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Modernisms and Modernities

ENGL 059.401
instructor(s):
TR 10:30-12

 

"Modernisms and Modernities, 1850-1950."

This class will focus on the emergence of an international modernism in the domains of literature and the arts from the middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. This period provides a historical framework within which the links between modernity, the avant-garde and national or international artistic movements will be explored. The very concept of Modernism implies a consideration of world literature with a focus on the "new" in literature and the arts, which includes film, the theatre, music and the visual arts. Our approach will be resolutely transatlantic and open to French, Spanish, Italian, German or Russian influences. The philosophies of modernism will also be surveyed via concise introductions to the theories of thinkers like Marx, Nietzsche, Bergson, Freud and Benjamin. We will discuss a few films and the music of Schönberg and Stravinsky.

Requirements: two short papers (8 pages). A midterm. Five quizzes 

 

fulfills requirements