Spring 2022 Course Highlight | AH 408: Global Modernism

This spring, Professor Daniel Spaulding will be teaching AH 408: “Global Modernism,” Tuesday/Thursday, 11:00am–12:15pm, in Conrad A. Elvehjem, Room L150. What does twentieth-century modernism look like from a global perspective? Is it possible to speak of a singular modernism at all, as opposed to a multiplicity of diverse modernisms, each responsive to local conditions? These are among the questions this course will address. Lectures and readings trace the spread of innovative modernist practices in the visual arts across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, in tandem with key developments in global cities such as Paris and New York. Topics range from Mexican Muralism to Japanese avant-garde performance to abstract painting in the Middle East, among other phenomena. The period covered is 1900 to 1989, with particular emphasis on the years 1945 to 1975 (the high point of decolonization struggles across much of the planet). Enroll here.