2/7 Expressionism, Dadaism, "New Objectivity"

Welcome everyone. Like I said in the introduction and the syllabus this website will be where the class lectures are posted. From here on, students should try to have all the readings and assignments done before the lecture. 

In the last class, I explained the basic history of the term nihilism and some German history up to World War I which began on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918, this date is now commemorated as Veterans Day in the U.S. The main part of this course, however, we will be looking at the period of time roughly in between World War I and World War II (1918-1939), although we will talk about events during both of these wars as well. The idea being that since these wars are generally considered to be the two most destructive and cataclysmic events in history, the period of time in between these two events might shed some light on these wars themselves, and might reveal something about humanity in general. How did people react to the end of the first world war which left 8 million people dead, and over 20 million wounded? What forces pushed the world into a second war, even more deadly than the first, only twenty years later? These are two questions to keep in mind as we approach all of the topics of the class. 

Nihilism is both cause and effect of these events, what are the ways in which nihilism shows itself? In other words, rather than an abstract, philosophical concept you define in a dictionary or encyclopedia, what are the concrete manifestations in which this idea takes shape. One key area is in art, so for the first part of the course we will be looking at different artistic and cultural objectifications of nihilism. In this class we will be discussing several styles of painting: naturalism, impressionism, expressionism, dadaism, and "new objectivity," although we will spend most of out time discussing the latter three it is important to understand what came before these styles as well.

Around the turn of the 20th century, a new distinctly German school of art, Expressionism, was developing and gaining attention.  French artists had dominated the 19th century, but now as if to mirror to rise of Germany as an imperial power, its art and culture were beginning to develop and gain more of an influence in the world.

The term "expressionism" is meant to refer to the artist's expression of their soul in the painting. This is contrast to artistic schools which favor realism and naturalistic depictions of art. Ironically, the development of photography in the late 19th century made the demand for naturalistic depictions of art somewhat obsolete, thus in a sense, freeing artists to pursue other means of using color and line (the foundations of painting). 

For example, the influence of photograph-like "naturalism" is evident in the work of 19th century painters like Édouard Manet (1832-1883).

"The Spanish Singer," Manet, 1860

"Still Life with Melons and Peaches," Manet, 1866

"Boating," Manet, 1874

"Still Life, Lilacs and Roses," Manet, 1883

 Here you can see the influence of both "naturalistic" looking portraits, and the impressionist style that experiments more with color, made most famous by Claude Monet (1840-1926).

"Impression, Sunrise," Claude Monet, 1872

"San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk," Monet, 1908-12

In a sense, expressionism is itself a transitional stage between art from the 19th century and abstract art of the 20th century, which developed out of expressionism.

"No. 5, 1948" Jackson Pollock, 1950

 The roots of expressionism are seen in artists, sometimes called "post-impressionists" like Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Edvard Munch (1863-1944). They were a strong influence on younger expressionist artists like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938). What they all had in common is they were known for their self-expression over formalism and photographic realism and the visual style of expressionism: dreamy, moody, somber. Expressionists also wanted to draw on local customs and traditions, and helped popularize "woodcuts," portraits that are literally carved out of wood as a way of connecting with "folk traditions." In other words expressionist art in many ways represents the "Dionysian" influence that Nietzsche identified in Greek culture, and the classically influenced art of naturalism represents the "Apollonian" influence.

Post-Impressionism: Van Gogh & Munch

"The Starry Night," Vincent van Gogh, 1889

"The Scream," Edvard Munch, 1893

"Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche," Edvard Munch, 1906

Expressionism can be further broken down into two schools: Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)

Expressionists (Die Brücke): Kirchner, Nolde

"Davos under Snow," Ernst Ludwig Kirchner,  1923

"The Prophet," Emil Nolde, 1912 [woodcut]

Expressionists (Der Blaue Reiter): Kandinsky, Marc

"Der Blaue Reiter," Wassily Kandinsky, 1903

"Blue Horse I," Franz Marc, 1911

Kandinsky (1866-1944) would later go on to paint the some of the first truly abstract paintings and later taught at the German Bauhaus school along with Paul Klee (1879-1940), who was also loosely affiliated with Der Blaue Reiter.

"Points," Wassily Kandinsky, 1920

"Red Balloon," Paul Klee, 1922

Artistic movements though do not exist in isolation from social forces but are connected to them as moments in a larger social process. Although technological developments like the invention of photography may have caused changes in the visual style of painting, the development of photography itself was one aspect of all the overall direction of "modernization" that many European states were still going through in the later 19th century.  Modernization can be understood as the process of moving from a more rural and agricultural society to a larger and more industrial and urbanized society. In other words, art reflects the social conditions in which it is produced. The isolation in expressionist art suggests a sense of isolation felt by individuals in modern society. The trauma of the war however created an entirely new form of artistic expression, known as Dadaism.

"Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Beer-Belly of the Weimar Republic," Hannah Höch,  

1919

"Republican Automatons," George Grosz, 1920

"ABCD," Raoul Hausmann, 1923-24

"Pillars of Society," George Grosz, 1926

"Adolf the Superman: Swallows Gold and Spouts Junk," John Heartfield, 1932

"People," George Grosz, 1919

"The Hand has Five Fingers," John Heartfield (born Helmut Herzfeld),  1928

"Dada Conquerors," Raoul Hausmann,  1920

"Trench Warfare," Otto Dix, 1932

The word "dada" is supposed to be a nonsense word, a word with no meaning. Dadaism as an artistic movement is supposed to play up the meaninglessness and absurdity of life–key nihilist themes. Although the movement itself began in Switzerland shortly after the beginning of World War I in 1914, different currents of "dada" sprang up throughout Europe and America. The movement became famous for its use of "photomontage" as a way of creating a fragmented experience of art, that they believed reflected modern experience and for its "anti-art" stance in favor of depictions of unpleasant even ugly pictures. In Germany, the dada movement was more consciously political than other dada movements.

Dadaism as a movement emerged out of the profound disillusionment that followed the outbreak of the first world war. It is hard to imagine but for at least 20 years before the actual outbreak of war, the threat of war was almost constant.  In this context, Nietzsche's nihilistic writings about the decline of culture in modern civilization found favor, and even more so during and after World War I. However his "affirmation of life" also found favor as much as his critique of modern morals, especially the idea that cultural elites like artists can create new values–this especially had an influence on basically every German artist who came around after Nietzsche. However, Nietzsche's understanding of the socio-economic context in which he was living in was limited, although he had some understanding that the inner contradictions of European culture and civilization was causing it to collapse in on itself.

What were some of these contradictions? For one, the system of imperialism that made up the economic foundation of many European powers like Great Britain and France was beginning to fall apart. Besides being at odds with the professed liberal values of these nations, the exploitative imperialist system helped create nationalist movements in many of the colonized European territories like in China, India and most directly related to the war itself in the Balkan regions once controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire that today comprise states like Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo–a region that is still plagued by ethnic conflict in the present. Maintaining possession of these territories was becoming increasingly more costly due to increased resistance from the local population, as well as increasing competition between the European powers themselves for control over these territories. A big reason why World War I was in fact a world war was because the European powers fought each other in Europe and in their overseas territories that spanned large parts of Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands (South America was not really in the European sphere of power).

This is all more or less true about all the major European powers, but two things distinguish Germany from the other powers: 1) unlike Great Britain and France Germany developed much later. and 2) Germany had the largest and most advanced socialist movement and party in Europe. The second point especially is important to understanding how the Dada movement developed in Germany. Socialism also developed out of the French Revolution, but by far the most influential socialist thinker was Karl Marx. 


The movement really became a force to be reckoned with in German politics with the founding of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and associated trade unions. The movement focused primarily on improving the economic conditions of workers and winning political representation in parliament. Despite having a powerful party with strong popular support, the SPD threw its support in with the German imperialist government and endorsed the war and the German cause in 1914. 

So to bring this back to Dadaism and how it relates to Nihilism. Dada was an artistic movement that self-consciously styled itself as "anti-art" or art that defies conventional notions of artistic beauty and correctness. Dadaists spoke of the "untruth of style" arguing that stylized artistic products only mask the suffering of the oppressed. If life is ugly then art should be ugly too, they thought. In Germany especially, the dada movement that developed there sought to break away from:

 1) German militarism and nationalism; 

2) German bourgeoisie (middle class) which had done little to stop the outbreak of war and in some cases sought to profit from it; 

3) German socialism which had comprised itself and betrayed its principles. 

The artists that made up this movement found very little if anything in contemporary society worth preserving or saving. Their view was that German society was corrupt and built on exploitation and oppression and needed to be negated or destroyed before anything new could be created. Their art, or anti-art, then was to help accomplish this, their aim was to help the bases of German society by destroying the culture, that is by ridiculing it so much that people lose respect and their sense of obedience to authorities, and to expose people to shocking and even grotesque images in order to force an awareness of the ugly side of life.

The sometimes shocking nature of dada is easier to understand if you understand how thoroughly disgusted they are with German society, especially after their hopes had been crushed by the 'betrayal' of the socialist party but in general with their disgust with the imperialist system Germany (and Europe) rested on.

 Another reason is that unlike the other European powers which had to suffer the consequences of the war, the full responsibility for the war was laid at Germany's doorstep. The peace treaty that ended the war, the Treaty of Versailles, made it a requirement that Germany had to accept full responsibility for the war, could not produce things for military use, and to pay off the war debts of the other nations. Obviously something like this had devastating consequences for the German economy, it led to high unemployment, and high inflation, so much that German money, the "deutsche mark" was practically valueless, as this picture shows: the woman is actually burning German money because it was cheaper to do that than to use it to buy wood or coal. Inflation is when prices increase dramatically or “inflate”. There are many causes of inflation, one is when the value of the money decreases. The lower value of the money causes the price of goods to increase.

circa 1923

This also helped create one of the myths that Nazi's used when they seized power, the "stabbed in the back" myth which stated that Germany didn't really lose the war, only their weak civilian authorities had comprised themselves. Throughout the 20s, art like this was in vogue in Germany, even though there was increased competition from newer media like film. However after 1933 when the Nazis began to crack down many artists were persecuted and many fled the country.

Dadaism was in part a reaction against the still high artistic standards of expressionism. Dadaism then sought to 'negate' or to 'cancel out' expressionism by becoming the opposite of expressionist art. 

