GDHC1043

Course Descriptions

Modernism is one of the most significant intellectual and cultural movements in the history of the modern West. Originating in the second half of the nineteenth century, it became a leading mode of Western thinking and artistic expression in the first half of the twentieth century. To a significant extent, Modernism defines Western thought and culture today. This course is designed as an introduction to the intellectual and cultural history of Modernism. It starts with an historical overview of European thought around the middle of the nineteenth century. It then commences its analysis of Modernism by dissecting the critiques of the modern West articulated by two of the leading thinkers of Modernism: the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. After that, the course scrutinises the central movements in Modernist painting - Impressionism, Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism. This inquiry is followed by a sustained and rigorous analysis of Modernism in literature, which explores in depth the ideas and art of Modernism in the three main genres of literature - fiction, poetry, and drama. The course concludes its exploration of Modernism with a reflection on the movement’s historical significance, and on its relevance to the world of the early twenty-first century

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