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Brenau University KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY HIST 4435 (Study Abroad) History and Memory: Contextualizing dOCUMENTA(13), Public Art and Commemorative Public Practice Since the Third Reich “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” —Milan Kundera If we change the way we think about the world, we automatically update memories to reflect our new understanding.” —Jean Piaget and B. Inhelder 1973 Time heals all wounds, Smoothes, cleanses, obliterates; History keeps the wound open, Picks at it, makes it raw and bleeding. —Janet Malcolm, 1993 Instructor: Dr. Catherine M. Lewis Office: 4021 Social Science Building Office Hours: By appointment Phone: (678) 797-2058 E-mail: [email protected] Course Description: Course Description: During this thematically focused, interdisciplinary summer experience, students and faculty function as a team to explore three German cities and a host of commemorative sites, two concentration camps, and a world-renowned public art exhibition, docmenta 13 in Kassel. We study the history and evolving practice of public art and commemorative practice in public spaces since the Third Reich as we travel to Munich, Berlin, and Kassel in Germany. In a journey that connects history with the present, we interact with scholars, artists, and students. The course and trip offer an engaging opportunity to experience the beauty and dynamism of contemporary Germany while wrestling with its controversial past. This particular course will address the following questions with a specific focus on Documenta (13) and the context in which it emerged: (1) What do we know about the past and how do we know it? (2) How does the interpretation of historical events change over time? (3) Is history a matter of fact of a matter of memory? (4) How do politics shape the presentation of the past? (5) How is the past presented to the public? As a class, we will investigate the ways in which perceptions of the past are formed and communicated from generation to generation, across cultures and centuries through Documenta. Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Understand the main historical/cultural forces behind launching and sustaining documenta. Understand Germany’s current debates on public art and commemorative practice in public spaces. Meaningfully discuss and critically analyze (1) cultural and nationalist movements that led to the rise and fall of the Third Reich; (2) the cultural ideologies of the Third Reich, with specific emphasis on art (3) how Documenta was developed in response to the legacy of the war and the cultural policies of the Third Reich. Understand that ideologies and historical movements have long histories, rooted in traditions and cultural beliefs. Examine how gender, race, age, ethnicity, and religion shaped those in or affected by the Third Reich and post-war Germany. Research and write discussion questions and a book review Present historical ideas and arguments orally, in a succinct and precise manner. Classroom Policies: o An atmosphere of mutual trust is essential to the success of this course. I strongly encourage lively debates and urge students to respect each other's opinions. Expressions of intolerance are discouraged. Disagreeing with others intelligently and politely is a skill, one that we will all strive for during the semester. o "Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentations/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an 'informal' resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement" (KSU Senate 15 March 1999). o Students should seek the help of the instructor or the Writing Center for all writing assignments. o Punctual, regular class attendance is required. Students are responsible for all assigned work. An absence does not absolve them from this responsibility. After three absences, your final grade will drop three points with each subsequent absence. Evaluation: I. Attendance, participation, and 20% preparation of discussion questions II. Leading Class Discussion 20% III. Book Review (5-7 pages) 30% Grade Scale: A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 59 and below Required Text (Available in the Campus Bookstore): Jackson J. Spielvogel, Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2005). Klaus Neumann, Shifting Memories: The Nazi Past in the New Germany. