Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0187 - Expressionism in Context

Students in this course will study original works of Expressionist art in the Five College Museums. We will visit a number of exhibitions as well as permanent collections, covering the art of a variety of times and places, and study the historical context, critical reception, textual analysis, and curatorial issues of the art on display. Central to our deliberations in 2016 will be the exhibition of the expressionist printmaker Kathe Kollwitz at the Smith College Museum of Art. Our investigations will range from early twentieth century prints of E. L. Kirchner, to the Dadaist works of Otto Dix and George Grosz, to Neo-Expressionist artists like Anselm Kiefer. We will also examine works labeled "New Objectivist," including photographs by August Sander and works by the painter Max Beckmann. This is a speaking and writing intensive art history course; students will be responsible for a number of progressively more complicated exhibition reviews and scholarly papers, as well as presentations in the classroom and the museums. We travel regularly to Five College Museums during class time and study original works of art on display and in museum study rooms.

Culture, Humanities, and Languages Writing and Research Students are expected to spend 6 hours weekly in preparation and work outside of class time. Field Trips Fee: $50