Our society is overflowed with images. Technology today facilitates their spread and mirrors, to a certain
extent, our way of life. As means of communication, images convey our personal and public experiences on
a daily basis, captivate our attention and influence our perception of the world. What is the secret of their
power? Why do they enchant us? Furthermore, if images are to be considered representations, this implies
that they have both an aesthetic and a political component. How to make sense of this intrinsic interplay?
The purpose of this seminar is twofold: firstly, to study the nature of representations and the impact they
have on our society through philosophy, cinema, literature, art, and secondly, to develop a critical analysis of
the image through aesthetics, political theories, cultural studies, and the philosophy of humor.
In order to achieve these two objectives, students will analyze in class different scenarios of the image in
order to circumscribe its "field of action": in particular, we'll try to understand the motives behind the objects of
the representation, the impact on the spectators and the socio-political consequences that they generate.
Ayelet LILTI
Séminaire
English
Spring 2023-2024
1. Active participation: 10%
2. Class presentation: 40%
3. Final paper: 50%
1. Arendt, H. (1961;2001), The Crisis in Culture in Beiner, R & Nedelsky, J. (Eds.), Judgment, Imagination, and Politics: Themes from Kant and Arendt, p. 3-25, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
2. Aristotle, (1997), Aristotle's Poetics, translated & with a commentary by Whalley, G., Baxter, J.& Atherton, P. (Eds.), Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.