The Age of Gatsby: American Art and Culture from World War I to the Great Crash

ART HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY 4774

Mass consumption and the expansion of mass culture; mechanization; and the birth of a new visual culture that turned on animation, advertising, photography, and film. Taking our cues from the cultural contradictions and historical tensions embedded in F. Scott Fitzgerald's great novel of 1925, and the 2013 film inspired by it, this seminar will trace what many at the time called the "Rediscovery of America" and its tribulations. American artists, writers, and cultural theorists embraced the possibilities and pitfalls of American modernity, the nation's mythic promise and its historical dilemmas in the face of growing commercialization and standardization. This seminar is a interdisciplinary look at the art, visual culture, music, literature, and cultural essays of the 1920s through the lens of nation, race, region, and cultural identit(ies). Prerequisite: one 300-level 20th-century American art, history, or literature course, or permission of instructor.
Course Attributes: FA AH; AS HUM; AH MEA; EN H

Section 01

The Age of Gatsby: American Art and Culture from World War I to the Great Crash - 01
INSTRUCTOR: Miller