Courses

In this course we look at key social and cultural aspects of European ‘modernity’ in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, exploring in particular the way Europeans from all kinds of backgrounds were defined and defined themselves in relation to work, leisure, race, gender, regions and cities. We look at the impact of new forms of cultural expression such as advertising, cinema, sport and leisure, as well as the identities (of age, class, gender, race and ethnicity) which Europeans adopted and rejected in their pursuit of ways of belonging within the cultural parameters of urban modernity. In relation to this we will consider expressions of enthusiasm for ‘the modern,’ as well as outbursts of dissatisfaction or irritation with modern civilisation, expressed not just in aesthetic forms but also in violence against those identified as ‘outsiders.’