Topics in European Culture and History: Paris-Vienna-Moscow: The Birth of Modernism

The years between 1890 and 1920 represent one of the most creative periods in European history: the incubation of a new artistic culture which we call Modernism. In this course we will explore the cultural ferment in France, Austria and Russia during these crucial decades through the political, artistic, and musical history of the period. Readings will include Dostoevsky, Bely, Huysmans and duGard,. The Russian Realists, Suprematists, and Constructivists, as well as the Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and Cubists and Viennese Secession will be discussed. The music of Mussorgsky, Rimskii-Korsakov, Stravinsky, Debussy, Satie and Mahler among others will be considered.