96437 - Politics of Representation (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: knows the general features of the relationship between political forms and artistic representations; knows the political and communicative history of the concept of representation; knows some fundamental moments of modern political experience in which the political link and representation had a constitutional relevance; knows how to place events, processes, and artistic forms within the modern political experience; acquires knowledge about certain political-artistic constellations; knows how to analyze the political effects of artistic representations; knows how to apply the methodologies of the history of political concepts and constitutional history; knows how to relate different modes of communication within specific historical constellations.

Course contents

The course historically reconstructs the connection between the parabola of modern political representation and certain artistic representations. Its aim is to show how, starting from some specific aesthetic experiences or their critique, concepts and paradigms of political modernity have developed. At the same time, it will investigate how some 'political' authors have used, criticised, crossed artistic experiences to renew their specific disciplinary languages. The tension between representation understood as "speaking for others" and representation understood instead as the re-presentation of objects or experience aimed at communicating certain contents of meaning will thus be investigated.

The course will be organised as follows: 

1. Introduction: Art, Iconology and Politics in the Modern Age

2. Iconology, the art of government and reason of state

3. Ambrogio Lorenzetti and the Politics of Art: The Fresco of Good Government in Siena

4. Perspective, representation, political representation: between Panofsky and Hobbes 

5. The Politics of Iconology: Abraham Bosse and the Frontispieces of Thomas Hobbes 

6. Velasquez, Foucault and the legitimacy of the modern age. 

7. Rousseau, and the political critique of theatrical reason

8. David, Marat, Robespierre and political virtue 

9. Goya, the dream of reason, criticism and the Enlightenment

10. Karl Marx, the theatre of history and the critique of ideology

11.Western representation: Max Weber the domination and capitalism

12. Walter Benjamin, the work of art, law and violence

13. The degenerate image: Hitler, Leni Riefenstahl and National Socialism

14. Franz Fanon colonialism and revolt without representation

15. Representing the unrepresented: Said, Spivak the colonised and the subaltern

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Readings/Bibliography

1. The good government of Ambrogio Lorenzetti

P. Schiera, Il Buongoverno “melancolico” di Ambrogio Lorenzetti e la “costituzionale faziosità” della città, «Scienza & politica», 2006, pp. 93-108.

Q. Skinner, Ambrogio Lorenzetti e la raffigurazione del governo virtuoso e Ambrogio Lorenzetti sul potere e sulla gloria delle repubbliche, entrambi in Q. Skinner, Virtù rinascimentali, Bologna, il Mulino, 2002, pp. 53-153.

P. Boucheron, Scongiurare la paura. La forza politica delle immagini, Milano, Jaca Book, 2018.

2. Political representation

E. Panofsky, La prospettiva come “forma simbolica”, in Id., La prospettiva come “forma simbolica” e altri scritti, Milano, Feltrinelli, pp. 37-117.

E. Panofsky, Iconologia e iconografia. Introduzione allo studio dell’arte nel Rinascimento, in Id., Il significato delle arti visive, Torino, Einaudi, 2010, pp. 32-57.

T. Hobbes, Leviatano, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1976, pp. 155-180.

G. Agamben, Stasis. La guerra civile come paradigma politico, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2015.

3. Representation and its Limits

R. Brandt, Diego Velázquez: Las meninas o La familia de Felipe IV, in Id., Filosofia della pittura. Da Giorgione e Magritte, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2003, pp. 270-297.

M. Foucault, Le parole e le cose. Un’archeologia delle scienze umane, Milano, Rizzoli, 1978, pp. 17-30.

Ernst H. Kantorowicz, La sovranità dell’artista, in Id., La sovranità dell’artista. Mito e immagine tra Medioevo e Rinascimento, Venezia, Marsilio, 1995, pp. 17-38.

C. Ginzburg, Rappresentazione. La parola, l’idea, la cosa, in Id., Occhiacci di legno. Nove riflessioni sulla distanza, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1998, 82-99.

P. Schiera, La dottrina delle immagini, in Id., Profili di storia costituzionale. 1 - Dottrina politica e istituzioni, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2011, pp. 137-157.

4. Representations of the Enlightenment

M. Horkheimer – T.W. Adorno, Dialettica dell’illuminismo, Torino, Einaudi, 1976.

M. Foucault, Illuminismo e critica, a cura di Paolo Napoli, Roma, Donzelli, 1997.

R. Brandt, Francisco Goya: Il sonno della ragione genera mostri, in R. Brandt, Filosofia della pittura. Da Giorgione e Magritte, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2003, pp. 349-361.

5. Representation and virtue

J.J. Rousseau, Lettera sugli spettacoli, Palermo, Aestethica, 2013.

C. Ginzburg, David Marat. Arte politica religione, in Id., Paura reverenza terrore. Cinque saggi di iconografia politica, Milano, Adelphi, 2015, pp. 81-114.

M. Robespierre, Il terrore e la guerra giacobina, Milano, PGreco, 2012.

6. Revolution and representation

K. Marx, Il 18 brumaio di Luigi Bonaparte, in Id., Rivoluzione e reazione in Francia 1848-1850, Torino, Einaudi, 1976, 171-185 (The first chapter).

M. Ricciardi, The Provisional Power. Marx and Politics as a Critique of Society, Leiden - Boston, Brill, 2024.

7. Modernism and representations

M. Berman, Tutto ciò che è solido svanisce nell'aria. L'esperienza della modernità, Bologna, il Mulino, 2012.

K. Marx - F. Engels, Manifesto del partito comunista, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2017.

8. The catastrophe of representation

W. Benjamin, L’opera d’arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, Torino, Einaudi, 1966. W. Benjamin, Per la critica della violenza, in Id. Angelus Novus. Saggi e frammenti, Torino, Einaudi, 1976, pp. 5-28.

M. Ricciardi, Tra carisma e funzione. La «Führerschaft» di Adolf Hitler, in «Ricerche di storia politica», 5, 2002, n. 3, pp. 365-375.

G. Didi-Huberman, Immagini malgrado tutto, Milano, Cortina, 2005.

9. On the representation of the unrepresented

Franz Fanon, I dannati della terra, Torino, Einaudi, 2007.

Edward W. Said, Orientalismo. L'immagine europea dell'Oriente, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2001 (excluding Chapter 2).

Teaching methods

Lectures with discussion of the most relevant concepts.

Assessment methods

1) Attending students may choose to take an oral examination or write a paper of at least 2500 words. In both cases, the study material consists of the lecture notes and materials from the lectures and the texts listed in one of the thematic sections of the bibliography.

2) Non-attending students may choose whether to take the oral examination or to write a paper of at least 3500 words. In both cases the study material consists of the texts indicated in one of the other thematic points of the bibliography.

All papers must be handed in by the exam registration closing date indicated in AlmaEsami.

The grade for the paper will be announced prior to registration and students can inform the lecturer by e-mail if they do not accept it. In this case the lecturer will indicate which points of the paper were unsatisfactory and it will be possible to revise the text.

A file with useful information for drafting the paper will be available at virtuale.unibo.it.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Lectures make use of visual aids (PowerPoint, iconographic, filmic and photographic material) that are uploaded and made available to students at virtule.unibo.it.

Office hours

See the website of Maurizio Ricciardi