Seminar in Cultural Theory: The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity

Vienna at the turn of the nineteenth- to twentieth centuries was a locus of experimentation and innovation in the arts, philosophy, and the natural sciences. Over the last century, it has continued to capture the imagination as the heart of the "gay apocalypse," a culture of aestheticism and decadence that seemed to blissfully disregard the crumbling political and social structures of a monarchy in decline. This course explores fin-de-siècle Viennese culture through literature, visual art, music, theater, and architecture. Together, we will examine the emergence of "Vienna 1900" as a popular case study of European modernism and explore new approaches and methodologies (including theories of the body and its representation, constructions of gender and cultural identity, and concepts of nation and empire) that offer critical new insights into our understanding of this cultural moment and its impacts. Primary texts will be read in German, discussion in English. Accommodations can be made for interested graduate students in other programs who do not read German at the graduate level. Please see instructor.

Seminar in Cultural Theory: The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 529

Section 01