American Modernism in an International Perspective

3 Units

This class will look at competing approaches to modern art in America and international perspectives during the first half of the 20th century--in architecture, painting, photography, poetry, literature, industrial design, advertising, fashion and other forms of expression. In other words, a major goal of the class is to consider modernism as a phenomenon that reshaped American culture as a whole, rather than simply analyzing a specific art form, focusing predominantly on narrowly defined issues such as "style." Rather than considering the study of American art as confined to what happened within American boundaries, this class will explore international and cross cultural dialogue. The goal is to see American development as something that occurred in dialogue with the world at large--a dialogue that continues today. Counts as a Disciplinary Communication course. Counts as a Understanding Global Perspectives course. Prereq: Academic Inquiry (AIQS) seminar or SAGES First Seminar or FSTS 100.