A Country of Art and Artists – Exploring Germany from 1900 to the Present
Live Session: Wednesday, 9 - 11 a.m. CET (Berlin time)
Duration: Feb. 16 - May 18, 2022
Language of Instruction: English
Contact Hours: 30
ECTS Credits: 6
This course will survey the visual arts in Germany from the rise of modernism around 1900 to the present after postmodernism. The aim is to closely study the individual works and interpret them critically by analyzing their formal structure, style and technique, iconography etc. We will investigate the concerns of the artists who created them, and place the works within their wider historical, philosophical, political, social and cultural contexts as well as within the international development of the visual arts in Western Europe and – in the second half of the 20th century – the US.
To understand 20th-century art and its role in society, it is paramount to take into account theoretical thinking and the philosophical climate shaped by Sigmund Freud, Charles Sanders Peirce and others. Hence, the course will also acquaint students with major philosophical ideas of this period and their implications for visual artworks. This will include reflections by art historians on the methods deemed appropriate for studying the objects and ideas which constitute their discipline.
- Download Syllabus
- To get a first impression of this course, watch the free lecture "What is European Art? Treasure Hunting in Berlin" on our FU-BEST YouTube channel.