New Histories of the European Avant-Garde 1900-1960
Programma
This course examines key episodes in the history and historiography of the avant-gardes in France, Germany, Italy and Russia and their transnational networks. Alongside the close analyses of images and artists’ manifestos, it addresses issues of nationalism and colonialism, mass culture, gender politics, the so-called “return to order,” and disruptive strategies of representation. The relationship between the avant-gardes and totalitarian regimes is given special attention. A subtheme throughout the course is the theorization of the avant-garde by American and European critics begun in the late 1930s and elaborated in the decades after World War II. There are assigned weekly readings to accompany the class lectures and discussions.
Obiettivi formativi
Educational goals: for students to have competence in the major movements and interpretative frameworks of the historical European avant-garde, including fluency in recent scholarly approaches.