The Situationists
Term:
Spring 2012
Subject Code:
GLIB
Course Number:
5819
They were perhaps the last of the great avant gardes, in the tradition of dada,
the futurists, the surrealists, and, like those predecessors, their approach
to art and life was total and uncompromising. They open a revealing
perspective on postwar art, writing, and culture in general. This course
covers the writing, art, cinema, and the politics of the Situationist
International and its interlocutors, offering a perspective on the great debates
and conflicts of the 1950s and 60s, many of which resonate today. We look
at seminal work by Guy Debord, Asger Jorn, Michele Bernstein, and others.
Themes include the end of art, the commodification of everyday life, and
the critique of media and modern architecture. Students acquire a thorough
knowledge of the post World War II period from this
perspective, as we consider how these ideas prefigure many contemporary
debates.
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