OVERVIEW

The course focuses on hybrid arts, which arise from the combination of previous art forms. The focus will be on the arts that create hybrid aesthetic objects, in which language, sound, and image intertwine. The intertwining of word, music, and image in songs, music videos, and video art will be analyzed in particular. Guided readings of selected articles or book chapters are aimed at raising awareness of the debates that characterize contemporary reflection on the aesthetics of hybrid arts.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to analyze specific objects of aesthetic appreciation. These are both objects of artistic relevance (art forms, genres, styles) and entities of other nature (natural objects,technical objects, social objects, scientific theories, historiographical texts). These case studies will allow us to understand how the conceptual apparatus of aesthetics is to be deployed.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The primary objective of the course is to provide students with a proper understanding of the notions of hybrid art and the hybrid aesthetic object within the framework of philosophical aesthetics. To this end, phenomenological aesthetics is used, which allows each hybrid art to be associated with a specific experiential profile. The aim is to raise students' awareness of the crucial role that hybridization practices play in the history of human culture, particularly in contemporary developments involving songs, music videos, and video art. Students are also expected to become familiar with contemporary debates on hybrid arts and with some emblematic texts addressing the issues at stake. The expected learning outcomes for students are as follows: 1) Be able to provide an appropriate characterization of the notion of hybrid art and related philosophical issues. 2) Be able to provide an appropriate characterization of the notion of hybrid aesthetic object and related philosophical issues. 3) Use phenomenological aesthetics to grasp the specificities of hybrid arts and the experiences they engender. 4) Analyze songs, music videos, and video art as hybrid aesthetic objects in which language, sound, and image intertwine. 5) Consider the place of songs, music videos, and video art in the artistic domain. 6) Identify the specificities of songs, music videos, and video art as art forms. 7) Critically read texts related to contemporary debates on hybrid arts, identifying their theses and arguments. 8) Critically read texts related to contemporary debates on songs, music videos, and video art, identifying their theses and arguments. 9) Acquire a greater ability to manage one's social interactions with a collaborative attitude, constructive communication, and dialogic skills. 10) Demonstrate autonomy in working, the ability to manage primary literature, argumentative skills, and a collaborative, coordinative, and negotiating attitude.

PREREQUISITES

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

TEACHING METHODS

IN PRESENCE CLASSES

The course consists of 40 hours, with phases of collective discussion and learning verification. In particular, preliminary readings will be given for some lectures and a preparatory exercise of identifying the main thesis, enucleating the argument that supports it, and taking a position on that thesis and argument will be required.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

– The Notion of Hybrid Art in Aesthetics

– The Notion of the Hybrid Aesthetic Object in Aesthetics

– Hybrid Arts and Phenomenological Aesthetics

– The Intertwining of Language, Sound, and Image in Hybrid Arts

– Song as a Paradigm of Hybrid Art

– Music Videos as a Paradigm of Hybrid Art

– Video Art as a Paradigm of Hybrid Art

– Other Examples of Hybrid Art

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Roberta De Monticelli & Francesca Forlé, La felicità dello spettatore. Lezioni di estetica fenomenologica. Garzanti, 2024. 

2) Alessandro Amaducci & Simone Arcagni, Music Video, Kaplan, 2007 (open access: https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/23735) (selection of chapters on AulaWeb)

3) Alessandro Amaducci, Zbigniew Rybczynski - Sperimentazioni cinematografiche e video, Kaplan, 2017 (open access: https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/1654978)  (selection of chapters on AulaWeb)

4) Alessandro Amaducci, Videoarte. Storia, autori, linguaggi, Kaplan, 2014 (open access: https://iris.unito.it/handle/2318/149457)  (selection of chapters on AulaWeb)

5) Other readings on AulaWeb

6) Further mandatory reading for students who do not attend the classes: Enrico Terrone, Il seriale. Un'indagine filosofica, Einaudi, 2025 (in stampa).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

September 2025

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Students are required to write an essay of approximately 3000 words on one of the topics discussed in class. A list of titles for the essays and a series of methodological indications will be provided by the teacher. The choice of title will be agreed with the teacher. The essay must be sent by email to the teacher at least two weeks in advance of the exam date. In the oral exam, you will have to critically discuss your essay and the other topics of the course.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

During the class, the active participation of students is encouraged and valued while discussing particular aspects of the program. The final test 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 series and seriality, 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, and is able to analyze them is assessed as “good”. The student who, in addition to mastering the basic notions and issues, and being able to analyze them, also proves to be inclined to the construction of original theses and arguments is assessed as “outstanding”.