Contemporary audiovisual culture

obligatory courses

The birth, development, and evolution of audiovisual culture in the light of successive communication/media inventions and theories of culture. The course lasts two semesters. There will be two 10-week cycles of three-hour lectures (once a week on Monday), a total of thirty (30) hours per semester, sixty (60) hours per year. A class is divided into three parts: an interactive lecture, a test to check comprehension of the basic concepts, a presentation and analysis of a media programme chosen as an illustration of the issues covered in the lecture.

On the example of the role of media in 20th- and 21st-century culture, students will learn about the mechanisms of evolution of media types and genres and the media as such. The evolution of media is strictly linked to technical progress. New technologies lead to the development of new qualities, contribute to the domination of audiovisuality, cause changes in awareness.

Juxtaposing the decadent aspects of traditional contemporary media with the decadent aspects of Hellenic culture and art, the course will present certain analogies and differences in the progress of change for authors and audiences. As genres mature, there emerges a drive for innovation, for bizarre effects and formal innovation leading nowhere.

Given the lack of adequate textbooks and hence mandatory attendance (30 hours x 2), required reading and writing of a yearly paper, students will have to devote around 80 hours to achieving the planned learning results.

Teksty klasyczne:

Zestaw tekstów klasycznych przygotowany przez prowadzącego: R. Ingarden, S. Eisenstein, A. Malraux, M. McLuhan, A. Bazin, J. Łotman, Umberto Eco.

Teksty współczesne;

Zestaw przygotowany przez prowadzącego:

Żaglewski, Tomasz. Autor „rozproszony”? Pytanie o kategorię twórcy (Posted 2012) http://www.kulturaihistoria.umcs.lublin.pl/archives/3330

Kisielewska, Alicja. „Serial telewizyjny – współczesna Biblia pauperum?” in Nowa audiowizualność – nowy paradygmat kultury? Eugeniusz Wilk, Iwona Kolasińska-Pasterczyk (eds). Kraków: Wyd. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 2008, 417-424

Kisielewska, Alicja. „Serial Telewizyjny jako forma mitologizacji kultury” in Między powtórzeniem a innowacją. Kraków: Rabid, 2004, 205-221

Kaczmarek, Anna. “Między operą mydlaną a serią fabularną – serial transzowy,” Podteksty 1-2 (2012) http://podteksty.amu.edu.pl/content/miedzy-opera-mydlana-a-seria-fabularna-serial-transzowy.html

Bogunia-Borowska, Małgorzata. „Teleświat medyczny – Medykalizacja codzienności i diagnozowanie stanu organizmu społecznego,” in Fenomen telewizji. Interpretacje socjologiczne i kulturowe. Kraków: Wyd. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 2012, 221-249

Bielak, Tomasz. „Obraz, ciało, tożsamość. Kilka uwag o serialu Bez skazy,” in Post-soap. Nowa generacja seriali telewizyjnych a widownia polska (pod red. M. Filiciaka i B. Gizy. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, 2011, 153-164

Godzic, Wiesław. „Jak się kończy telewizja? Początek cyfrowego życia,” in Wiesław Godzic, Telewizja jako kultura. Kraków: RABID, 2002, 199-223

Burszta, Wojciech. „O trzech pojęciach metakultury,” in Nowa audiowizualność – nowy paradygmat kultury? Eugeniusz Wilk, Iwona Kolasińska-Pasterczyk (eds). Kraków: Wyd. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 2008, 11-19.

Opracowania: Baldwin, Elaine et al. Wstęp do kulturoznawstwa, Poznań: Zysk, 2007.

Bignell, Jonathan. An Introduction to Television Studies. 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2013.

Edensor, Tim. Tożsamość narodowa, kultura popularna i życie codzienne. Seria: Cultura. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 2004.

Hopfinger, Maryla. Doświadczenia audiowizualne. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Sic!, 2003.

Storey, John. Cultural Theory & Popular Culture: An Introduction. 5th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd, 2009.

Knowledge. Upon successfully completing the course, students will:

- have basic knowledge on the types and the specificity of the object and methodology of the disciplines studying audiovisual culture

- know the basic terminology from cultural anthropology

- know the relationships between humanities disciplines and the special correlations between disciplines involved in the study of culture

- have the rudiments of an interdisciplinary approach in cultural studies

- have basic knowledge on contemporary trends in the development of studies on audiovisual culture

- have basic knowledge on the latest achievements in developing interdisciplinary research methods in cultural studies and possible directions in the development of such research

- know the main methods of interpreting a work of audiovisual art

- know the main methods of analysis in cultural anthropology, including the most important theories and traditions of different schools that emerged in the discipline’s development

- be aware of the importance of the comprehensive nature of language for cultural studies

Skills. Students will:

- develop basic research skills to formulate and solve research problems from the field of cultural studies;

- have the ability to perform basic analyses using interdisciplinary research methods and tools;

- be familiar with the main theoretical approaches and paradigms of knowledge on audiovisual culture and be able to use them in solving problems and working on research topics;

- have an interdisciplinary and comparative approach (with a focus on ancient culture) to contemporary audiovisual culture, highlighting its global reach and universal mechanisms of the creative process;

- be able to critically analyse and evaluate – going from analysis to synthesis – works of audiovisual culture, their origins and role in individual development (including their own) and in the development of society.

Social competences. Students will:

- be aware of the dynamic development of culture and the emergence of new research methods and paradigms

- be aware of the importance of the ancient heritage in European culture

- be able to interpret audiovisual works referencing the ancient heritage

- understand the principles of tolerance and cultural differences

- when taking part in discussions, respect the views of their partners

- actively follow events of audiovisual culture in Poland and around the world

- gain awareness and autonomy of choice as users and potential creators of audiovisual culture

During each class, students will take a test checking their comprehension of the main concepts discussed during the interactive lectures, and will take part in a discussion on the products of audiovisual culture presented in class. The written exam, prepared at home and submitted to the teacher within a set deadline after the course ends, will involve an analysis of a selected work of contemporary audiovisual culture using the cultural studies theories and critical tools learned during the course.