131-091 The Culture of the Avant Garde: Paris 1900-1980

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From the realism through modernism to post-modernism. After we discuss the culture of realism of the late nineteenth century, we will study the emergence of the moderne before, during and after the Great War. We will examine literary and theatrical challenges to this mode of perception, especially in the light of the depression and World War II. We will analyse the theoretical modes which have emerged in the second half of the century. What are the key constitutive elements of realism? How do these contrast with key elements of the culture of the second quarter of the twentieth century? Could this culture be called avant-garde or moderne? Finally, what are the key constitutive elements of late twentieth-century culture? Could this culture best be called post-modern? A major theme of the subject is the relationship between realism, narrative, and time. To what extent does realism depend upon narrative within objective time? Is this dependence related to the nature of classical bourgeois or capitalist society? To what extent do subsequent cultural developments undermine both narrative and objective time? Why?

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Written work totalling 5000 words.