211-216 are advanced seminars, mainly for juniors and seniors in the Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program. All other students need permission from the instructor to enroll in these courses.
HIST 211 Romanticism
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
Permit May Be Required: See above | SEM
The Romantic period witnessed one of the great cultural revolutions of modern times. Stimulated by the upheavals of the French Revolution, artists and intellectuals across Europe searched for new artistic and philosophical foundations that would be adequate to this age of transformation. In the process, the Romantics created many of the paradigms of modern thought and artistic expression. This course will explore the cultural, intellectual, and artistic dimensions of the Romantic revolution. The course will take a comparative transnational approach, with emphasis on Germany, England, and France. Themes to be explored will include the problems of the "self" and autonomy, religion and transcendence, mysticism and the legacy of Enlightenment rationalism, nationalism and historical consciousness. In order to emphasize the coherence of Romanticism as a broad cultural phenomenon, course readings will include literature, philosophy, theology, and political thought, as well as art criticism and the visual arts themselves.
