COMMUNICATING CRIMINAL TRIALS IN HISTORY
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The exam consists of an oral test aimed at assessing the acquisition and correct understanding of the course contents. There will be a question on each text discussed in class to test the knowledge of the topic, presentation skills and analythic skills. The final mark will be based on the accuracy and quality of answers, as well as communication skills and the ability to formulate adequate statements, analyses and judgments shown during the oral test.
The course, starting from the study of the evolution of legal systems, will analyze the fundamental features of the history of the criminal process (from ancient times to the present day) and its communication by the State for the purpose of propaganda of its power and deterrence against criminal facts.
A careful investigation will be carried out on the different forms of legal communication, on how the law "speaks" and manifests itself. The final objective is to offer tools for analysis, evaluation and comparison of the proposed themes.
Among the expected learning outcomes are therefore the ability to apply and interpret the historical and legal knowledge learned, in order to develop skills to achieve, thanks to the acquired tools (information, theories, interpretations), the ability to criticize and analyze legal, journalistic, non-fiction and historical texts.
The course deals with the comparative study between the means of communication used in Antiquity to present to the community the criminal trials and those used in current events both in Italy and in the European and American environment. In the context of communication studies, the ways in which citizens become aware of the future and outcome of the great criminal trials assumes considerable importance: the pregnant semiotic implications and the impact on the "public" of the enactment of the sentence and the infliction of the penalty have always been punctually evaluated by the authority since the classical world, to pass through the inquisitorial processes of the Middle Ages and reach the reformist proposals of the age of enlightenment (in particular those of the famous treatise "Dei delitti e delle pene" by Cesare Beccaria). The way in which the body of the condemned person becomes an emblem of punishment is also a model of communication peculiar to every political system. Today the mass media use the great current processes and their reconstruction as an instrument of formidable attraction for the masses, creating narratives that enter the collective imagination. We will work in particular on practical cases both of the past, starting from the analysis of the myth, and of the present, finally taking into consideration also the problems related to the procedural methods and management of the penalty of serial murders. In particular, a part of the course will be dedicated to homicides in the family. A path of legal and literary, digital and cinematographic sources will be proposed that students will follow to achieve basic skills.
Activities will take place through lectures, in which the teacher will explain the content of the course, require the involvement of students through exercises, vision, hearing and review of documents; dialogue and discussion with the class through the analysis and discussion of topics.
Audio and video resources will be used.
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