Communication, technologies and digital culture

The course aims at analyzing the presence and impact of television on Italian society, in a context of great and irreversible change that also involves television ecologies (development of digital communication, multicanalization, proliferation of screens and platforms, etc.). A specific focus will be devoted to the relationship between TV and politics, through the evolution of the television talk show, which represents some of the most characteristic traits of the Italian Media-era: the balance between the power of traditional politics and the chances given by communicative innovation. At the end of the course, also thanks to the historical-comparative reconstruction adopted, the student will have acquired an adequate understanding of the ways in which the television - as technology and cultural form - has contributed to the overall transformation of the human experience. He will also have acquired the critical capacity necessary to apply the acquired knowledge to the analysis of the transformations that have marked the evolution of television, highlighting the main processes of social, cultural and political change generated outside the sphere of the media. This with particular reference to some key topics: the role of Public Service, the changing in audiences’ dynamics, the regulation of the audiovisual sector, the relationship between TV and politics. Starting from these key topics, the acquired knowledge will be applied in classto concrete case studies, and put into practice encouraging students to select and analyze specific television formats, placing them in their social, cultural, political and technological context and carrying out analyzes useful to understand strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and risks associated with their placement in the reference publishing market. If the above is functional to the objective of contributing to the development of critical skills and judgment of the student, the planning of moments of public discussion of the analyzes conducted will serve to the implementation of his ability to communicate what has been learned. The set of these knowledges and skills the student will acquire is aimed at stimulating an interest in a sociological reading of television products, sensitive to new topics and interdisciplinary, approach intended to be applied independently.