How do The Beatles embody counterculture politics? What can Titanic tell us about social class? What is the Holocaust represented in Schindler鈥檚 List or La vita 猫 Bella? What does The Lord of the Flies or The Hunger Games reveal about social organisation? What are the political messages in Picasso鈥檚 Guernica?
Important political themes and issues have often been addressed with great insight in works of literature. Furthermore, artistic works, architecture, music, theatre and films are frequently potent political symbols reflecting the values, tastes and self-perception of leaders and political elites.
These considerations are the starting points of this study-unit, which draws students towards an appreciation of how political themes and ideas manifest themselves in works of literature, art, music and films. Moreover, the study-unit also dwells on how dissidents, social critics and governments themselves utilise artistic and literary representations of politics to criticise, inform, educate, lampoon, celebrate and mythologise for political ends.
This study-unit explores a selection of artworks, ranging from Hollywood movies to arthouse cinema; from novels to political essays; from visual art to architecture; and from classical music to rock music. In this way, students will be introduced to a number of political themes, as well as equipped with the knowledge and skills to analyse and appreciate the political scope of literature, art, music and films.
Main Reading List
- Campus FM, Il-Politika u l-Muzika (2015).
- Campus FM, Il-Politika fil-Films (2016).
- Campus FM, Il-Politika fil-Letteratura (2017).
- Campus FM, Il-Politika fl-Arti Viziva (2018).
- Vassallo, MT (2017), Politics and Music: The Maltese Experience, in Vassallo, MT and Tabone, C. (eds.) Public Life in Malta II, Malta: University of Malta.
- Vassallo, MT and DeBattista, A. (2023), The Many Faces of Politics in Literature and Music. UK: Routledge.
- Vassallo, MT and DeBattista, A. (2023), The Many Faces of Politics in the Visual and Performing Arts. UK: Routledge.
Supplementary Reading List
- Micallef, M.A. (2008), The Politics of Art, Malta: Progress Press.
- Street, J. (2011), Music and Politics, Polity.
- Tzioumakis, Y. & Molloy, C. (2016). The Routledge Companion to Cinema and Politics. London and New York: Routledge.
- Wodak, R. & Forchtner, B. (2018). The Routledge Handbook of Language and Politics. London and New York: Routledge.