Despite being almost 100 years old a lot of the visual themes in Dada continue to be reused over and over again. For example take this video by the band Franz Ferdinand (ironically named after an Austrian heir to the Austrian empire whose assassination sparked the beginning of World War I). This was released in 2004 however if you look carefully it seems that the video copies many Dada styles. Cultural critics, many who grew up during the period we are looking at, argued that constant repetition and recycling of ideas endlessly repeating itself creates the impression in people that society as it is is unchangeable and permanent. They also argue that mass produced culture industries take away whatever critical or revolutionary message art has turning it into a consumable commodity instead. 

As I said in our last class, the expressionist painting style is still popular today. One of the most well-known of the "neoexpressionists" was Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988).

"Untitled (Fallen Angel)," Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1981

"Untitled (Skull)," Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1984

In contemporary art, there is a school which defines itself as "anti-anti-art" and is known as "Stuckism." The anti-anti-art approach, also known as "remodernization" seeks to re-infuse spiritual values in art, which they claim is now lacking in so-called "ugly art."

"The Drinker," Billy Childish, 1996

"Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision," Charles Thomson, 2000

"If We Could Undo Psychosis I," Jane Kelly, 2000

Dadaism and the next major artistic movement combines features of both expressionism and dadaism in Germany: Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). You will notice that even though I speak of expressionism, dadaism, and new objectivity separately, in reality there is overlap between all three. Once a certain cultural form has taken shape and is produced, it continues to be produced in most cases, even if newer forms have developed to "replace" the older form. Also, all of these art forms had influence in artistic forms besides painting like sculpture or even architecture. Later we will look at a few films that are "expressionist cinema," which also had a strong influence on Hollywood films.

As its name suggests, New Objectivity, this style distanced itself from the "emotionalism" of expressionism while keeping the idea that art should reflect a more in depth experience, while also retaining the dadaist's emphasis on breaking away from the traditions of the past (expressionists want to reconnect with traditions) but also rejecting the calculated ugliness and offensiveness of dadaism. The style of New Objectivity however was not confined to only painting. Various art forms tried to incorporate this unsteady synthesis between expressionist and dadaist ideas. The architectural style known as "Bauhaus" (literally "house of construction") was a product of this period as well. Guided by the idea that "less is more," Bauhaus architecture sought to create a modern experience of art that would integrate all the experiences of a person's life in the modern world.

Bauhaus School, Walter Gropius, 1925-26, Dessau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany,

New Objectivity painting combined elements from both. Some artists like George Grosz were considered to be a part of both schools. By objectivity, the emphasis was to display things "as they really are" instead of the self-expressions of expressionism, but it also moved away from the more radical "anti-art" stance of dadaism and returned to somewhat more conventional depictions of form and figure. Historians usually divide the New Objectivity into two camps: the verists, (meaning the true, as in verify) and the classicists.

"The Eclipse of the Sun," George Grosz, 1926

"Der rote Gürtel," (The Red Belt), Alexander Kanoldt,  1929

With the assumption of power by the Nazis in 1933 all forms are not approved by the Nazi party were banned including expressionism, dadaism, and the new objectivity. Almost all forms of modern art were labelled Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) and were considered "un-German" or Jewish, in favor of what they considered "romantic realism" expressing so-called classical Germany values.

"Degenerate Art" Exhibition, 1937; Note the word "Dada" in the background

Assignment DUE 2/14:   1) choose a passage from the "Dada Manifesto" by Hugo Ball and 2) choose one of the artists from either expressionism, dadaism, or new objectivity. You can ask me if you are not sure which artist belongs to which movement. Use the Modern Art Timeline link on the blog for assistance. Choose three examples from one or more of the artists, and try to depict what is going on in the piece, and what meaning it may have, especially drawing attention to how nihilistic themes show up in these pieces or how it reflects social conditions.

For written assignments choose a specific piece of the text that you want to quote. Write out the quote. Then interpret the quote, what is the meaning of this quote, why is the author saying this? Then explain why you chose this quote, do you agree or disagree? Did the quote make you think about something or challenge you? Does it relate to anything going on in the present?

For the picture assignment, post the picture on your blog (contact me if you have problems) besides that, please include: 

1) the name of the artist and a little summary on their life;

2) the title of the piece and its date;  

3) your interpretation of the piece, try to describe in as much detail as you can the physical appearance of the piece (how does it look, what kind of techniques are being used, what kind of colors, light etc are used, what kind of actions are going on) and the meaning of the piece what is it trying to say, what themes does it address, especially paying attention to nihilistic themes.

From this point on, you should complete one of these “reflections” on the course readings every class. You also should respond to your fellow student's postings completing at least two responses per class. You can post them as comments under the student's post. When leaving a post make sure you hit "subscribe by e-mail" so you will get notifications if someone else comments on what you say. You can leave comments on this page as well or send e-mails to me directly.

1/31 Introduction

The syllabus and a link to this sight can be found on blackboard under "information." There is also a box where you can enter your email to get updates when I post something, otherwise I will send out mass emails to the class when the lecture is ready.

