Art & the History of Art 279 - Dada and Surrealism

(Offered as ARHA 279 and EUST 279) In this course we will explore Dada and Surrealism as twentieth-century movements in the visual arts, performance, and film. We will place the emergence of Dada and Surrealism into the European context of war and revolution and discuss major artists of the 1910s to 1930s, including Hans Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Hannah Höch, George Grosz, Salvador Dali, René Magritte, and others. Moving from Dada's anarchic politics and word/image games to Surrealism's use of Freudian psychoanalysis and experiments with automatism, chance, performance art, and dream language, we will study the social, political and cultural contexts of selected images and texts. The course concludes with the influence of Dada and Surrealism on international visual cultures that emerged in the immediate aftermath of World War Two. Throughout we will evaluate Dada and Surrealism as powerful modes of critique and response to a world gone awry.

Limited to 25 students. Spring 2026: Visiting Professor Koehler.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference to ARHA majors

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on historical and visual analysis, theoretical reading, research, presentation, and writing, including curatorial practice. Occasional field trips to Five College museums.