This course examines the role and representation of animals in contemporary artistic practices. Focusing specifically on the history of animal representation in literature, cinema, and plastic arts, we will interrogate concepts of anthropocentrism and animal sentience. From a broader perspective on defining "nature" and our inclusion or differentiation within it, we will explore human-animal power relations (speciesism), supported by foundational texts of animal philosophy and the ecofeminist movement.
Within this framework, we will examine various artistic proposals that challenge the instrumentalization of animals in fiction and study the narrative strategies proposed to reevaluate the status of fauna within the arts.
The course pays particular attention to the analysis of images and collective reading of texts.