The Politics of Avant-Garde Art in Weimar Culture

Dr Marion Kant

The first third of the 20th century saw an extraordinary shift in the development of the arts in Western Europe: the entire set of values, codes and traditions that had been accepted was revolutionised. Radical notions of ‘modern’ and concepts of an ‘avant-garde’ in all the art forms attacked the Western sense of art. The making, consuming and digesting of arts, the way in which the arts entered the public communication circuits became part of the new and radicalised world in an hitherto unimagined way. And Futurism, cubism, expressionism, Dada, surrealism were the catchwords of the new era. The impact of these modernisms is still felt and has fundamentally determined the lives and outlooks of artists, intellectuals and anyone interested in art and culture since that period. This course examines the development of the avant-garde arts, particularly those in Germany, from the turn of the century to the early 1930s, with an emphasis on the Weimar period. The course will focus on the notion of ‘modernity’ and compare different concepts of what was considered a ‘modern’ body and a ‘modern’ space in music, painting, theatre, film and dance. Students will work with the writings and designs of the artists; they will watch films and videos and use other material to understand the relationship between ideas and artistic expression.

Reading

Students should read the following novels before arriving in Cambridge

• Henri Barbusse. Under Fire. 1917
• Erich Maria Remarque. All Quiet on the Western Front. 1929.
• Stefan Zweig. The World of Yesterday. Autobiography 1934-42.

Assessment:

• 1 Final Exam: 45%
• 1 Final Essay: 45%
• Participation, progress and attendance: 10%

Lecture Hours: 12 x 1 hour 15 minutes (total 15 hours)

Seminar Hours: 8 x 1 hour 15 minutes (total 10 hours)