STORYTELLING AND FICTION TV

Degree course: 
Corso di First cycle degree in STORIA E STORIE DEL MONDO CONTEMPORANEO
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2021/2022
Year: 
1
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2021/2022
Course type: 
Basic compulsory subjects
Seat of the course: 
Varese - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria
Credits: 
8
Period: 
First Semester
Standard lectures hours: 
64
Detail of lecture’s hours: 
Lesson (64 hours)
Requirements: 

No prerequisites are required.

Final Examination: 
Orale

The final learning assessment includes a compulsory written test for all (without the aid of notes or books), assessed in thirtieths, with 6 open questions on the texts in the bibliography. Each of the open questions is aimed at verifying the knowledge of the publishing, production and economic system of contemporary serial fiction, and is evaluated for a maximum of 5 points.
The first 5 questions are related to the mandatory texts indicated in the "Reference Texts" section and the last question is related to the text of your choice.
The evaluation of responses (for a maximum of 5 points) will take into account the ability to analyze and editorial placement of a serial fiction product (60%) and the ability to adequately substantiate statements and judgments (40%).
There is also the possibility (OPTIONAL) to develop an ongoing test, which consists of a paper analyzing a serial fiction product (to be delivered, in digital format, by e-mail, by the end of the lessons: 10 pages approx., 3000 characters each);
the modalities of the paper will be illustrated during the lessons

The paper replaces the preparation of the chosen text in the list and therefore one of the open questions of the written test.
In this case, the open questions of the written test are each assessed for a maximum of 6 points, and the paper (assessed on a scale of thirties) will consider the analytical capaci-ty and editorial placement of a serial fiction product (60%) and capacity to ade-quately motivate statements and judgments (40%).

The student to pass the learning test must have achieved the total score of 18/30.

Assessment: 
Voto Finale

The course aims to deepen the main theoretical and practical issues related to the realization, production and circulation of media narrative, and in particular of contemporary serial television fiction.

At the end of the course the student will have acquired:
- knowledge of the diversity and relationships between the different types of audiovisual offer (TV, OTT, digital environment)
-ability to critically place a storytelling product within the corresponding editorial typology
- ability to analyze textual and narratological analysis of a serial fiction product
- ability to recognize and critically analyze the potentialities offered by a serial

The course will specifically analyze the following topics:
- basic elements of the historical evolution of the television system (from broadcasting to OTT)
- editorial characteristics, target and organization of the content of the different forms of delivery of audiovisual products
- basic elements of the historical evolution of television serial fiction
- segmentation of the serial fiction product by content, language, adherence to the genre rules
- trends in contemporary television fiction
- exemplary case histories of period drama
The areas of investigation will be three
- characteristics of the contemporary media ecosystem (approximately 20 hours): logic of editorial organization (television networks, OTT, on-demand services), relations between production and distribution, definition of the target audience, market peculiarities
- socio-semiotic and narratological analysis of serial fiction (approximately 30 hours): genres and sub-genres, hybridizations and macro-trends of content and language, types of storytelling and narrative structure, imagery, encyclopedic links with the media system, consistency with the editorial field of placement
- representation of historical events in contemporary fiction (approx. 14 hours): evolution of the period drama genre, narrative and socio-cultural functions, clues and social discursiveness.

The complete study of the following mandatory texts is required:
- G. Rossini, Le serie TV, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2016
- N. Dusi, G. Grignaffini, Capire le serie tv, Carocci, Roma, 2020
- a text to be chosen between:
A. Bellavita (a cura di), La Grande Storia e il piccolo schermo, Mimesis, Sesto San Giovanni, in corso di pubblicazione

• J. Mittel, Complex TV. Teoria e tecnica dello storytelling delle serie TV, Minimum Fax, Roma, 2017

It is also required to study one of the following texts of your choice (replaceable by the paper):
A. Bernardelli, Cattivi seriali, Carocci, Roma, 2016
• S. Martin (a cura di), La costruzione dell’immaginario seriale contemporaneo, Mimesis, Milano, 2104
• G. Pescatore (a cura di), Ecosistemi narrativi, Dal fumetto alle serie tv, Carocci, 2018
• G. Grignaffini, A. Bernardelli, Che cos’è una serie televisiva, Carocci, Roma, 2017
• B. Martin, Difficult Men. Dai Soprano a Breaking Bad, gli antieroi delle serie tv, minimum fax, Roma, 2018
• S. Turnbull, Crime. Storia, miti e personaggi delle serie tv più popolari, minimum fax, Roma, 2018
• A. Bellavita – A. Bernardelli, Che cos’è la narrazione cinematografica, Carocci, Roma, in corso di pubblicazione
• F. Pasquali – F. Cleto, Tempo di serie. La temporalità nella narrazione seriale, Unicopli, Milano, 2018

Convenzionale

The educational objectives of the course will be achieved through the lectures (for a total of 64 hours).

The teacher receives the students by appointment via e-mail (an-drea.bellavita@uninsubria.it), at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences (Padiglione Rossi)

Professors