Second Semester. Classes begin in February 2027
This course examines the historical development of animation in contemporary society from a global historical perspective, exploring the relationships between collective imaginaries, social transformations, and the symbolic management of tensions and conflicts. Adopting a long-term approach attentive to the transnational circulation of cultural models, aesthetic conventions, and narrative forms, the course traces the emergence of animation as a global cultural phenomenon. Particular attention is given to the ways in which animation has not only reflected social change but also contributed to representing, interpreting, and normalizing the transformations of modern society.
The course begins with the emergence of modern animation between the 1920s and the aftermath of the Second World War, when technological innovation and increasingly sophisticated narrative techniques helped make the accelerating processes of modernization visible and comprehensible. During this period, animation developed into a cultural language capable of transforming technological and social change into familiar, often desirable experiences. Animated narratives contributed to the construction of collective imaginaries associated with industrialization, urbanization, technological progress, and the emergence of mass consumer society.
The course then examines the role of animation in the expansion of mass culture and the international circulation of cultural products throughout the twentieth century. As media industries and transnational distribution networks expanded, animated productions helped establish shared cultural references across different national and social contexts. By translating unfamiliar experiences into recognizable characters, settings, and narrative conventions, animation contributed to making social change intelligible while encouraging forms of collective identification that transcended geographical and cultural boundaries. At the same time, the course considers the unequal relationships of cultural power that shaped the international circulation of animated productions.
A significant part of the course focuses on the transformations that emerged after the Second World War, when social, political, and cultural tensions became increasingly visible within animated narratives. Conflict, uncertainty, and the contradictions of modernity found expression through characters, fictional worlds, and symbolic representations that incorporated vulnerability, ambiguity, and social criticism. Rather than presenting animation simply as an instrument of ideological conformity or cultural resistance, the course examines how potentially disruptive tensions could be represented and incorporated into narrative structures that made them recognizable, manageable, and compatible with established cultural expectations.
Another section addresses the expansion of television animation, serialized storytelling, and industrial models of cultural production. The development of recurring characters, standardized narrative structures, and increasingly integrated media industries contributed to transforming conflict into a familiar and reproducible element of everyday cultural consumption. The course explores how seriality enabled animated narratives to represent recurring tensions while frequently restoring a recognizable order, thereby contributing to the normalization of particular social relations and cultural hierarchies.
Particular attention is also devoted to the globalization of animation from the 1990s to the present, examining the transnational circulation of aesthetic models, production practices, and fictional universes. The growing international prominence of Japanese anime and other non-Western animated productions provides an opportunity to investigate the transformation of global cultural flows beyond traditional Western centers of production. These developments are analyzed in relation to the changing organization of cultural industries, the emergence of transnational audiences, and the persistence of asymmetries in the production, distribution, and visibility of cultural products.
The final part of the course explores the relationship between animation, social criticism, and counterculture in contemporary global society. It examines how narratives of rebellion, marginality, and resistance have increasingly become central components of animated storytelling, while also being incorporated into the commercial strategies of global cultural industries. Particular attention is devoted to the tensions between criticism and commodification, considering how representations of dissent can simultaneously challenge established values and contribute to their reproduction within familiar narrative frameworks.
Taken together, these historical developments demonstrate that animation is not merely a reflection of contemporary society but an active participant in the construction of its cultural imaginaries. By transforming social tensions into recognizable narratives, animation contributes to shaping collective perceptions of change, conflict, authority, and belonging. The course therefore approaches animation as a historically significant cultural form through which the contradictions of modern society are represented, negotiated, and, in many cases, symbolically integrated into the existing social order.
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