Art and Mythologies of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Bolshevik Russia: Comparative Systems & Outcomes

Catalog description

This interdisciplinary approach to the visual Zeitgeist of these major political/national crises in Europe between 1917 and 1945 surveys the visual rhetoric of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Bolshevik Russia through the widest possible definition of the visual arts. The course includes the traditional fine arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture as well as the mass cultural outlets of film, radio, propaganda posters, and the staging of public events. The class eliminates the distinctions between high and utilitarian mediums of expression; all means of persuasion are fair game. This course allows students to better understand the complexities of these political/nationalist issues; the "window" is the lens provided by the visual arts and mass media. In doing so, students recognize how the symbolic languages of mythology were married to political ideologies and shaped public opinion from the national consciousness.