Instructions For Creating a Student Blog:

Although I use blackboard for sending messages the majority of work will be done on our class blog: http://nihilismlehman.blogspot.com/

To create a Blog

1) Go to Blogger.com

2) Create a Title and an Address for your blog and choose a template which you can change later

3) Once you have created it you will be on your "Dashboard," click the arrow pointing down in the center

4) Click on "Layout" to design you blog

5) Click on "Template" to change the background if you want to

6) Click on "Settings"

7) Go to Posts and Comments and turn "word verification" to NO.
8) Go back to the dashboard

9) Email me the link to your website, copy and paste the web address. bmurdaco@gc.cuny.edu. 

Definitions of Nihilism: Wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism; 

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://www.iep.utm.edu/nihilism/; 
Nihil.org http://www.nihil.org/. 

These definitions focus on nihilism as rejecting established notions of meaning and belief, but equally important is the political aspects of nihilism which holds that institutions based upon these outmoded belief systems must be destroyed.

A nihilist referred to a revolutionary and is usually attributed to the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev in the novel Fathers and Sons (1862). The nihilist movement in Russia in contrast to moderate liberals and conservatives openly pushed for the overthrow of the czar (the Russian emperor) and the destruction of traditional Russian society. This idea of a complete break with the past and the desire to create new values and institutions has been a signature feature of nihilism since then.

So then why not call the course Nihilism in Russia? Because the most famous thinkers to be labeled as nihilists have been German, and none is probably more famous than Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). 

Nietzsche

He declared that "God is dead". Christianity in effect destroys itself. God is commonly identified as the source of truth and knowledge and the "bringer of light." But it is the same relentless pursuit of the truth that in the modern scientific age undermines the foundations of religion.  In his view, these moral beliefs were completely incompatible with our "life-affirming" vital instincts, and to that extent they were nihilistic in that were against "life." Nietzsche was searching for a "cure" for nihilism. In contrast the phrase "Amor fati" a Latin phrase that literally means, "love of ones' fate," but specifically in this context, one who does not shut themselves off from life. 

Besides the "denial of life" which he sees inseparable from most traditional moral systems (Christianity is a model) he believes that the priests who manage and oversee morality and the institutions which support them secretly have the same desires for power and glory that they outwardly condemn in the less "good" warrior classes, as sociologists C. Wright Mills and Hans Gerth said: "Nietzsche modified Matthew's statement, 'He who humbles himself shall be raised,' into 'He who humbles himself wants to be raised.' Thus he ascribed volitions to the speaker which lay beneath the content of his ideas. 'I did that,' says my memory, 'I could not have done that,' says my pride and remains inexorable. Eventually the memory yields" (Gerth and Mills, 1944, pp. 61-62). It is Nietzsche's insight into the deepest desires which drive humanity and his biting social criticism and ability to point out hypocrisy that helped build his reputation as a writer:

Humanity itself still suffers from the aftereffects of these priestly cure naïvétes! Think, for example, of certain dietary forms (avoidance of meat), of fasting, of sexual abstinence, of the flight “into the wilderness”…in addition, the whole anti-sensual methaphysics of priests, which makes lazy and overrefined, their self-hypnosis after the manner of the fakir and Brahmin–brahma used as glass pendant and idée fixe–and the final, only too understandable general satiety along with its radical cure, nothingness (or God–the longing for a unio mystica with God is the longing of the Buddhist for nothingness, Nirvana–and nothing more!) With priests everything simply becomes more dangerous, not only curatives and healing arts, but also arrogance, revenge, acuity, excess, love, lust to rule, virtue, disease;–though with some fairness one could also add that it was on the soil of this essentially dangerous form of human existence, the priestly form that man first became an interesting animal, that only here did the human soul acquire depth in a higher sense and become evil–and these are, after all, the two basic forms of the previous superiority of man over other creatures!...(Nietzsche 1998 pp. 15-16).

He contrasts the "priests" with the "warriors" especially the Romans or the Greeks, which also reinforces the idea of "amor fati." Note again the recurring theme in Nietzsche's writing about the conflict between our 'natural' and 'human' or moral qualities. The other major themes of this passage is the historical recognition that 'culture' and 'civilization' are built on violence and oppression. So then the Greeks, who have the reputation of the being the most civilized and advanced of ancient people had an unmistakable power lust and even cruelty which is inseparable from their other cultural achievements. In fact, Nietzsche suggests that these achievements would be impossible without the cruelty and violence:

When one speaks of humanity, the idea is fundamental that this is something which separates and distinguishes man from nature. In reality, however, there is no such separation: “natural” qualities and those called truly “human” are inseparably grown together. Man, in his highest and noblest capacities, is wholly nature and embodies its uncanny dual character. Those of his abilities which are terrifying and considered inhuman may even be the fertile soil out of which alone all humanity can grow in impulse, deed, and work.Thus the Greeks, the most humane men of ancient times, have a trait of cruelty, a tigerish lust to annihilate—a trait that is also very distinct in that grotesquely enlarged mirror image of the Hellenes, in Alexander the Great, but that really must strike fear into our hearts throughout their whole history and mythology, if we approach them with the flabby concept of modern “humanity.” With the same feeling we may also observe the mutual laceration, bloody and insatiable, of two Greek parties, for example, in the Corcyrean revolution. When the victor in afight among the cities executes the entire male citizenry in accordance with the laws of war, and sells all the women and children into slavery, we see in the sanction of such a law that the Greeks considered it an earnest necessity to let their hatred flow forth fully; in such moments crowded and swollen feeling relieved itself: the tiger leaped out, voluptuous cruelty in his terrible eyes. Why must the Greek sculptor give form again and again to war and combat in innumerable repetitions: distended human bodies, their sinews tense with hatred or with the arrogance of triumph; writhing bodies, wounded; dying bodies, expiring? Why did the whole Greek world exult over the combat scenes of the Iliad? I fear that we do not understand these in a sufficiently “Greek” manner; indeed, that we should shudder if we were ever to understand them “in Greek” (Nietzsche, 1976 pp. 22-23).

