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Contemporary local and global social movements such as the uprisings in Egypt, Gezi Park, Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter create modes of non-hierarchical politics beyond established institutions of representation. Artists continue to join this venture by critically examining institutional as well as aesthetic forms of representation and by searching for artistic expressions that accompany and inspire politics in new public spaces. Concomitantly, art institutions – from film festivals to galleries and museums – display a certain hunger for ‘political art’. But what makes art political? Is only socially engaged art political? And how can we characterize the specific forms and modes of engagement? In order to assess these questions, the course will take you onto a journey into the rich history of art and political movements in Europe after World War II with a special emphasis on Germany. We will focus on theater and film as genres that presuppose and promote collective experiences, and discuss how artists such as Chris Marker, Bertolt Brecht, Helke Sander, Christoph Schlingensief, the Black Audio Collective and others reflected upon, represented, transformed and performed ideas of ‘revolution’. You will practice the analysis of film and theater, will examine key words of the debate on art and politics (such as “autonomy”, “realism”, “documentary” and fiction”) and will explore ideas that continue to shape and inspire contemporary aesthetic practices and notions of “revolution”