Exploring the cultural dynamics between the margins and the center!
What works of art and literature have shaped European culture? How have the particular cultures of Paris and Amsterdam influenced European art and literature? What happens when European powers colonize other regions of the world? How do those regions in turn influence European culture? This program will explore the literary, visual, and intellectual history of Europe through two distinct lenses. First, we’ll examine the literary, visual, and intellectual history of Europe. Who were the artists, writers, philosophers, and composers who shaped and formed European culture? How did Paris in particular become a cultural center? How did Amsterdam? Why are the names of van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, and Voltaire known throughout the Western world? Why is contemporary and modern art so difficult to understand?
Second, we’ll explore the influence of Dutch and French culture on the global south and the ways in which the cultures of former European colonies have shaped Europe. What are the cultural legacies of empire, racism, multilingualism, and the struggle for nationhood? Who were Oswald de Andrade and Franz Fanon? What do parrots or cannibalism have to do with European culture? In other words, we will consider postcolonial approaches to understanding problems of aesthetic expression, political representation, human rights, and the construction of cultural and national identities in both Europe and the formerly colonized regions of the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. Most of our time will be spent in Paris itself, though we plan to take an extended trip to the Netherlands.
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