Laocoön and His Sons, The Vatican
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laoco%C3%B6n_and_His_Sons

Elsewhere he refers to Aryan "blond beast" and the need to "discharge itself," but also includes non-European races like Arabs and Japanese in his list of "noble races":

At the base of all these noble races one cannot fail to recognize the beast of prey, the splendid blond beast who roams about lusting after booty and victory; from time to time this hidden base needs to discharge itself, the animal must get out, must go back into the wilderness: Roman, Arab, Germanic, Japanese nobility, Homeric heroes, Scandinavian Vikings–in this need they are all alike (Nietzsche 1998 p. 22).

Those who are victimized by these races then develop their own values, which Nietzsche emphasizes are the opposite of the values of the oppressors:

That the lambs feel anger toward the great birds of prey does not strike us as odd: but that is no reason for holding it against the great birds of prey that they snatch up little lambs for themselves. And when the lambs say among themselves “these birds of prey are evil; and whoever is as little as possible a bird of prey but rather its opposite, a lamb,–isn’t he good?” there is nothing to criticize in this setting up of an ideal, even if the birds of prey should look on this a little mockingly and perhaps say to themselves: “we do not feel any anger towards them, these good lambs, as a matter of fact, we love them: nothing is more tasty than a tender lamb.”–To demand of strength that it not express itself as strength, that it not be a desire to overwhelm, a desire to cast down, a desire to become lord, a thirst for enemies and resistances and triumphs, is just as nonsensical as to demand of weakness that it express itself as strength (p. 25).

In contrast to the noble values he sees in Greek culture and other warrior cultures, he contrasts these "Aryan" cultures with the "Semitic" culture of the Jews. Although many modern scholars have been concerned with trying to rehabilitate Nietzsche's image in relation to Nazism, it is clear that he subscribed to many of the late 19th century racial theories which later influenced the Nazis:

Of all that has been done on earth against “the noble,” “the mighty,” “the lords,” “the power-holders,” nothing is worthy of mention in comparison with that which the Jews have done against them: the Jews, that priestly people who in the end were only able to obtain satisfaction from their enemies and conquerors through a radical revauluation of their values, that is, through an act of spiritual revenge. This was the only way that suited a priestly people, the people of the most suppressed priestly desire for revenge. It was the Jews who in opposition to the aristocratic value equation (good= noble= powerful= beautiful= happy= beloved of God) dared its inversion, with fear-inspiring consistency, and held it fast with teeth of the most unfathomable hate (the hate of powerlessness), namely: “the miserable alone are the good; the poor, powerless, lowly alone are the good; the suffering, deprived, sick, ugly, are also the only pious, the only blessed in God, for them alone is there blessedness,–whereas you, you noble and powerful ones, you are in all eternity the evil, the cruel, the lustful, the insatiable, the godless, you will eternally be the wretched, accursed, and damned!”… (pp. 16-17).

Under the guise of Christianity, these values have continued to grow in European civilization, something which in Nietzsche's time he sees as something degenerative:

Assuming it were true, that which is now in any case believed as “truth,” that the meaning of all culture is simply to breed a tame and civilized animal, a domestic animal, out of the beast of prey “man,” then one would have to regard all those instincts of reaction and ressentiment, with the help of which the noble dynasties together with their ideals were finally brought to ruin and overwhelmed, as the actual tools of culture; which is admittedly not to say that the bearers of these instincts themselves at the same time also represent culture. On the contrary, the opposite would not simply be probably–no! today it is obvious! These bearers of the oppressing and retaliation-craving instincts, the descendants of all European and non-European slavery, of all pre-Aryan population in particular­–they represent the regression of humankind! These “tools of culture” are a disgrace to humanity, and rather something that raises a suspicion, a counter-argument against “culture” in general! It may be entirely justifiable if one cannot escape one’s fear of the blond beast at the base of all noble races and is on guard: but who would not a hundred times sooner fear if he might at the same time admire, than not fear but be unable to escape the disgusting sight of the deformed, reduced, atrophied, poisoned? And is that not our doom? (p. 23).

Depiction of "Dancing Plague of 1518" in Strasbourg,
Alsace, France
 by Hendrick Hondius (1642)

It was not just a warrior lifestyle that Nietzsche praised but the vigor of life that Nietzsche admired which he thought was so lacking in Christian society, something which he equated with a kind of spiritual sickness, an inability to enjoy life which turns into a desire to destroy life, and this is nihilism. This sickness was rooted in the incompatibility between Christian morals and our own natural instincts.

