Torn Halves of Modernism

This course analyzes the constitutive contradictions of modernist works from a global perspective. We will address, for instance, tensions between the periphery and the metropolis, city and countryside, realism and modernism, aesthetic autonomy, commodification and political commitment. We will also examine these questions across various media: novels, poetry, photography, architecture and film. Readings include works by Dos Passos, Faulkner, Döblin, Manuel Maples Arce, Roberto Arlt, Patrícia Galvão.