Liberty? Equality? Civil Rights? Women’s Rights? All of the issues that we grapple with today were put forward and fought for in the nineteenth century. All of them too were reflected in the art, music, literature, and dance of the era. These works still shape our understanding of these issues today. The nineteenth century was marked not only by revolutionary changes in the structure of society but also by the artistic revolution that reflected those changes. By the beginning of the twentieth century the conventions of style and subject matter of virtually every major art form – painting, music, dance, and literature – had been radically altered and the role of the artist in society had been radically redefined. This interdisciplinary course, open to all students, will examine these changes and the interaction of art and social change by analyzing and comparing representative works of literature, painting, music, and dance. Among works studied will be paintings by Delacroix, Courbet, Monet, Degas and the great female Impressionist Berthe Morisot, the fairytales of E.T.A. Hoffman and Hans Christian Anderson and theatrical dance works that reflected their influence, novels by Emily Brontë, Edith Wharton and music of Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, and Puccini.

Intended Audience:

This course is open to all students. (LSA and otherwise) No previous experience necessary.