SPEC 51
The Arts in Pre-war Paris Winter 2024

This is not the current course catalog

In the years just before World War I, Paris attracted creative talents from across Europe. This explosively fertile cultural moment witnessed an extraordinary collection of artists collaborating on projects, exchanging ideas, and exploring new ways of perceiving the world. This course will immerse you in vibrant Belle Époque Paris, through works of music, visual art, dance, theater, and literature. We will spend the most time on the work of two especially prolific artists who were friends and collaborators: Pablo Picasso and Igor Stravinsky. Other artists examined will include Claude Debussy, Guillaume Apollinaire, Gertrude Stein, Erik Satie, Natalia Gontcharova, Piet Mondrian, and others. Students will examine artworks from the WCMA collection and Williams Libraries Special Collections, and watch orchestral and ballet performances online or at the library. This course will meet 6 hours a week for lecture and discussion of artworks viewed. For most class days, students will complete brief reflection assignments on what they heard, read, and watched.