Culture of the Fin de Siecle

Catalog description

The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries was a period of intense creativity and innovation. In Culture of the fin de sie' cle, we will explore the visual, literary, architectural and other creative endeavors of the turn--of--the--century era focused on the city of Vienna, one of the great urban modernist laboratories. Through close examination of texts, images, film and other media, students will consider the philosophical and intellectual underpinnings of the major themes that occupied thinkers of the period, including psychoanalysis, the Jugendstil and Secession, modernist music, and the development of mass politics. Most significantly, we will come to appreciate how useful understanding the intellectual history of the fin de si'cle is in making sense of the world today. Please be aware that this course seeks to achieve an environment of active learning and therefore I expect tolerance in my students for a fair amount of reading and active participation in discussion, as well as requiring two significant writing assignments and a public presentation.