History of Venice: course description
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Luca Pes, Venice International University
Various things make Venice a place of interest: the fact that it was built on waters and marshy lands; the way its inhabitants shaped the Lagoon and managed the environment; the relationship with Byzantium and the East; the way it became the capital of a merchant empire; its role as a center of the printing industry, art production and Humanism; its development into a city of pleasure; the sudden loss of independence; the 19th Century cultural myth of its death; its rebirth with the Risorgimento of Italy; the creation of a new urban order, from the industrial port of Marghera to the beach resort at the Lido; the great social transformation of the 1950's-1970's, which produced a crisis of Greater Venice; the development into a "theme-park"; the way the city still presents an alternative notion of urban space. The course covers all of these themes through interactive lectures and wide use of multimedia sources (images, videos, music).
Students are expected to contribute to class, through two oral presentations and a final research paper, developing themes of personal interest, in agreement with the Professor. Topics can range from Literature to Economics, from Law to Cinema. Past themes have included: Venice and the Fourth Cruzade, Venetian Courtesans, The Life of Casanova, The Bostonians in Venice, Fascist Architecture in Venice, Venice in the History of Mass Tourism. Group work mixing nationalities will be encouraged. Research papers must include bibliographical references and notes.
