How do the performing arts and visual arts intersect, and how are they informed by and/or drivers of the socio-political currents of their day? 

To answer this question, we will examine art in America in the 20th Century; specifically, how works of art reflected and contributed to the socio-political environment in which they were created. 

Theatre is our anchor.   Each week we will read and discuss one play from each of the 10 decades, studying playwrights such as Eugene O’Neil, Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, Lillian Hellman, Edward Albee, Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, Alice Childress, and Tony Kushner.   For each decade we will also visual and musical artists whose works expressed something indelible about the era.  Visual artists to explore may include George Bellows, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollack, Jasper Johns, Diane Arbus, Georgia O’Keefe, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat.  Musical artists may include Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington, Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Miles Davis, Philip Glass, Little Richard, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon.  We will also read history texts examining the major social-political movements of each decade.