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Module aims

This module examines the ways in which contemporary Venice confronts sustainability challenges and develops resilience. We will consider past, present, and future threats to a sustainable Venice, along with complex and unique local solutions using the three main pillars of sustainability (social, environmental, and economic areas) as lenses to focus our interdisciplinary discussions. The theme of ‘water’ will serve as a conceptual anchor to ground our consideration of issues such as rising sea levels, urbanization, resource management, energy production and distribution, along with historical Venetian industries such as, for example, publishing, shipbuilding, munitions, glassmaking, finance, and tourism. We will also consider Venice’s long tradition of hospitality as a sanctuary city, and the challenges Venice faces when welcoming migrants and refugees today.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module’s structure is based on the three pillars of sustainability. Social and historical aspects will be studied in the preparatory period. Then for the teaching period in Venice the focus will be on contemporary environmental and economic issues. The final session will focus on bringing together interdisciplinary knowledge and asking how Venice’s past can inform both its present challenges and implementations of future solutions.

Week 1: Introduction and Intersecting Contexts

• M. Introduction: Venice, Representations, and Sustainability Challenges
• Tu. Cultural Contexts: Migration and Sanctuary at the Crossroads of Global Trade
• W. Ecological Contexts I: Sustaining The Venetian Empire
• Th. Ecological Contexts II: Forestry and Fisheries Management
• F. Economic Contexts: Tourism from the ‘Grand Tour’ to the ‘Grandi Navi’

Week 2: Case Studies and Problems in Contemporary Venice

• M. Holding Back the Tides 1: Wet and Dry Urban Infrastructure
• Tu. Global Gentrification, Cruise Ships, and Civic Resistance: The Fondaco de' Tedeschi
• W. Holding Back the Tides 2: the MOSE Project and the Venetian Lagoon
• Th. Industrial Arts and Crafts in Crisis: Porto Marghera, Burano, Arzanà
• F. A New Atlantis: Rebuilding For A Sustainable Future? (Fondazione Cini, Arsenale) / —Conclusions

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Identify the key sustainability challenges currently facing present-day Venice and the perspectives of concerned stakeholders
• Engage in detailed reflection on how the city has dealt with such complex problems and competing economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental interests in the past
• Critically analyse existing local sustainable solutions, and future implementation plans, along with their scalability and adaptability to other global challenges
• Apply advanced cognitive skills to develop evidence-based policy proposals and critically reflective research
• Implement meta-cognitive skills to approach wicked problems through Problem-Based Learning and gain greater understanding of their own role in the learning process

Indicative reading list

Selections from the following monographs and edited collections will be assigned:

• Anheier, Helmut and Yudhishthir Raj Isar, eds., Cities, Cultural Policy and Governance. Sage (2012)
• Appuhn, Karl. A Forest on the Sea: Environmental Expertise in Renaissance Venice. Johns Hopkins UP (2009)
• Beatley, Timothy, ed. Green Cities of Europe: Global Lessons on Green Urbanism. Island Press (2012)
• Caroli, R. and S. Soriani, eds., Fragile and Resilient Cities on Water: Perspectives from Venice and Tokyo. Cambridge Scholars (2017)
• Da Mosto, Jane, Thierry Morel, Renato Gibin, et al., eds. The Venice Report: Demography, Tourism, Financing and Change of Use of Buildings. Cambridge UP (2009)
• Davis, Robert C. Venice, the Tourist Maze: A Cultural Critique of the World’s Most Touristed City. University of California Press (2004)
• Ferraro, Joanne M. Venice: History of the Floating City. Cambridge UP
• Fletcher, C.A. and T. Spencer, eds. Flooding and Environmental Challenges for Venice and its Lagoon. Cambridge UP (2005)
• Hom, Stephanie Malia. The Beautiful Country: Tourism & The Impossible State of Destination Italy. University of Toronto Press (2015)
• Lanaro, Paola, ed. At the Centre of the Old World: Trade and Manufacturing in Venice and the Venetian Mainland, 1400-1800. Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies (2006)
• Lane, Frederic Chapin. Venetian Ships and Shipbuilders of the Renaissance. Johns Hopkins UP (1992)
• McCray, W. Patrick. Glassmaking in Renaissance Venice: The Fragile Craft. Routledge (1999)
• Mann, Thomas. Death in Venice. Vintage Classics (2001)
• Musu, Ignazio, ed., Sustainable Venice: Suggestions for the Future. Kluwer Academic (2001)
• Pertot, Gianfranco. Venice: Extraordinary Maintenance. Holberton (2004)
• Plant, Margaret. Venice, Fragile City 1797-1997. Yale UP (2003)
• Redford, Bruce. Venice and the Grand Tour. Yale UP (1996)
• Rosi, Gianfranco. Fire at sea (Fuocoammare). [Film] (2016)
• Standish, Dominic. Venice in Environmental Peril? Myth and Reality. University Press of America (2011)

Additional texts, specific book chapters and articles will be set for additional reading.