The continuous repression of our instincts builds up pressure and tension which manifests itself in different ways. One of the stranger ways in which this manifested itself was in what was called in the middle ag

Cover of The Black Death & Dancing Mania,
by Justus Hecker (1832)

es, St. Vitus' dance or simply just dancing mania. Is this evidence of people's instincts reacting uncontrollably to the repressive morals of their day? It is hard to say, although it is interesting that this condition seems to have stopped by the mid-17th century. Some other people have said that raves are the modern day version of this.

Nietzsche saw the time he was living in as beginning now to move past the Christian epoch and move into a new era. He looked forward to this new era as a time when people will have to create new values and new ways of living, "The value of these values must itself be called into question."  In opposition to nihilism, Nietzsche's ultimate objective is to provide guidelines for living a joyful life in a world where God is dead, or as he called it "the gay science."

Or as he goes on to say:

One has taken the value of these "values" as given, as a fact, as beyond all calling-into-question; until now one has not had even the slightest doubt or hesitation in ranking "the good" as of higher value than "the evil," of higher value in the sense of its furtherance, usefulness, beneficiality–with respect to man in general (taking into account the future of man). What? if the opposite were true? What? if a symptom of regression also lay in the "good," likewise a danger, a temptation, a poison, a narcotic through which perhaps the present were living at the expense of the future? Perhaps more comfortably, less dangerously, but also in a reduced style, on a lower level?

...So that precisely morality would be to blame if a higher power and splendor of the human type–in itself possible–were never attained? So that precisely morality were the danger of dangers?...(p. 5).

After his death, the idea of a "will to power" became the central concept associated with Nietzsche's thinking, under the influence of his sister who managed his estate after his death. The will to power essentially is his earlier thoughts on the "noble races" (Aryan literally means noble), that humanity is fundamentally driven by a need for power, and the most powerful are those who are able to achieve their values. Ideas such as this fit in well with the political context of the early 20th century leading up to World War I.

That partly answers the question of why this class is called Nihilism in Germany, but even a brief overview of German history will show why studying nihilism in a German context fits together best. First of all Germany is a very important country today, it is the third largest exporter in the world today (the U.S is #4) and is the main force behind the European Union which combined gives the EU the largest GDP in the world today at over $15 trillion (CIA, The World Factbook, Germany https://www.cia.gov/). 

Although it is the most economically powerful country in Europe it has almost no military power. This is a direct consequence of the legacy of World War II which we will talk about more later on.

What is most surprising to those unfamiliar with German history is the state of Germany has only been in existence since 1871. Prior to this "Germany" existed only as a loose collection of independent states known as the "German Confederation" made up of a few dozen smaller states. The ancient Romans used to refer to the ancient "Germanic" tribes that lived in the dense woods to the North of their empire. However German culture and a sense of German identity had been developing since the Middle Ages especially after the Protestant Reformation begun by the German monk Martin Luther in the 1500s. 

By the 1800s German culture and identity had reached a high level of development. Figures like Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, the Brothers Grimm, Heinrich Heine, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Hegel, Friedrich Hölderlin, Novalis and other important artists and philosophers helped establish German literature and philosophy and its distinctive emphasis on development and the dynamics of opposing forces. German culture and later German social science has also had a profound effect on American culture at many different levels in part owing to the large number of German immigrants to this country in the 19th and 20th century, and the exile of many Germans fleeing from the Nazis in the 1930s. Until 1871 however, the modern German state did not exist. 

Beginning in the 1700s one of these states, Prussia, began to become a dominant power in European politics mostly because of its highly centralized state and efficient military bureaucracy, it was also able to suppress any democratic uprisings that swept most of Europe in the 19th century. Its power grew until it was able to unify all of the German states together into one new entity–the German Empire.

From 1871-1914, Germany was considered (along with Japan in the East and the United States in the West) as one of the rapidly developing powers in the world quickly moving past the older powers in the world: Great Britain, France, and Russia (considered the most backwards country). Nietzsche is writing in the late 1870s and 1880s, a period of time in which Germany is basically a new state filled with self-confidence which also breeds a strong jingoistic and nationalistic current in German society that was relatively new. German industry and banking were quickly becoming the envy of the world. Everything was developing fast in Germany and it looked as if old ways of life were rapidly being swept away by history.

Germany also had come to have the most highly developed social democratic party in the world. Modern socialism also developed in France during the French Revolution, however after the 1870s, the center of the movement switched from Paris to the major cities of Germany like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, and Cologne, and others. This change occurred after "communards" in Paris were violently suppressed by French troops after the establishment of the Paris Commune (March to May 1871). Karl Marx (1818-1883) was German from the city of Trier in Western Germany near France and Luxembourg. The development of socialism and communism in Germany is not identical but a parallel development to nihilism that develops roughly during the same period of time and we will discuss it from time to time.

One of the major catalysts for the growth of socialism (or social democracy) in Germany was the Franco-Prussian War fought between France and Prussia in 1870-1871. The mobilization effort for this war was created a sense of Germany unity against a perceived foreign aggressor. Germany almost immediately became a major industrial power and it immediately had one of the largest, best educated, and most skilled working classes in the world. Afterwards the final unification of the German state took place under the Kaiser (Emperor or literally Caesar) Wilhelm I of Prussia. In addition Germany took possession of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine in France and combined them into a single German province Alsace-Lorraine. Contention over this territory (which stretches back centuries) was one of the major reasons for the beginning of World War I (1914-1918). It was given back to France after World War I but was then re-conquered by the Nazis along with most of France during World War II.

map of France showing Alsace-Lorraine
 from Bargeladycruises.com

  Over 65 million people fought in World War I and over 8 million were killed, Germans themselves lost over 1.7 million in the war not including wounded and other casualties (http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html).

