Totalitarianism and Culture

3 credits

GERMAN-4840

German
College of Arts and Science

(same as RUSS 4840; cross-leveled with GERMAN 7840, RUSS 7840). In this course, we will explore the politics and poetics of totalitarian culture by examining the paintings, music, sculptures, buildings, and films produced under the rule of these regimes. In the process, we will learn how Nazi and Soviet culture producers made carefully calibrated appeals to their respective mass audiences, drawing upon the German and Russian cultural traditions – and on scientific rhetorics of cultural history and racial destiny – in crafting their utopian visions of worlds transformed, wrongs righted, and societies perfected. Recommended: Junior standing or above; students taking this course for WI should have taken a 2000- or 3000-level WI course before beginning this class.