Learning outcomes

Through various different teaching methods (lectures, discussions, meetings with experts, short films), the course aims to introduce students to a critical understanding of key concepts of the discipline in order to analyze the question of “lies” (untruths/bias) in different media highlighting the peculiar sensitivity and the potentiality of the anthropological approach.

At the end of the course the student will have a better understanding of the research practices (fieldwork) and the main categories used within anthropology to try to understand the cultural and intercultural processes; s/he will also be able to use the acquired tools to approach these processes.

Program

Anthropological knowledge is a practical knowledge, action oriented, and constantly engaging with other world views. Starting from these premises, the course will be divided into two parts:

Part one: Concepts and methodological tools within Anthropology

The critical analysis of some objects of study of the discipline, such as culture, boundaries, belonging, representation of alterity, practices and local knowledge as well as the methodological tools of the discipline (participant observation and ethnographic interviews).

Part two: Cultural stereotypes and fake news

The analysis of cases of "false rumors" circulating in the media from print media to the internet in the post-truth era. In some cases, these untruths/distortions are harmless, in others they are deliberate manipulations created ad hoc, news built on stereotypes, which can have devastating effects. Critically addressing "fake news" is a vital issue for students who are involved in communications. During the course we will deal with a particular type of "lies"(untruth/distortion), those that are fed from an imagery filled with cultural stereotypes. Fake news creates dangerous short circuits.

Course Readings:
1)Ugo Fabietti, 2015, Elementi di Antropologia culturale. Terza edizione. Mondadori Università

2) Silverman, Craig (2014) Lies, Damn Lies and Viral Content.
How News Websites Spread (and Debunk) Online Rumors, Unverified Claims and Misinformation.
Available from http://towcenter.org/research/lies-damn-lies-and-viral-content/

3) Rivera, Annamaria (2015) La guerra dei simboli. Veli postcoloniali e retoriche dell'alterità, Dedalo, Bari, pp. 1-55 + glossary pp.125-133.

Examination Methods

Final oral exam.
The oral exam consists of an interview on the whole program; the student is asked questions about the course readings and about the thematic aspects dealt with. The student should bring with her/him the texts which s/he has studied.
The final evaluation is based on 30/30.
The oral test wants to verify:
- the breadth of knowledge gained;
- the use of a correct language;
- the ability to make connections and to discuss them.

For those attending classes : class participation, in-class presentation and reports/papers . More specific details will be given at the beginning of the course.

Erasmus and international students may study the texts and take the final exam in English or French.