LARTS 318 — Making Modernity, Good and Bad: 19th Century Europe

Prerequisite: LARTS 112 . Social, cultural, and economic development in Europe during the so-called “long 19th century”—the period encompassing 1789 to the eve of World War I—in many ways shaped the modern world, for better and for worse. Political upheaval, unprecedented industrialization, scientific and technological advancements, and avant-garde art swept the continent—along with social conflict, racism, imperialism, and the nationalist ideologies that would eventually lead to two World Wars and continue to haunt the globe today. Drawing from works by authors such as Joseph Conrad, Chinua Achebe, and Claire de Duras, this course offers a thematic survey of the historical movements and ideas that inform modernity’s equivocal legacy.