History, Anthropology, Religions

EMILY PIERINI

The course aims to provide knowledge and understanding of the methodological, critical and applicable aspects of the Discipline; it proposes geographical areas and sectorial perspectives in which related projects are activated; it shows the variability of fields of interest; it enables the student to master the specific topics in order to use them and apply them in other fields of study while using the correct specific language. With the acquired knowledge the student will be able to develop autonomous ability of connections with other disciplines in the various historical epochs and cultural contexts.

The course introduces the main theoretical and methodological developments in cultural anthropology, with a focus on the themes of the body, the senses, image and representation.
In the first module, the epistemological and methodological foundations of the discipline are explored, analysing classical and contemporary paradigms. The second module delves into the theoretical framework relating to the anthropology of the body, the senses, and visual anthropology, highlighting how sensory perception, embedded experience and visual practices constitute modes of construction and transmission of knowledge, with a particular reflection on the relationship between the visible and invisible. The third module is characterised by an applied approach, through workshop activities and practical experiences, in which students are confronted with tools of visual and multimodal ethnography in order to develop skills in the use of images and other performative and multi-sensory languages as tools of anthropological research and narration.

1. Pennacini, Cecilia. 2015, Filmare le culture: Un’introduzione all’antropologia visiva, Roma, Carocci.
2. Marrazzi, Antonio. 2017, Antropologia dei sensi: Da Condillac alle neuroscienze, Roma, Carocci.
3. Pierini, E. (a cura di) 2024, Vestire l’invisibile: Antropologia degli abiti nelle religioni medianiche brasiliane, Roma, Nuova Cultura.