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000. Additional readings on WEB-CT VISTA Reading Schedule: Unit 1: Understanding History and Memory Paul Thompson, “Believe it or Not: Rethinking the Historical Interpretation of Memory,” from Memory and History: Essays on Recalling and Interpreting Experience, ed. Jacklyn Jeffrey and Glenace Edwall (New York: Lanham, 1994): 1-16. Elizabeth Loftus, “Tricked By Memory,” from Memory and History: Essays on Recalling and Interpreting Experience, ed. Jacklyn Jeffrey and Glenace Edwall (New York: Lanham, 1994): 17-32. Hugh Trevor-Roper, "The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland," in Hobsbawm and Ranger, eds., The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge University Press, 1983): 15-41. Unit 2: The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany Jackson Spielvogel, Hitler and Nazi Germany, 6th edition (2009) Selected chapters, Doris Bergen, War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust (2009) Unit 3: Art and Culture in Nazi Germany Selected chapters, Jonathan Huener and Francis R Nicosia, The Arts in Nazi Germany: Continuity, Conformity, Change (2007) Selected chapters, Jonathan Petropoulos, The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany (2000) Selected chapters, Lisa Pine, Hitler’s National Community: Society and Culture in Nazi Germany (2007) Selected chapters, Alan E. Steinweis, Art, Ideology, and Economics in Nazi Germany: The Reich Chambers of Music, Theater and the Visual Arts (1996) See: http://fcit.usf.edu/HOLOCAUST/arts/ARTREICH.HTM http://www.moma.org/collection/theme.php?theme_id=10077 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-08/-degenerate-sculptures-unearthed-from- bomb-rubble-put-on-show-in-berlin.html http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2010/11/09/2010-11- 09_rescued_prewwii_degenerate_art_on_display_in_the_neues_museum_in_berlin.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,727971,00.html Select one from the following list from the National Archives (http://www.archives.gov/research/holocaust/bibliographies/degenerate-art.html) 1. Baker, Kenneth. "A nightmare of an exhibition that really happened". Smithsonian 22, no.4(July 1991): 86-95. Note: The "Degenerate Art" exhibit held in Munich in 1937 was the end of modern art in Nazi Germany and the beginning of Nazi Art. The author examines some of the art shown at that exhibit. 2. Barr, Alfred. "Art in the Third Reich - Preview 1933". Magazine of Art 38, no.6 (October 1945): 212- 222. Note: Barr, the director of the Museum of Modern Art from its inception in 1928 until 1943, displayed "almost prophetic insight" on his visit to Stuttgart at the very beginning of Nazi rule in 1933. In Stuttgart, Barr found that The "Battle Band for German Culture", an early official Nazi group with affiliates in every important German city, dominated almost every phase of German cultural life right from the beginning of the Nazi regime. He also found that modern art, offensive to the Third Reich, was attacked in Stuttgart, a city which had embraced the modern International Style in art and architecture - a reasonable attachment since the International Style was German in origin. 3. Barron, Stephanie. "The Gallery Fischer Auction". In 'Degenerate art': the fate of the Avante-Garde in Nazi Germany, 135-169. Los Angeles and New York: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Abrams, 1991. (LACMA exhibition catalog published in conjunction with 1991 exhibits at Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago). Note: The Gallery Fischer in Lucerne put on sale over one hundred works of "degenerate" art, described as "Modern Masters from German Museums", on June 30, 1939. Barron lists the objects' origin and notes whether they were from public or private collections. Most of the art was sold to US private collectors; a small amount went to museums in Liege and Basel. 4. Barron, Stephanie. Exiles and emigreés: the flight of European artists from Hitler. New York: Harry Abrams, 1997. 423 pp. (LACMA exhibition catalog published in conjunction with exhibits at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, February 23-May 11, 1997; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, June 19-September 7, 1997; and the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, October 9, 1997-January 4, 1998). 5. Clinefelter, Joan Lucinda. The German Art Society and the battle for "pure German" art, 1920-1945. Indiana University, 1995. 314 pp. (PhD dissertation, Indiana University, 1995). Note: The German Art Society (Deutsche Kunstgesellschaft), a culturally conservative art group active between 1920 and 1945, sought to defend pure German art. During the Weimar Republic, the Society fought degenerate modernism and by 1932 the Society has supporters in the Nazi party and other rightist organizations. The German Art Society was given a role in organizing degenerate art exhibits during the Third Reich as well as organizing pure German art shows. After 1937, the Nazis ignored the Society as old-fashioned and pressed for a more distinct art form. 6. 'Degenerate art': the fate of the avante-garde in Nazi Germany. Los Angeles and New York: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Abrams, 1991.
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