Dada and Surrealism: Anarchy, Exile, Alterity

This seminar will examine the experimental practices of Dada and Surrealism with a focus on the historical conditions, theoretical influences, and political ambitions that shaped them: the trauma of war; experiences of exile and displacement; uses and abuses of psychoanalysis, anthropology, and political theory; Communist allegiances; as well as anti-colonial projects and counterparts in the Caribbean, Latin America, and North Africa. We will consider a range of artistic practices (performance, assemblage, the “readymade,” photomontage, poetry, painting, sculpture, exhibitions) with the aim of complicating our understanding of these movements and assessing the relevance of their subversive project today.