Transamerica: The United States and Mexico Between the Wars

3 units

Many areas of 20th-century U.S. culture between World Wars I and II were inspired by postrevolutionary Mexico. The Mexican Revolution (1910-1917) profoundly reoriented modern Mexico, introducing new cultural and aesthetic forms and historical themes over subsequent decades. Mexican artists contributed to a new national consciousness drawing on indigenous Mexico and on the new politics of workers and peasants, which were given monumental expression in mural painting. The bidirectional exchange between U.S. and Mexican artists was of great importance for the cultural revitalization of the New Deal and after in the United States. Among artists, writers, anthropologists, and tourists, the vogue for things Mexican was fed by many sources, including increasing travel, diplomatic exchange, and a yearning for alternatives to U.S. modernity. This seminar will support travel to Mexico City, funded by the Department of Art History and Archaeology. Students in this course must be graduate students or undergraduate majors or minors in Art History and Archaeology or Latin American Studies. Recommended prerequisite courses include one 300- or 400-level course in 20th-century U.S. art or history or one relevant course in the Latin American Studies program.