Program Overview

About This Course

The course "Sustainability and the Arts: Between Collective Actions and Cultural Industries" explores the social and political role of images in shaping our understanding of the ecological crisis and how the visual arts, architecture, cinema, and media are responding to it. The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach and aims to teach students to analyze the issues of sustainability from a visual perspective.

Requirements

• No prerequisite knowledge is required.

Quizzes and Scores

• The course includes quizzes that will be evaluated, and each correct answer is counted as 1 point.
• The course is considered successfully completed if the participant answers correctly at least 60% of the questions in total.

Certificate of Accomplishment

• The Certificate of Accomplishment will be released to anyone who successfully completed the course by answering correctly to at least 60% of the questions.
• The Certificate of Accomplishment does not confer any academic credit, grade, or degree.

Course Structure

• The MOOC is articulated in four weeks.
• Each week comprises four slots tackling an essential aspect of that week’s central theme from a different perspective.
• Each slot includes a front-view lecture, a sequence of slides, and a list of references.

Course Professors

• Francesco Spampinato: Associate Professor at the University of Bologna, with research focusing on contemporary art history and visual studies.
• Giulia Allegrini: Senior assistant professor at the Department of the Arts of Bologna University, with research interests in participation and civic imagination processes.
• Luca Barra: Associate professor at the Department of the Arts, Università di Bologna, with research centering on television production and distribution cultures.
• Marco Cucco: Associate Professor at the University of Bologna, with research interests concerning the film industry and cultural policy.
• Elisa Farinacci: Research fellow at the Department of the Arts of the University of Bologna, working on the international circulation and reception of contemporary Italian audiovisual products.
• Michele Filippini: Associate Professor at the University of Bologna, with research activity covering the history of political thought and political philosophy.
• Sara Pesce: Teaches film history, literature, and performance at the University of Bologna, with research on the cultural roots of the Hollywood film industry.
• Vesa Matteo Piludu: Postdoctoral Researcher of Indigenous Studies at the University of Helsinki, with publications concerning Finno-Karelian and Ob-Ugrian bear ceremonialism.
• Maurizio Ricciardi: Associate professor of History of Political Thought at the University of Bologna, studying the historical link between political and sociological discourse.
• Anna Rosellini: Associate Professor at the University of Bologna, coordinating the master AMaC, with research activities focusing on art materials, architecture exhibitions, and the relationships between habitat and sustainability.
• Marco Solaroli: Assistant Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication in the Department of the Arts at the University of Bologna, with research interests residing at the intersection of cultural sociology, visual culture, and journalism studies.

Course Details

• Course Number: SUSTARTS101
• Start Date: 15 September 2025
• End Date: 30 September 2026
• Language: English

Program Overview

The course is part of the "Micro-credential in Sustainability" (MC-S) developed by Una Europa, a pioneering online study program. It is produced by the University of Bologna, with contributions from various faculties of the Department of the Arts. The program aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of sustainability issues from a visual perspective, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to analyze and address these challenges in a more equal and just society based on well-being and the respect of nature.