Credits: Studio Art, Music
Meeting times in Spring 2023 (subject to change): TR 3:40-5:25 PM
Faculty leaders: Justin Smith, Ivan Depena
OPEN PROGRAM

*all itinerary items subject to change*

The years between the world wars in Germany and Holland saw unprecedented development in music, theatre, film and public art, as well as the first stirrings of multiculturalism, social equality and equal rights for minorities. We will study Bauhaus architecture, German Expressionist film, cabaret music and the theatre of Brecht and Weill, and then experience them in person by travelling to Berlin, Amsterdam and Dessau.

The theatre, music, film and public art created in Berlin and Amsterdam during the Weimar Republic (c. 1919-1933) exerts a strong influence on the art of today, with many critics calling Weimar art the birth of modernism. In addition, the first stirrings of multiculturalism and rights for minorities come from this period. Students will understand how the arts in the Weimar period - for example, German Expressionist film, cabaret songs, Brechtian theatre, and Bauhaus architecture - influenced and shaped the art we experience in America today by studying them then experiencing them in person through summer travel.

Hopeful itinerary highlights:
Three days in Berlin, visiting the Deutches Historiches Museum, the Bauhaus-Archiv/Museum fur Gestaltung, Berliner Galerie, a jazz concert at Quasimodo, and a screening at the Babylon Cinema.
Three days in Dessau, touring Bauhaus sites such as the Haus am Horn, the Meisterhauser Dessau, and the Van de Velde Building.
Then two days in Amsterdam, visiting the Rijksmuseum and other landmarks of Dutch social and historical history; attending a Dutch cabaret performance or a Concertgebouw Orchestra concert.

WHY SHOULD A STUDENT JOIN THIS COURSE?
Students who are interested in modern art, music, film and theatre will find the origins of many of those styles here - in addition, there is a strong social justice component, with the Weimar Republic being the beginning of the struggle for equal rights for marginalized groups.

All Open Courses are available to all majors. This course may be of particular interest to: any student in Art, Design and Music, but no expertise is required so any student with an interest in the art, film, music or theatre of this time.