Between Fiction and Politics. (Mis)representations of the United Nations in Films and Literature

While everyone has heard about the United Nations, few people actually understand its functioning. Since 1945, the institution has the object of much criticism (naive idealism, paralysis, bureaucratization, power politics, etc.) which challenges its legitimacy. This course suggests re-visiting these criticisms not through the lenses of International Relations theories but from the perceptions of writers and movie directors. Through their professional activity and art, they have shared (often on a broader scale than academics) their representations of the United Nations. What are these representations? To what extent do they accurately reflect what actually happens within the United Nations and its field of action? How were these representations spread and received? How do these works articulate fiction with politics? While priority will be given to the analysis of a corpus of selected documents (books and movies), attention will also be paid to some theoretical works (in political science, sociology and history) in order to help us understand the way in which particular media may influence our own representations of international institutions.

This course is open to any student who has an interest for international politics, international organizations and media studies in general.

Sciences Po Grenoble - UGA awards credits based on the ECTS system. Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course. CEA CAPA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by Sciences Po Grenoble - UGA (2 ECTS credits equals 1 U.S. credit therefore, 5 ECTS credits is equivalent to 2.5 U.S. credits).