LAPI 925 (PITC*304) New York in the 1950’s

Division of Liberal Arts

3 credits 45.0 hours
900 level undergraduate course

An examination of the central ideas and major artistic works and movements associated with the emergence of the American avant-garde in the years after World War II. Likely topics of exploration include Abstract Expressionism; neoclassical ballet and postmodern dance; serialist and aleatory musical composition; free jazz, hard bop, the folk revival, and the early years of rock-and-roll; confessional and ‘New York School’ poets; and the political and social ferment connected to the Red Scare and a growing nuclear arsenal. Postwar innovations in music, literature, dance, and visual art are commonly linked to the downtown Manhattan bohemia of the early years of the Cold War, but the scope of the course is not limited to artists from a single locality or decade: ‘New York in the 1950s’ will serve us more as an evocative touchstone than a strict definition of focus.

Prerequisites LACR*210 or one HUMS course

This course is not repeatable for credit.