HIS 357 Weimar Germany: Crisis or Crucible of Modernity?
The period in Germany history between 1918 and 1933, commonly referred to as "Weimar Germany", can be seen in many contradictory ways: as an era sandwiched between two authoritarian regimes as well as as the country’s first strong republic; this democracy kept struggling constantly with severe and sometimes violent attacks from the political extremes (and sometimes even its neighbors), and yet displayed remarkable endurance. As such, the Weimar Republic is a powerful example for the possibilities and limits of modern democracy, and for the interplay between politics and culture in the modern world. Starting with a discussion of different concepts of modernities, this interdisciplinary seminar will provide a detailed examination of the political, cultural, social and economical developments of the 1920s and early 1930s, and analyze their representation in the arts, in the contemporary media, and in architecture.