Curtis Swope

After World War I, Europe was a morass of political violence, economic instability, and social malaise. It was also the site of groundbreaking innovations in art, literature, architecture, and film. As fascism cast its shadow across the continent, many radical intellectuals from Germany, Austria, and elsewhere fled to Los Angeles, California. This capital of sunshine, success, and superficiality was profoundly unlike the worlds that these socialist and liberal artists and thinkers left behind. Yet, the bubbly culture of Tinseltown provided both a foundation and a foil for their creative work, much of which has had long-lasting influence on American culture. Interdisciplinary and historical, the course encourages students to put themselves in dialogue with the urgent stakes of a cultural exchange still very much relevant to our own time.