Our class will pick up in the aftermath of the war and how Germans attempted to put their lives back together again. But besides that, there were serious political, economic, and social consequences to the war, the immediate was the break up of the German Empire and the overthrow of the emperor (the Kaiser, in German meaning Caesar). This led to a full scale revolution in Germany which was put down brutally and violently by the authorities. The revolution was led by German workers who since the 1870s had also developed into one of the most organized and developed working class parties in the world. Germany is the land of Karl Marx and although socialism (like nihilism) came out of the French Revolution in the late 1700s, it was in Germany where the movement reached its highest level of development in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD). Regrettably, like many movements that start out opposing the status quo, success and popularity brought with it entry into the halls of power but also seemed to compromise the integrity of the movement, or at the least the leadership of the movement. There is no better example of this than the fateful decision that the working class social democratic party made to support the war effort in 1914. Despite always seeing itself as an international movement in the critical moment the German working class party chose nationalism over internationalism and helped bring about the atrocities that followed.

The 1920s in Germany is a time of many conflicting, contradictory trends and developments. The revolution is crushed by the now establishment SPD, a new republican government is formed, The Weimar Republic, and Germany begins a brief experiment in democracy that lasts a little over ten years. At the same time in which the early Nazi party is beginning to make its move, sexual openness is at an all time high in Germany and more women are beginning to challenge traditional gender roles which had grown oppressive over time.

Although our class deals with the crucial period of time in between the two world wars, Germany history after the war has hardly been much better than first half of the century. The 50s and early 60s are referred to as the "Amnesia Era" for reasons that should be obvious by the end of the course. After the war, Germany became a symbol and a center stage for the coming Cold War conflict. Germany was divided into a capitalist West and communist East Germany, the capital Berlin was also divided into East and West Berlin, and the infamous Berlin Wall was built in 1961. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, one of the dramatic symbols of the end of the Cold War. The following year Germany was reunified as one state with the current borders it has today.

East and West Germany 1949-1990

That will about cover the opening introduction to the course. Please email me the link to your blog as soon as you can. I would then like to post a list of all of the student's websites so the class can communicate with each other. You can leave comments below if you have any questions or comments or you can email me directly at bmurdaco@gc.cuny.edu.

Assignment Due 2/7: Go the link that says Nietzsche on the blog main page. Read through the quotes and select one that interests you. Write out the quote, followed by your interpretation of this quote and explain how it applies today. 

Also, using the CIA World Factbook write a short one page summary of either German society, politics, or its economy. These assignments will be your first assignments posted on your blog which are due by next week's class. Once they have been posted I and the rest of the class can read and comment upon what you write.

References:

Hans Gerth and C. Wright Mills, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, Oxford University Press, 1944

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Portable Nietzsche, translated by Walter Kaufmann, New York: Penguin, 1976; On the Genealogy of Morality, translated by Maudemarie Clark and Alan J. Swensen, Hackett Publishing, 1998

Merteen B. ter Borg, "The Problem of Nihilism: A Sociological Approach," Sociological Analyses, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Spring, 1988) pp. 1-16

Midterm Questions & Review

The Midterm will be posted on blackboard Monday. The deadline will be 11/5 at midnight, that should be enough time for anyone who has work or other conflicts to be able to take the exam. The format of the exam will be one essay question. You will have a choice of two questions. Once you begin the exam you have to complete it, so don't start it until you know you have time to complete it before the deadline.

The exam will consist of the following two questions, please read the directions carefully.


Choose three examples from either: painting (Expressionism, Dadaism, and New Objectivity), literature (Siddhartha), music (Cabaret), and film (Expressionism) and answer one of the following. Explain the content or the structure of the work in your answer:

1. How is authority undermined or reinforced in these cultural forms?

2. How is the sense of 'crisis' (political, economic, social) depicted in these cultural forms?


Review:
In a short time we have gone over a lot. We started off the class talking about the origins of the Nihilism as a concept and especially how this idea was taken over by the late 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). We went over a few of his key ideas such as: ressentiment, ascetic morality,"God is dead," and his views on the Greeks, especially stressing their dual nature of being civilized and cruel at the same time. Nihilism refers to a sense of meaninglessness and disbelief and to a radical, often violent break with the past and traditional society which is believed to be constructed according to false principles. Many of you in your blogs focused on passages emphasizing Atheism or Nietzsche's hostility to Christianity and religion. Undoubtedly, Nietzsche believed that religion was the still foundation of European culture and by extension, Nietzsche became a critic of all of Western civilization.

What these ideas all have in common is they all relate to Nietzsche's overall worldview that European civilization by the late 19th century was suffering from a kind of "spiritual sickness," resulting from the "denial of life" that structures conventional morals and values. This has resulted in a sense of meaninglessness and emptiness in life that easily turns into pessimism, and this in turn breeds a violent reaction against those same forces.

