Modernism is a broadly defined term, usually used to refer to Western art from around 1900 until the rise of Fascism and authoritarianism. It is defined by a move against tradition and artistic conventions, a belief in feasibility (Machbarkeit) as well as the use of new media and an experimental attitude. We will test this definition through explorations not only of literary modernism, but also its philosophy, art, theater, film and architecture. How has Modernism changed, looking back at it from today - in times of environmental crisis, racial injustice and
advanced globalized capitalism? Can we rescue Modernism's emancipatory promises or rather discover a complicity with the false? One focus of this class will be on Germany; however, we will include other sites of modernism. I understand this class, almost in a modernist vein, as an exploratory endeavor that comes to put the very concept of modernism to the test.
The class is taught in English and knowledge of German is NOT a prerequisite; there will be many opportunities to practice German though