DLE-401 ART & MADNESS IN MODERN CULTURE

Madness has been of interest to philosophers,,psychologists, social scientists – as well as to,artists. The history of art, culture and,literature is filled with “mad or romantic,geniuses.” This course proposes a comparative,examination of the transition of “marginalized”,forms of representation from “insanity” into the,field of aesthetic and cultural practice by a,consideration of the art and drawing of the insane,(from asylums), short story (Edgar Allen Poe),,poetry (Sylvia Plath), painting (Van Gogh,,Surrealism, de Kooning), and film (Ingmar Berman’s,”Through a Glass Darkly”). The course seeks a,balance between critical theory (Plato,,Romanticism, Avant-Garde, Feminism), close reading,(engaging each person’s affective response), and,developments in the changing status of the,scientific, social and intellectual situation of,works. Course credit may be used as English or,Philosophy.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: Take one 3.0 credit, 200 level course from one of the,following subjects: DAH (Art History), DEN (English), DAS,(Academic Studies), DVC (Visual Culture).