LAPI 936 - Post World War II Amsterdam

Amsterdam isn’t known as a place of tolerance. By concentrating on Amsterdam’s history, art and culture following World Wat II, this concept of tolerance will be desribed and analyzed, with the ultimate purpose of seeing if it really exists, and if it does exist, what it is and why it is. Also, given the recent murders of politician Pim Fortuyn and filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by extremists in traditionally non-violent Holland, the course will examine whether this famed tolerance in now under threat. The fisrt part of the course will look at early Dutch history and culture as a prerequisite for understanding contemporary Amsterdam. The great bulk of the course will concentrate on the post-World War II period through a study of history, philosophy, literature, film, architecture, painting and photography. Included in this course will be a reading of Albert Camus’s novel, The Fall, an analysis of art movements like DeStijl and CoBra, a look at modern Dutch architectural movements such as the Amsterdam School, a viewing of the film “Submission,” directed ty Theo Van Gogh, and a reading of Infidel, an autobiographical work by the controversial politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Prerequisites & Notes
Take LACR 102 and LACR 210

Credits: 3 cr, 3 hrs