Corso di laurea magistrale in
Comunicazione e Culture dei media

Basic knowledge of general semiotics.

Students will be familiarized with the history and main theories of visual semiotics. They will learn how this field of study is changing under the influence of the massive digitalization of images and their exponential circulation through social networks. Students will also become acquainted with the current trends at the crossing boundaries between humanities and computing sciences for the analysis and visualization of digital images. At the end of the course, students will be able to know how digital images construct their meaning and make it available for countless operations of remediation throughout the semiosphere.

a) Ability to understand:
- Different types and classifications of images
- Image description for digital exploration
- Data/media visualisation as a kind of image
- The importance of semiotic for the digital humanities

b) Ability to apply knowledge:
- Identify and create a visual corpus
- Use data-driven descriptions of the corpus
- Design, present and develop an interactive project with communicative intentions

c) Autonomy of judgment:
- Students should be capable of gathering and managing data
- Students discover and develop practices for monitoring and curating novel software

d) Communication skills:
- Students learn and practice communication skills using digital and interactive elements
- Students develop a "data literacy" and "interface culture".

e) Learning ability
- Students will develop a critical framework for questioning the tools and methods the have proliferated with the explosion of digital social networks

The course comprises theoretical lectures, case examples, discussions, and technical demonstrations. When technical demos are scheduled, students are advised to bring their own laptops with pre-installed software and datasets, so it will easier to practice algorithmic procedures.

Students will be evaluated through an applied project in which they demonstrate their knowledge, original insights, and technical skills regarding visual semiotics. The project will be elaborated in small teams and advised by the teacher on a weekly basis. In the end, the delivered projects are subject to be published and accessible through a website (URL provided by the teacher).

Students can ask for conseling hours beyond the course. Typically, these might take place on Thursday afternoon. Counseling can be oriented towards the analysis and interpretation of a visual corpus, but also centered in more technical issues such as softare manipulation, design, and debugging.

Part 1. Theories of visual media (9 hours)

Part 2. Foundations of digital image (6 hours)

Part 3. Images and interfaces (9 hours)

Part 4. Practicing media visualization (12 hours)

• Bertin, Jacques. 1967. Sémiologie graphique. Paris: Mouton/Gauthier.
• Drucker, Johanna. 2014. Cambridge, MA: Graphesis, Harvard University Press.
• Leone, Massimo. 2017. “Socio-sémiotique des « livres à visages »”, in Landowski, E. (ed.) Sémiotique et engagement. Nouveaux Actes Sémiotiques. Available online: http://epublications.unilim.fr/revues/as/5816
• Manovich, Lev. 2013. “Media visualization: visual techniques for exploring large media collections”, in Gates, K. (ed.), The international encyclopedia of media studies. Vol. 6: media studies futures. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Available online: http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/media-visualization-visual-techniques-for-exploring-large-media-collections
• Reas, Casey, Chandler McWilliams, & Jeroen Barendse. 2010. Form+Code in Design, Art, and Architecture. Princeton Architectural Press.
• Reyes, Everardo. 2017. The Image-Interface: Graphical Supports for Visual Information. London: Wiley-ISTE.
• Sonesson, Göran. 1988. Methods and Models in Pictorial Semiotics. Lund University Press. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/2414690/Methods_and_Models_in_Pictorial_Semiotics