German 597M - ST-Mid Cen; Modern. Int'l Mod

The course will investigate and critique the term "mid-century modern" as an example of "branding" in the history of culture in view of the seismic shifts the world experienced in the period marked by WWII, the Holocaust, and the early Cold War. Case studies will include Scandinavian architecture and design and the international style; MoMA, modern art and the CIA; expressionism and abstract expressionism; jazz; corporations and foundations; Disneyland and suburbs; film noir, neorealism, beat poetry; early 1950s fiction.