Rebels, Punks, and Bohemians

(3 Credits)

This course about counterculture explores how the young and not-so-young reject mainstream society to embrace something wilder and more authentic, whether in art, music, literature, politics, or love. Can misfits and rebels bring about social change? What happens to society when today’s punks become tomorrow’s politicians, when anti-art winds up in a museum? Our setting for these questions is Madrid. We’ll tackle the subject genealogically, tracing countercultural movements back in time from the present day to the early 20th century. Starting with Spain’s “15-M” Occupy demonstrations in the 2010s, we’ll plunge into the punk explosion of the 1970s and 80s known as the Movida. We’ll then examine local echoes of the global 1960s, and finally look at the artistic ferment of the “Silver Age” of the 1910s and 20s. The goal is to understand the aesthetics of rebellion in its original context. In streets, plazas, museums, and bars, we’ll study Madrid’s countercultural spirit up close. As a final project, students will invent their own movement, complete with its own zine and style of clothing. This is an Away course in Madrid.