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S1411 Comparing East and West

De Rosa Agostino

The course aims at introducing the students to know and interpret the figurative forms by means of which the Western and the Eastern (especially Sino-Japanese) cultures used to represent time and space. Starting from the analysis of the anthropologic positions that have historically distinguished the two ethno-cultural fields, the course will provide a close examination of why, despite the development in the West of the conical linear perspective during the Renaissance, it’s been privileged in the Far East that pseudo-axonometry which quickly became the symbolic form for the complex native philosophical and religious context. The theme of the representation of light and shadow in both of the figurative contexts will be particularly underlined, employing materials coming not only from the history of art and of figuration, but also from literature, music and cinema.

 

Learning outcomes of the course.

The expected learning outcomes are those related to a development for the students of a comparative approach between the Western and Eastern forms of representation, by means of the analytic observation and the documentary study of some of the figurative milestones. The course aims at developing for the student her/his own critical capacities in the exegesis of images characterized by a strong geometric and symbolic content, even if distant from an ethnographic point of view, by trying to make the common features stand out.

 

Teaching and evaluation methods.

The course will be held with lectures, and with the aid of multimedia materials. The students’ learning status will be evaluated with two short tests during the course, in the form of seminaries, each counting for the 30% of the final grade (30%+30%=60%). The remaining 40% will be given according to the final exam, which will consist of a discussion about the themes developed during the course.