ARTH 564 Art in the Weimar Republic (Not offered 2005-2006; to be offered 2006-2007)
The short-lived, ill-fated Weimar Republic (1919-1933) was a moment of unusual ferment in visual culture: Paul Klee, Max Beckmann, Hannah Hoch, Max Ernst, Kurt Schwitters, Walter Gropius, August Sander, F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang-these are but a few of the names associated with it. Among suggested areas for seminar papers are "the new woman"; modern art, the art museum, and the art market; relations between painting, printmaking, photography, and cinema; strategies of viewer address in theory and practice. Requirements: a 30- to 40-minute oral report, to be presented in revised, written form at the end of the semester, and a 10-minute commentary on another student's oral report. Prerequisites: permission of instructor. A reading knowledge of German is highly recommended.