Media Archaeology
A.Y. 2022/2023
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide the students with a general knowledge of the conceptual framework and the critical and theoretical tools of media archaeology, characterized by an interdisciplinary methodology that combines philosophy and critical theory with anthropology, the theory and history of cinema and media, and the history of technology. Through the in-depth analysis of selected case studies, the goal of the course is to reframe past, contemporary or emerging media through an investigation of media and dispositives that anticipated them, as well as through an account of the genealogical processes and epistemic constructs that have informed their becoming. The course will particularly emphasise interrupted or dead-end paths, that have been neglected or overlooked from the institutional history of media, and will pay special attention to the complex set of bodily gestures and movements that are connected to media practices and interaction. Through an archaeological approach to media and dispositives, the course aims to offer to the students a critical contribution both to their studies in communication and media, and to their future activities in the professional fields of multimedia communication.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding:
The students will develop an awareness of the non-linear and discontinuous character of the history of media, becoming familiar with some of the methodologies proper to media archaeology. They will be able to identify connections between contemporary media and the media of the past, as well as to explain the relationship between the emergence of ideas and concepts in a certain historical epoch and the evolution of technologies and dispositives.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
The course will enable the students to put into practice a set of tool to analyse the history of media phenomena and to critically discuss the dominant media trend in history through alternative genealogical trajectories. They will apply the acquired competences to tackle different types of sources for an archaeological investigation of media (literary texts, audio-visual materials, optical and technological dispositives). Relying upon the examination of the case studies, they will be able to apply the conceptual framework addressed by the course to a critical analysis of contemporary media culture. The notions and critical tools acquired will be employed by the students in the various professional fields of communication, especially by those concerned with the design, project and management of media processes.
The students will develop an awareness of the non-linear and discontinuous character of the history of media, becoming familiar with some of the methodologies proper to media archaeology. They will be able to identify connections between contemporary media and the media of the past, as well as to explain the relationship between the emergence of ideas and concepts in a certain historical epoch and the evolution of technologies and dispositives.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
The course will enable the students to put into practice a set of tool to analyse the history of media phenomena and to critically discuss the dominant media trend in history through alternative genealogical trajectories. They will apply the acquired competences to tackle different types of sources for an archaeological investigation of media (literary texts, audio-visual materials, optical and technological dispositives). Relying upon the examination of the case studies, they will be able to apply the conceptual framework addressed by the course to a critical analysis of contemporary media culture. The notions and critical tools acquired will be employed by the students in the various professional fields of communication, especially by those concerned with the design, project and management of media processes.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Course title: Through the looking glass. Archaeology of contemporary screens
Unit A (20 h; 3 CFU): What is media archaeology?
Unit B (20 h; 3 CFU): The powers of screens
Unit C (20 h; 3 CFU): Screens genealogies
Presentation of the course
In our daily practices, nothing seems more familiar and immediate than a screen: that of our smartphone or tablet, personal computer and the different devices we use activate through visual, voice and tactile interfaces. The pervasiveness of screens has become evident more than ever in the pandemic context: we ended up naturalising screens, i.e. taking them for granted and making them part and parcel of our environment, without questioning them. But what is a screen? In Longobard, the term 'skirm' meant a shield and any surface capable of providing shelter. How then did the screen come to mean the device we know nowadays? What were the social practices and uses that transformed it into a surface for projecting images? The screen has an ambiguous structure that refers at once to the action of exhibiting and protecting, of showing and concealing. This course aims to investigate this specific structure, tracing different genealogies and archaeological lines, in order to shed light on our relationship with contemporary screens.
Unit A (20 h; 3 CFU): What is media archaeology?
Unit B (20 h; 3 CFU): The powers of screens
Unit C (20 h; 3 CFU): Screens genealogies
Presentation of the course
In our daily practices, nothing seems more familiar and immediate than a screen: that of our smartphone or tablet, personal computer and the different devices we use activate through visual, voice and tactile interfaces. The pervasiveness of screens has become evident more than ever in the pandemic context: we ended up naturalising screens, i.e. taking them for granted and making them part and parcel of our environment, without questioning them. But what is a screen? In Longobard, the term 'skirm' meant a shield and any surface capable of providing shelter. How then did the screen come to mean the device we know nowadays? What were the social practices and uses that transformed it into a surface for projecting images? The screen has an ambiguous structure that refers at once to the action of exhibiting and protecting, of showing and concealing. This course aims to investigate this specific structure, tracing different genealogies and archaeological lines, in order to shed light on our relationship with contemporary screens.
Prerequisites for admission
No prior knowledge is required
Teaching methods
Lectures, discussions, analysis of artworks and devices, visual materials of contemporary digital culture, collective discussion, internet tools for blended teaching (padlet, mentimeter).
Teaching Resources
Syllabus
Attending students (6 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A and B) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it, with this Team code: 8aqe3g0 or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
or:
written paper to be agreed with Professor Grespi as regards Unit A
and
Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019, the following excerpts: l'Introduzione (pp. 27-49) e i seguenti capitoli: 1 (pp. 51-78), 2 (pp. 79-106), 4 (pp. 139-166).
