French Culture I

Title: The cultural media today: filiations, representations, challenges

Part I: The press

1. Précis of history of the cultural press: filiation and evolution of a journalistic genre
2. The cultural supplements of the institutional daily newspapers: between tradition and modernity
3. Cultural magazines: which imaginary for which public?
4. Prestige construction and publishing houses: literary prizes and cultural events
5. Possibilities and goals of the cultural press between disclosure and consumption

Part Two: Audiovisual

1. Birth and evolution of cultural programs
2. Literary programs and the genre of the author interview
3. New portraits of writers and musicians: podcasts
4. Artistic representations and television
5. Artistic and literary documentaries on "Arte": challenges of a hybrid cultural product


The subject of the first part of the course is the press, in a diachronic approach at first - from the birth of the "culture column" in major newspapers to the diffusion of magazines and supplements on literary and artistic subjects - and then defining some of the artistic-literary representations that the media solicit in the public, as well as the various relationships entertained with other agents of the cultural industry, such as publishing houses, museums, theaters, cultural events. The second part is dedicated to audiovisual media, from television to radio and podcasts. By analyzing in a diachronic perspective some television and radio broadcasts and documentaries on literary, musical and cinematographic subjects, the course will aim at understanding the evolutions, the possibilities and the challenges of powerful communication tools caught in the relationship between divulgation and prestige building, transmission of cultural contents and creation of an imaginary.