Living Space: Mobility, Boundaries, Accessibility (PhD)
Prerequisiti
No prerequisites required. The course is intended for undergraduate and graduate students (corso ordinario).
Programma
The course offers a critical reflection on the concept of spatiality and its historical and cultural transformations. Grounded in the theoretical framework of the spatial turn, which has redefined the humanities by treating space not as a mere static backdrop but as an active cultural and social product, the course will analyze through an interdisciplinary perspective how individuals and societies construct, cross, and interpret spaces. Particular attention will be paid to mobility phenomena, the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, and, more broadly, to the practices of perceiving and representing this category, highlighting the complexity of both historical and contemporary space.
The course will be structured into 10 lectures of two hours each, in English, delivered by post-doc researchers.
Obiettivi formativi
Develop a critical understanding of the concept of spatiality, analyzing how its historical, cultural, and contemporary meanings transform over time.
Apply interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks to examine the complex ways in which individuals and societies construct, navigate, and interpret physical and conceptual spaces.
Analyze the dynamics of mobility, inclusion, and exclusion, evaluating how socio-spatial boundaries influence access and equity within diverse communities.
Critically evaluate the practices of spatial perception and representation, identifying how cultural narratives, arts, or media shape our understanding of space.
Formulate independent critical reflections on both historical and contemporary spatial complexities, linking theoretical knowledge to real-world social phenomena.
Riferimenti bibliografici
K. Anguelova, A. Burtscher, M. Oberhofer, Through the Prism of Borders – Beyond the Threshold: Art and Spaces in Between, Paris 2025.
T. Da Costa Kaufmann, Toward a Geography of Art, Chicago-London 2004.
I.J.F., De Jong, Space in Ancient Greek Literature. Studies in Ancient Greek Narrative, Leiden–Boston 2012.
S. Douglas, A. Geczy, S. Lowry (eds.), Where is Art? Space, Time, and Location in Contemporary Art, London 2022.
D. Filippi (ed.), Rethinking the Roman City. The Spatial Turn and the Archaeology of Roman Italy, London 2022.
W. Fitzgerald, E. Spentzou (eds.), The Production of Space in Latin Literature, Oxford 2018.
H. Lefebvre, La production de l'espace, Paris 1974.
W.E. Soja, Postmodern Geographies: The Reassertion of Space in Critical Social Theory, London 1989.
F. Sorrentino (ed.), Il senso dello spazio. Lo spatial turn nei metodi e nelle teorie letterarie, Roma 2011.
B. Warf, S. Arias (eds.), The Spatial Turn. Interdisciplinary Perspectives, London 2009.
B. Westphal, La Géocritique, Réel, Fiction, Espace, Paris 2007.