas having their own specificity will be taken into account during the evaluation process.

FOR STUDENTS IN THE  PHILOSOPHICAL METHODOLOGIES COURSE:

The possibility of writing a “critical note” (between 1000 and 1200 words in length) is optional. Students who want to choose this option should agree with the professor a text concerning one of the topics covered during the class, write a critical note about it, and then sent it, in pdf format, to the professor by an agreed date prior to the exam. The critical note will finally be discussed during the exam.

Exam schedule