Research areas

Visual Arts and Fashion

The research topics of the faculty members in the Visual Arts and Fashion section include content and methods that span from the history of artistic production in the medieval, modern, and contemporary periods to the phenomenology of art and the cultural and creative industries in the present time. In particular, the historical components explore research areas such as stylistic evolution in various fields (painting, sculpture, architecture, book illustration, and decorative arts) in relation to function, spatial context, patronage, iconographic choices, and their intersections with the history of culture and intellectual history; the forms of artistic expression and experience in the 20th and 21st centuries, the history, theories, and practices of photography, the history of urban planning, methodologies in art criticism, the development of collecting practices and museology. The investigation of the present also includes fashion studies, the aesthetics of everyday life, cultural heritage, design cultures, and digital humanities for the study of the humanities.

Philosophy, Politics, and History

The research area, composed of faculty, researchers, and scholars from various disciplines, aims to contribute to the enhancement and further articulation of the cultural proposal of the Department of Arts through the establishment of a common ground for work and exchanges on historical, philosophical, and broadly political issues. Contributions of sociology and anthropology, geography and law are key aspects of the research area. The interdisciplinary nature of the research area corresponds to a feature characterizing the whole Department, and lays the basis for intense discussions and planning initiatives, in the fields of teaching, research, and third mission activities and in constant collaboration with the other research areas of the Department.

Media and Communication

This section aims to foster relationships and convergence between media studies (film, photography, television, digital media) and contemporary communication studies (corporate, commercial, social, political, and public communication). Media studies range from the more traditional areas of film, photography, and television history, to philological, analytical, and theoretical-methodological insights, up to the observation of the latest and most innovative trends, with a particular focus on television narratives, the economics and marketing of audiovisual contents, pop and entertainment cultures, and digital media.Communication studies are characterized by a strong interdisciplinarity, which includes the theories, methods and analytical practices of all the disciplines that have always characterized the Communication Sciences degree program of the University of Bologna since its founding in the 1990s: semiotics, social sciences, psychology, history, law, geography. The emphasis on cultural and media production is confirmed and reinforced by frequent and fruitful exchanges with the world of business, professions and institutions.

Music and Theatre

The section contributes to the Department of Arts' activities in key areas of scientific, educational, and third mission efforts. The synergy among its members and the interaction with the other sections of the Department takes the form of coordinated educational activities, involving various Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs. In particular, the faculty members of Music and Theatre collaborate in the development of the Master’s degree program in Music and Theatre, for which their collaboration in the section is both useful and necessary. They also work together in the planning, promotion, and production of musical and theatrical performances within the Department's center for theatrical and musical promotion and production, “La Soffitta.” The section members collaborate on competitive bids to fund these activities and share the design, presentation, and management of national and international research projects.