Course Review: The modern and the postmodern (weeks 4 - 7)

Previously, this course mainly covered the Enlightenment era and European philosophers at that time. As the course moves on, the material shifts more towards talking about the era of romanticism and art. Week 4 discusses Flaubert's criticisms of the movement as well as the stupidity of the bourgeoisie, through analyzing his work Madame Bovary. The next week discusses the Enlightenment in England and continues to discuss the era of romanticism. In particular, the course discusses Darwin's ideas that human beings are a byproduct of evolution, not the goal of it. He saw evolution as a tree, with many diverging branches rather than a single branch with mankind at the very top. After studying Darwin, the course moves on to morality and how it is truly a tool used by the weak to control the strong. At last, the final week analyzes some art pieces from the eras discussed. I would generally still consider this to be a modern European history course, however, because much of the material covers the ideas, I think it is useful in studying the pieces created in that time period. With a general grasp on what concepts and notions were perpetuated at the time, it's more likely we can also find what artists had in mind while creating works.

The Death of Sardanapalus by Eugene Delacroix