Unit name | Die Wiener Moderne |
---|---|
Unit code | GERM20034 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Vilain |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
none |
Co-requisites |
none |
School/department | Department of German |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
'Die Wiener Moderne' 'Viennese Modernism' was a literary and cultural phenomenon extending roughly between 1890 and the First World War, encompassing writers such as Hofmannsthal, Schnitzler, Musil, Altenberg, Bahr and Kraus, and involving links with Symbolism, Impressionism, neo-romanticism and decadence. Philosophically and psychologically it was influenced by Ernst Mach, Otto Weininger and above all Sigmund Freud. Artistically, architecturally and musically it encompassed the Secession, the Wiener Werkstätte, Gustav Klimt, Otto Wagner, Mahler, Schoenberg and Berg. Politically it was a period that saw the consequences of the failure of liberalism, the rise of antisemitism and the growing emancipation of women. This unit introduces key elements of all these aspects in an attempt to encourage an understanding of what it meant to be 'modern' in this exciting and dynamic cultural centre.
Aims:
Successful students will:
One two-hour weekly seminars.
essay 1 50%, essay 2 50%
Essential:
Secondary:
Additional relevant material will be provided via photocopy or on Blackboard.