OVERVIEW

This course invites students to reflect on the creation of images and narratives in the contemporary era. The analysis of production and communication through images, and an examination of the issues addressed by artists, will be accompanied by a reflection on the forms and structures of visual and literary narratives, as well as those produced by contemporary intermediality and transmediality. 

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students will have acquired the ability to critically analyse complex narrative systems and navigate the myriad channels of media communication; they will also be able to address the issues associated with interpreting and engaging with contemporary artworks resulting from intermedia and transmedia projects. 

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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

• recognise the various forms of intermedia, transmedia, cross-media and multimedia productions; 
• recognise the strategies for the development of inter- and transmedia art forms;
• use basic analytical methods and tools to interpret intermedial and transmedia narratives; 
• design intermedial narratives.

Students who have regularly filed a certification of disability, DSA or other special educational needs are advised to contact both the contact person Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it) and the teacher at the beginning of the course, in order to agree on teaching and examination methods that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools. 

Students will also have sharpened their critical thinking and teamwork skills. 

PREREQUISITES

There are no specific requirements.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures in the classroom, group work – case studies, preparation of presentations – and classroom discussions.  

The following teaching methods will be used during the course: flipped classroom, cooperative learning and collective reading. Attendance will be monitored.  

All teaching materials will be made available in full on Aulaweb; non-attending students will be required to supplement the programme with two pieces of theoretical reading as indicated in the bibliography and agreed upon with the teachers. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

This course examines the development of intermedial narrative forms in contemporary art.  

Main topics:  

• Narrative and storytelling: definitions, structures and objectives.  
• The construction of narrative: from comics to exhibitions, from paintings to video installations.  
• Intermedial, cross-media, transmedia and multimedia narrative forms.  
• Tools for textual and intermedial analysis.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Camporesi S., Una foto è una foto è una foto, Torino, Einaudi, 2025. 
• Chiurato A., Intermedialità. Narrazioni, linguaggi, pratiche, Bologna, Patron, 2023. 
• Cometa M., Coglitore R., Cammarata V., Cultura visuale in Italia. Immagini, sguardi, dispositivi, Milano, Meltemi, 2022.
• Gottschall J., The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
• Jenkins H., « Transmedia Storytelling. Moving characters from books to films to video games can make them stronger and more compelling », Technological Review, 15.1.2003. 
• Rajewsky I.O., “Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality.”, Intermédialités / Intermediality, 2005, 6, 43–64. https://doi.org/10.7202/1005505ar 
• Salmon C., Storytelling. La fabbrica delle storie, Roma, Fazi, 2008. 

Other specific bibliographical references will be provided during the course. 

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

October 2026.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The course includes a continuous assessment accompanied by a final interview.  

Evaluation in thirtieths.

Students who have not attended the course must read two articles of their choice from those listed in the bibliography and include the content of these articles in their portfolio. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The course involves ongoing assessment of the learners’ group-based coursework, as well as the preparation of a portfolio that will document each learner’s learning journey. Each of these activities aims to develop the learners’ knowledge and skills and will be assessed individually, forming the basis for the final mark, which will be derived from the results of classroom activities, an assessment of commitment and attendance, and a final interview in which the portfolios will be presented, highlighting the knowledge and skills acquired. 

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students with a certified DSA, disability or other special educational needs are advised to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course in order to agree on teaching and examination methods that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools.