BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The main educational goal of the course is to develop a good knowledge of the history of design from its origins to contemporary times, highlighting its historical evolution, thematic nodes, challenges and links with other disciplines (visual, literary, social, etc.).
With regard to skills, at the end of the course students will be able to recognise the fundamental characteristics of a design project, describing it with appropriate language and linking it to the artistic production and to the forms of contemporary cultural thought. They will therefore be able to critically read the relationship between the expressive-formal components of design objects and the socio-economic ones, linked to the design and production processes in different historical and territorial contexts. They will therefore be able to interpret the design object as the result of a historical, philosophical and political temperament and not as a 'formal' product.
Course Prerequisites
Knowledge of the basic outlines of the cultural history of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Teaching Methods
All lessons are supported by slides, which are made available to students on the e-learning platform. During the lessons, excerpts from books by the designers studied are read. Short critical essays will also be uploaded to the e-learning platform, and reading them as the course progresses is considered essential.
In addition to the frontal dynamic, dialogue and active participation are encouraged, starting with specific prompts from the teacher or individual initiatives by students (reading an essay or article, visiting a museum or collection, proposals for further study, etc.).
If possible, depending on the number of students enrolled, visits to museums or exhibitions will be organised. Experts from the world of design (historians, curators, scholars, etc.) will be invited; their seminars form an essential part of the programme for attending students.
Assessment Methods
The exam is oral and aims to assess students' knowledge of the topics covered and their understanding of the fundamental critical issues that characterise them, their ability to recognise and analyse artefacts, and their understanding of the relationship between the history of design and the more general artistic and cultural history of the contemporary age.
The exam therefore takes the form of an interview in which a number of open questions are asked, allowing candidates to demonstrate their ability to construct a discourse independently.
Both attending and non-attending students are required to prepare a topic of their choice, preferably supported by images or slides, to be presented on a tablet or in printed form (not on a smartphone or USB stick). This in-depth analysis, which must not exceed 6-8 minutes, will constitute the initial part of the exam. The presentation must analyse a SINGLE design object or building, and not a biographical profile or a general theme (for example: it is perfectly acceptable to present a carpet by Anni Albers, highlighting languages, production context and underlying social issues, but not “The figure of Anni Albers” or “The women of the Bauhaus”, or even less so “The Bauhaus”). You are therefore asked to go into depth starting from the small and concrete. The subject of the in-depth study MUST NOT be agreed upon with the teacher, except in exceptional cases: the ability to identify an interesting subject of study and to present it according to the criteria outlined above is an element of assessment.
The subject identified may or may not have been covered in class; it may or may not be part of the textbook: contributions arising from the curiosity or personal experience of students are also welcome.
Occasionally, during the exam, images may be presented to aid the analysis of a historical period, a movement or a designer's profile (however, recognition of the images is not required
to recognise the images: they are considered a support to the argument).
The criteria for assigning a score, out of 30, are based on:
_the ability to organise a presentation, from an argumentative and historical point of view (the visual aspect of the presentation will also be assessed, not so much in terms of “aesthetics” as in terms of
clarity, relevance and accuracy);
_ability to navigate the history of design independently and critically;
_ability to describe the cultural landscape in which a designer/design product is situated;
_precision of language.
The teacher takes note of active participation in lessons in the form of timely interventions, sharing of experiences and reflections, focus proposals, etc.
Contents
The course focuses on the intrinsic relationship between industrial, architectural and artistic production and other forms of representation (publishing, fashion,
graphic design, exhibition design, performing arts, etc.), in an effort to highlight the design and methodological links that connect the various disciplines within a
specific historical and cultural context.
The course begins by analysing the proto-industrial forms of production of the early decades of the 19th century, continuing up to the present day. It focuses
on the great utopian movements of the 19th century, the production of Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, the Wiener Werkstätte, the
artistic avant-garde movements (with a focus on the Bauhaus), post-war design, and the utopias of the 1960s and 1970s, outlining
some of the themes and challenges of the contemporary world.
A special place is reserved for the work of female designers.
Online Resources
More information
The programme is different for attending and non-attending students, as per the information uploaded to Leganto.
Communications to students will be sent via the e-learning area, which students are therefore invited to register for promptly, consult periodically and download materials from as needed.
International students, as well as students with PDP/PEi, are invited to contact the professor at the beginning of the course to agree on assessment methods and any programmes that correspond to their educational path.