The ‘Long Sixties’ in Europe
3.0
creditsAverage Course Rating
This seminar examines aspects of advanced artistic production that emerged in France, Italy, the Benelux, and German-speaking countries primarily in the years 1945-1972 as constituent elements of the “Long Sixties,” a period of extraordinary and often rapid social transformation. Among our questions: How was the work of art reimagined and repositioned in the wake of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust, in the context of reconstruction and an emerging consumer society, and in light of the Cold War, decolonization, and other political tensions and cataclysms? How did artists conceive the claims of artistic tradition in a rapidly expanding field of aesthetic practices and possibilities? What were the relations among advanced artistic practices and the “cultural revolutions” generally taken to have come to a head ca. 1968? Integral to this course is a student-curated exhibition of avant-garde materials at the MSE Library, to open in November 2018.
Spring 2015
Professor: Mol y Warnock
The best aspect of the class was the professor who was interesting, intelligent, knowledgeable, and able to explain complex concepts. Many students enjoyed the class project dealing with the class exhibition. The worst aspect of this course was not having enough time for class discussions or sufficient time to go over course material. Students felt that some of the details pertaining to the exhibition could have been executed a lot better. Prospective students should be aware that time outside of class should be dedicated to the significant amount of course readings.