B4886 - FASHION AND VISUAL CULTURE.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the Course the student will have acquired knowledge in the field of contemporary visual culture in relation to the heterogeneous visual manifestations of the Fashion System, with a focus on the social perception of fashion images. The Course also aims to provide methodological, study and analysis tools necessary for the interpretation of the visual languages adopted in the processes of recounting and promoting the fashion product and the construction of related imagery.

Course contents

The course aims to provide the theoretical basis of visual culture studies and various examples of the interconnection between fashion, art and visual communication. Theoretical tools useful for understanding, describing and analysing fashion images in their cultural context of reference will be provided. Particular attention will be paid to the concepts of reproducibility, intertextuality and agency. Themes such as low resolution, countersurveillance, male gaze theory and stereotypes of gender representation in relation to fashion and its imagery will be addressed.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Readings/Bibliography

All the texts below are downloadable as PDFs from Virtuale.

Attending Students

• Erving Goffman, Gender Advertisements (1976), Harper, New York 1987, pp. 24-83.
• Marshall McLuhan, The Mechanical Bride (1951), in Eric McLuhan and Frank Zingrone (eds.), Essential McLuhan, Basic Books, New York 1996, pp. 98-102.
• Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen (eds.), Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, Oxford University Press, New York 1999, pp. 833-844.
• Irit Rogoff, Studying Visual Culture, in Nicholas Mirzoeff (ed.), The Visual Culture Reader (1998), Routledge, London 2002, pp. 24-36.
• Anneke Smelik, Fashion and Visual Culture, in Jan Brand and José Teunissen (eds.), The Power of Fashion. About Design and Meaning, Terra/ArtEZ Press, Arnhem 2006, pp. 152-171.

Non-Attending Students

• Erving Goffman, Gender Advertisements (1976), Harper, New York 1987, pp. 24-83.
• Marshall McLuhan, The Mechanical Bride (1951), in Eric McLuhan and Frank Zingrone (eds.), Essential McLuhan, Basic Books, New York 1996, pp. 98-102.
• Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, in Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen (eds.), Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, Oxford University Press, New York 1999, pp. 833-844.
• Irit Rogoff, Studying Visual Culture, in Nicholas Mirzoeff (ed.), The Visual Culture Reader (1998), Routledge, London 2002, pp. 24-36.
• Anneke Smelik, Fashion and Visual Culture, in Jan Brand and José Teunissen (eds.), The Power of Fashion. About Design and Meaning, Terra/ArtEZ Press, Arnhem 2006, pp. 152-171.

Additional reading:

• Down Woolley, The Dissecting Gaze: Fashioned Bodies on Social Networking Sites, in Morna Laing and Jacki Willson (eds.), Revisiting the Gaze. The Fashioned Body and the Politics of Looking, Bloomsbury Visual Arts, London 2020, pp. 123-146.

Teaching methods

Lectures and classroom exercises focusing on the analysis of texts related to visual culture. Workshop activities are also planned to provide a better understanding of the topics covered in lectures.

Assessment methods

For first-year attending students, the final examination will consist of a multiple-choice questionnaire on the topics covered in the lectures and the bibliography, together with an evaluation of the workshop activities carried out during the course.

For non-attending first-year students, the final examination will consist of a multiple-choice questionnaire on the lecture slides and bibliography, but there will also be an oral question (after the written exam) on the additional reading indicated.

Second year students, whether attending or not, will have to present and discuss a case study that exemplifies the contaminations between fashion, art and visual communication, to be agreed with the lecturer. The presentation should include text and images and should be made with software such as PowerPoint, Canva, Prezi or InDesign. Students are invited to consult the directions on Virtuale for further details.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint and audiovisual materials.

Office hours

See the website of Pasquale Fameli