Spring 2012
Franz Liszt (1811–1886) is one of the seminal figures of the 19th century. As one of the great piano virtuosos, he toured Europe from one end to the other, coming into contact with virtually all the prominent figures of the period. As a composer, he contributed to all the major genres and pioneered various innovations […]
This course is for those who love to read ! Beginning with his memoir Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth and then moving into War and Peace, we will discuss the world that the great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy created in his fictions against the backdrop of the social and political ferment that would ultimately lead to […]
What makes comedy comedy? Does the comedic aesthetic evolve across cultural and temporal barriers? How do interpretation and performance affect our understanding of the works? What does it mean that comedy is deadly serious? These are a few of the questions to be raised in the exploration of one major comedy each week, by Aristophanes, […]
I have put in [Ulysses] so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant. James Joyce While most of the great avant-garde art works of the early 20thcentury rest securely within the canon of modernist classics, Ulysses (1922) continues to challenge and, as the author […]
Gene Kelly once said that “the history of dance on film begins with Astaire.” One might say that the history of dance on film ends with Kelly. Dancin’ Fools will explore the Broadway and Hollywood careers of these two iconic song and dance men who define the Golden Age of movie musicals. Astaire’s elegance and […]
This course examines the fundamental issues and theories surrounding the art production and reception of Modern Art in Europe and America through the twentieth century. Framed by discussions of Post-Impressionist painting of the 1880s and the Post-Modern pluralist art of the 1980s, we will examine how theories of human nature, art, and spirituality informed the […]
After 2500 years, Ancient Greek Drama still fascinates modern audiences. In this course students will explore the interactions between the ancient and modern. By reading ancient Greek plays or poems and reading or viewing a modern play or film based on the ancient, students will discuss the themes and ideas prevalent in the ancient, how […]