METROPOLIS: ART, ARCHITECTURE AND LIFE IN THE MODERN CITY

Catalog description

The metropolis is at the heart of the modern experience. As such, it has been both embraced and despised by cultural critics. This course will examine how the modern city has reflected and shaped that experience in the West. Beginning with Peter the Great's construction of St. Petersburg in Russia, the course will examine the development of the West's great cities: Paris, London, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Rome. Themes include art and the experience of daily life, representations of the city in film, the impact of centralized urban planning, architecture and life, cities as the center of cultural life, cities and empire, cities and totalitarianism, cities and revolution. The course will mostly emphasize cultural history and will thus use a wide range of sources such as film, art, literature, and visual sources. Prerequisites: HIST 101 and HIST 102.