Four inter-related classes will focus on the urban culture of the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), a period in Germany of extraordinary political and economic turmoil as well as technological and cultural innovation. German artists and intellectuals working at this time confronted issues that are still important to our contemporary experience.

Some of the issues we will address in these seminars include the effects of technology and urban environments on individuals and society, the fragmentation and anonymity as well as the freedom and autonomy of life in a metropolis, the longing for nature and unity, the proliferation of forms of mass culture (film, newspaper, radio, illustrated magazine), the role of art in modern life and everyday life in art, the shifting status of "high" and "low" culture, as well as the idea of modern culture as alienating and "decadent."