Utopia: Art and Power in Modern Times

Four hours of lecture per week. Modern times have been dominated by utopian visions of how to achieve a happy future society. Artists in competing social systems played a central role in the development of these visions. But artistic experiments were filled with paradoxes, contributing to the creation not only of the most liberating and progressive ideals and values but also to the most oppressive regimes and ideologies. The course questions: what is art, what can it achieve and destroy. What is beauty, artistic freedom, and the relationship between esthetics, ethics, and power?