Attending students (9 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A, B and C) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it with this Team code: 8aqe3g0
or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
or, for the unit A:
- a written paper to be agreed with Professor Grespi as regards Unit A
and
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019, the following excerpts: l'Introduzione (pp. 27-49) e i seguenti capitoli: 1 (pp. 51-78), 2 (pp. 79-106), 4 (pp. 139-166).
For unit B and C, one of your choice from the following texts:
- J. Bodini, M. Carbone, A.C. Dalmasso (a cura di), I poteri degli schermi, Mimesis, Milano 2021 (260 p.)
- G. Grossi, La notte dei simulacri. Sogno, cinema, realtà virtuale, Johan and Levi, Milano, 2021 (197 p.).
***
Non-attending students (6 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A and B) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it with this Team code: 8aqe3g0 or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
- B. Grespi, L. Malavasi, Dalla parte delle immagini. Temi di cultura visuale, McGraw Hill, Milano 2021 (218 p.).
Non-attending students (9 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A, B and C) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it with this Team code: 8aqe3g0 or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
- B. Grespi, L. Malavasi, Dalla parte delle immagini. Temi di cultura visuale, McGraw Hill, Milano 2021 (218 p.).
One of your choice from the following texts:
- J. Bodini, M. Carbone, A.C. Dalmasso (a cura di), I poteri degli schermi, Mimesis, Milano 2021 (260 p.)
- G. Grossi, La notte dei simulacri. Sogno, cinema, realtà virtuale, Johan and Levi, Milano, 2021 (197 p.).
Attending students (6 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A and B) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it, with this Team code: 8aqe3g0 or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
or:
written paper to be agreed with Professor Grespi as regards Unit A
and
Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019, the following excerpts: l'Introduzione (pp. 27-49) e i seguenti capitoli: 1 (pp. 51-78), 2 (pp. 79-106), 4 (pp. 139-166).
Attending students (9 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A, B and C) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it with this Team code: 8aqe3g0
or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
or, for the unit A:
- a written paper to be agreed with Professor Grespi as regards Unit A
and
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019, the following excerpts: l'Introduzione (pp. 27-49) e i seguenti capitoli: 1 (pp. 51-78), 2 (pp. 79-106), 4 (pp. 139-166).
For unit B and C, one of your choice from the following texts:
- J. Bodini, M. Carbone, A.C. Dalmasso (a cura di), I poteri degli schermi, Mimesis, Milano 2021 (260 p.)
- G. Grossi, La notte dei simulacri. Sogno, cinema, realtà virtuale, Johan and Levi, Milano, 2021 (197 p.).
***
Non-attending students (6 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A and B) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it with this Team code: 8aqe3g0 or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
- B. Grespi, L. Malavasi, Dalla parte delle immagini. Temi di cultura visuale, McGraw Hill, Milano 2021 (218 p.).
Non-attending students (9 CFU):
- Materials (Unit A, B and C) available in the "Files" section in Microsoft Teams, accessible through university account: @studenti.unimi.it with this Team code: 8aqe3g0 or at this link https://unimi2013.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/ARCHEOLOGIADEIMEDIA/En7-T1eT7NNGnDHPOqUfdaIBy6sPGkNrJeG4qE3wDTurgw?e=wNwwFc
- Jussi Parikka, Archeologia dei media. Nuove prospettive per la storia e la teoria della comunicazione, Carocci, Roma, 2019 (282 p.).
- B. Grespi, L. Malavasi, Dalla parte delle immagini. Temi di cultura visuale, McGraw Hill, Milano 2021 (218 p.).
One of your choice from the following texts:
- J. Bodini, M. Carbone, A.C. Dalmasso (a cura di), I poteri degli schermi, Mimesis, Milano 2021 (260 p.)
- G. Grossi, La notte dei simulacri. Sogno, cinema, realtà virtuale, Johan and Levi, Milano, 2021 (197 p.).
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral exam testing the knowledge of the texts in the syllabus and the acquired skills, with a particular focus on concepts and case studies. The evaluation corresponds to:
- knowledge level of the theoretical frameworks;
- ability to apply concepts to case studies;
- making judgments;
- ability to argue with conceptual and linguistic precision
- knowledge level of the theoretical frameworks;
- ability to apply concepts to case studies;
- making judgments;
- ability to argue with conceptual and linguistic precision
L-ART/06 - CINEMA, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TELEVISION - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professors:
Dalmasso Anna Caterina, Grespi Barbara
Professor(s)
Reception:
Thursday 4-6 p.m. Please contact me to schedule an appointment
Festa del Perdono campus or Microsoft Teams
Reception:
From 28 April to 12 May 2025, reception office will still take place on Mondays, but only online from 13:30 to 16:30, by appointment requested by email or Teams (due to research transfer in the US).
Dipartimento di filosofia, second floor, and/or Teams