FYSP 085 - Rebellion, Revolution, Rock-‘n’-Roll: Art and Dissent in Russia

FC ARHU CD WINT

4 credits
In this seminar, we will discuss the complex relationships between art, politics, and society, using Russian cultural movements and artworks of the 19th to 21st centuries that were revolutionary in terms of their aesthetics and/or dealt with the theme of rebellion and revolution. Engaging with avant-garde literature and film, Soviet feminism, Shostakovich’s opera, rock music, and contemporary protest art, we will seek answers to troubling questions: How have literature, art, and protest related to each other in Russia? Was the 1917 Russian revolution a constructive or a destructive phenomenon? Can art be politically independent? What happens to a counter-culture when it becomes the mainstream? Field trip(s) required.