Visions of Empire

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In Visions of Empire, students will explore and analyze the diverse, sometimes contradictory, visual representations of French imperialism. Specifically, we will examine how the French colonial empire, its colonized populations, landscapes, and architecture were depicted in France and within the colonial space during the 19th and 20th centuries. We will explore the political, cultural, economic, and social implications of these representations. Throughout the semester, we will collectively reflect on the role of visuality and the meanings and practices of imagery in (post)colonial French history. What role did photography, posters, caricatures, and cinema play in the French colonial expansion? How did the French perceive their empire and how did colonized populations respond to, challenge, or oppose these perceptions? How were French conceptions of race influenced and negotiated visually? How is French colonial history represented today? Through the study of various (post)imperial visual productions and drawing on the works of postcolonial thinkers and theorists, this course will introduce students to disciplines such as visual studies, media studies, and propaganda studies. Additionally, Visions of Empire will encourage students to deconstruct images and representations productively, identifying the different mechanisms that constitute what Roland Barthes aptly termed the rhetoric of the image.