DHUM 25A34 - The Politics of Images

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.