Research element

Students will produce a final research essay on a topic of their own choosing related to the themes of the module

Interdisciplinary

This is module offers a unique transdisciplinary learning experience allowing students to achieve breadth and depth of knowledge. The module is designed to provide the students with an understanding of relationships between the different disciplinary areas within sustainability, urban studies, and cultural studies, with a particular focus on Venice. It also invites to the students to make connections with other disciplinary areas covered in their main study programme. It provides the students with a critical understanding of dominant traditions and methodologies associated with the main phenomena covered in the module and enables the students to transcend disciplinary boundaries. The interdisciplinary course cohort provides contact opportunities and learning to see from different perspectives is a core aspect of the learning experience.

International

The module draws on cases from different contexts, including different geopolitical areas, professional environments and linguistic contexts. The content and assessment invite the students to reflect on the societal relevance in different environments of the phenomena covered in the module. The assessment involves students working in groups with academic and ideally non-academic stakeholders which (will) allow for a global and local outlook to be built into the module’s work. The international and diverse course cohort provides contact opportunities and learning to see from different perspectives is a core aspect of the learning experience. The module will include experiential learning onsite in Venice.

Subject specific skills

Analytical skills attained through the analysis of existing local sustainable solutions, and future implementation plans, along with their scalability and adaptability to other global challenges.

Transferable skills

• Advanced cognitive skills of critical reflection
• Meta-cognitive skills gained through Problem-Based Learning which aid understanding of own role in the learning process
• Work effectively with others in group tasks and in teams
• Plan and manage time in projects
• Develop strong analytical skills
• Find, evaluate and use previous research at a level appropriate for a final-year module
• Use a range of tools and resources effectively in the preparation of course work
• Read and critically discuss academic papers effectively in the context of an intensive programme
• Communicate clearly and effectively in discussions
• Communicate ideas effectively in writing

Employability

Through this module, you will develop a number of different skills that are sought by employers which will support your professional development. We have highlighted this to enable you to identify and reflect on the skills you have acquired and apply them throughout your professional journey including during the recruitment process whether this is in a CV/application form or at an interview:

• Critical and independent thinking — developed through:
  • Weekly tasks, readings, and homework
  • Encounters with and employment of theories of tourism studies (such as the idea of Venice as a hyperreal/postmodern city), climate change, migration, and complex systems mapping.
  • Problem-based learning activities and in-class discussion based on real-world scenarios (such as the control room of the MOSE dam)
• Written communication – developed through:
  • Research Essay
  • Written weekly briefs presented in class
• Oral Communication – developed through:
  • Weekly presentations and simulations in class (based on both real-world scenarios and imagined ones)
• Research and Evaluation – developed through:
  • Weekly problems and tasks that require the students to research and evaluate issues concerning the sustainability of Venice from 697 (the foundation of the Republic) to present day along with critical evaluation of early modern sustainability policies contrasted with current ones
  • Final research paper that involves the formulation of their own research question and conducting their own in-depth reviews and analysis of theories, archival materials, case studies, or interpretations of expressive works (fiction, non-fiction, and many works that defy and question this binary)
• Time and Self- Management — developed through:
  • Weekly groupwork and problems
  • Pre-class quiz that makes students take personal responsibility for their reading and preparation for the module
  • Weekly readings, problems, and tasks (sometimes in groups, other times individually)
• Data analysis – developed through
  • Analysis techniques that combine narrative, qualitative, and quantitative data when looking at systems maps, climate change (acqua alta), and uncontrolled tourism in Venice
• Self-Awareness – developed through
  • Exploration of Venice and its problems as a “laboratory” for the world – comparisons to Barcelona, Bangladesh, and Antarctica (among others) and reflective recognition of situated position of students as analysts.

Study time

This is an indicative breakdown

Assessment

You must pass all assessment components to pass the module:

Feedback on assessment

• Feedback on test will be provided on Moodle
• Detailed feedback for written assignments will be provided via Tabula

Before you apply

You can take a maximum of two WIISP modules, and cannot take them at the same time. This module runs at the same time as the following modules, so you cannot choose these as a second module:

• Engaging with International Business - Strategic Luxury LeadershipLink opens in a new window

• Global Business Strategy and SustainabilityLink opens in a new window

• History of Global Organised CrimeLink opens in a new window

• Intercultural Communication in Theory and PracticeLink opens in a new window

• Multilingualism and DiversityLink opens in a new window

The preparatory reading week for the following modules overlaps with this module:

• Venice: Resistance and RepresentationLink opens in a new window

Please note

• Warwick students will need to check with their department before applying to take a WIISP module
• Students from partner institutions will need to apply via their home institution
• You are expected to fully engage and participate in the module, including in any group activities, if not your registration will be cancelled
• Module details provided on these pages are supplementary to module details in the module catalogueLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window. Subsequently individual module pages (moodle/my.wbs) will provide live details
• All modules require minimum numbers to run. This is set by each module leader.

How to apply

If you want to make an enquiry before applying, please contact the WIISP team at WIISP at warwick dot ac dot uk

Apply - Warwick students