509209 - EXPANDED CINEMA (ARCHIVE, MUSEUM, GALLERIES)

courses

ID:

509209

Duration (hours):

36

CFU:

SSD:

CINEMA, FOTOGRAFIA E TELEVISIONE

Year:

2025

Date/time interval

Secondo Semestre (23/02/2026 - 22/05/2026)

Course Objectives

The course aims to guide students in developing a solid and critically informed understanding of the most recent artistic practices that employ moving images in contexts not traditionally associated with cinema — such as museums, galleries, archives, concerts, fashion shows, domestic environments, and public spaces. At the same time, it provides theoretical tools for the comprehension and analysis of audiovisual experiences and expanded cinema works that integrate diverse media languages and foster a dynamic dialogue with space and the viewer.

Course Prerequisites

A foundational understanding of film history and cinematic language is required. A general familiarity with contemporary cinema and digital media may also prove beneficial. In addition, prior exposure to media practices that diverge from the conventions of traditional cinema (such as video installations, multimedia performances, immersive environments, or site-specific works in museums and galleries) can facilitate a deeper engagement with the themes explored in the course.

Teaching Methods

The course includes lectures combining historical and theoretical perspectives with the analysis of case studies. It also features meetings with professionals and artists, as well as book presentations with authors whose publications are closely related to the topics addressed in class. In the final part of the course, a project-based workshop led by the instructor will focus on artificial intelligence, culminating in a small research exhibition open to the public at the Auditorium di San Tommaso.

Assessment Methods

For the final assessment, students may choose one of the following options: an oral examination based on the required readings, conducted through an individual interview with the instructor and aimed at evaluating the student’s critical understanding of the course materials; or, alternatively, a practical assignment—previously agreed upon with the instructor—focused on the development of a project or an applied case study.

Texts

For attending students:

- G. Youngblood, Expanded Cinema, Clueb, 2013 (only the sections agreed upon during the course);
- F. Casetti, La galassia Lumière: Sette parole per il cinema che viene, Bompiani, 2021.

One book to be chosen from the following:
- F. Bandi, Spazi virtuali. Esplorazioni estetiche tra ambienti elettronici e immersivi, ETS, 2024;
- M. De Rosa, Camille Henrot, Grosse Fatigue. Notes on Desktop Cinema, Mimesis, 2024;
- J. Malvezzi, Expanded Cultures: Storie, critiche e pratiche del cinema espanso in Italia (1967–1981), Meltemi, 2025;
- M. T. Soldani, Made in USA: L’opera dei Sonic Youth tra indie e pop, video e cinema, Mimesis, 2024.

A digital reader will be provided during the course..

Non-attending students and Erasmus students must arrange the syllabus directly with the instructor.

This course aims to explore the contemporary image through an investigation of its modes and sites of reception. Particular attention is devoted to the visual forms that define it, the experiential and relational dynamics it generates, and the evolving modes of spectatorship that emerge in contexts of reception beyond the traditional cinema theater. Students will examine a range of topics, including the history and analysis of expanded cinema from the 1960s to the present; the relocation of the cinematic experience; the concept of the “media environment”; the proliferation of screens across individual and collective scenarios; the notion of “immersivity” in relation to augmented and virtual reality; and the redefinition of “experience” in the transition from traditional models of cinematic spectatorship to more recent and interactive forms.