In his research on the Greeks Nietzsche concluded that their way of life was superior in that it did not cause this kind of sickness. However, because they did not repress themselves as much as modern people do they had an unmistakable tendency for cruelty that would seem almost inhuman today. At the same time, this suggests that the values necessary to overcome nihilism might be more ruthless than conventional morality suggests. Either way violence seems inescapable. Still he thinks it is possible to create a new value system that would say "yes" to life, and such values will be created by a "superman." These ideas were also taken over by the Nazis. People are still trying to figure out if it is possible to say "yes" to life without being cruel to other people.

After explaining Nietzsche I tried to introduce some of the important historical events in German history and give you a sense of why I choose Germany as a country to study nihilism. I tried to emphasize how the history of the German state is fairly recent; that it had no tradition of democracy; and that it industrialized extremely fast compared to other nations. Nietzsche was writing in the period of time when the German Empire was still a new creation. As discussed more in the Luxemburg essay from this week, the creation of the German Empire also set into the motion the chain of events that culminated in World War I (1914-1918). It was during this war and after where the idea of nihilism began to have an impact upon the masses.

The first part of the class we looked at cultural depictions of nihilism which reflected social conditions in Germany from around the time of World War I to the 1930s. We looked at painting (expressionism, dadaism, and New Objectivity), literature (Siddhartha), music (cabaret), and film (expressionism).

Many of these pieces showed scenes of alienation and isolation; the effects of excessive self-control and repression; changing sexual norms; they also depicted scenes of violence and war; social and cultural decay; and suggested a sense of crisis just below the surface of society. We also looked at influential critics and thinkers who were beginning to write about mass culture and relate to contemporary mass movements and political conflict.

We have just begun the second part of the class where we are now looking at the same period of time from the point of view of politics instead of culture. Nihilism in politics is expressed as revolutionary politics aiming to destroy or transform completely the old structures of society. Both Communists and Fascists have been labeled as nihilistic movements, yet strangely both also claimed to have a solution for nihilism. The communists always had more popular support but the fascists ended up winning. In the process the Weimar Republic was destroyed because of extremists on both sides and because the majority of people were not motivated enough to try to save their government having no tradition and no habits of democratic government. However if it had not been for the Great Depression it is unlikely the Nazis would have even gotten near the popular support they needed to win. 

This week I tried to focus only on the events that led to the destruction of the German Empire in 1918, the aftermath, and the failed revolution of 1919. A Communist uprising by the Spartacus (Spartakus) group was led by Rosa Luxemburg. Luxemburg herself tried to prevent the uprising believing they could not win but she was outvoted. She was one of the most influential Marxist theorists who advocated a non-authoritarian form of revolution that would not require a centralized bureaucratic party like the Communist Party but would also be revolutionary and not compromise itself with the status quo like the Social Democratic Party had done, but emphasize constant self-criticism.

The best way to review is to go over the lectures again and study the individual works that you will use in your answers. Any questions contact me.

Final Review

The second half of the class we focused more on the politics and the history of the period (1918-1939) after examining some of the cultural and artistic works in the first half. Beginning with Rosa Luxemburg who was also covered in the midterm we looked at the aborted revolution in Germany led by German communists known as the Spartacus Group or the Spartacists. However, in all of the following lectures, the theme of communism was a topic that we dealt with repeatedly. Some of the important things to remember:
What were the basic arguments against capitalism used by communists?
How did they predict its collapse?
What was the theory of imperialism and how did it change communist doctrine from the 19th century?
What thinkers were associated with the theory of imperialism?
What were the empirical events used to support/disprove this argument?
What role did communists play in the Weimar Republic?
How did communists oppose fascists?

Fascism/Nazism was the other main political movement that developed during this period of time:
What were the origins of fascism?
What were its major appeals to German people?
Why was fascism seen as a revolt against civilization?
What part of the population gave the most support to the Nazis?
In what ways could both communism and fascism be considered nihilistic?

Besides these political movements/ideologies we also discussed the political structure of Germany: during this time both the Weimar Republic and the Nazi regime.
How did Germany divide power between its Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of government and between state and local government?
What were some of the distinctive rights guaranteed in the Weimar Constitution?
What were the major political parties and how did the party system work?
What were the major weaknesses in the Weimar government?
When did Germany experience hyperinflation?
How did the Great Depression contribute to the Nazis seizing power?
How did Hitler seize power in 1933?
How did the Nazi regime control the economy?
What was the Volk?
What were the major artistic/cultural movements in the 1920s-early 1930s?
What was German propaganda like?
How is anti-Semitism central to understanding Nazism?
Why was fascism supported by many western capitalists?
What were other fascist governments doing during the 1930s?
Why is the Spanish Civil War important for the rise of fascism?
How did World War II begin?

The last few readings dealt with the radical social changes caused by the rise of fascists regimes and the cultural changes this was causing. Especially changes in education, in values and even perception, but also the "politicization" of culture in the writings of Ernst Jünger (conservative) and Walter Benjamin (radical/Marxist):
What is different about the post-liberal age from the liberal age?
Why are they skeptical of progress?
How does science and technology increase political control?
How does technology and science affect education?
How does modern forms of art change perception and experience?
What is the difference between integrated and isolated experience?
Why is culture becoming more important in political conflicts?
What was the Popular Front?
Why is Jünger more pessimistic about mass culture? Why is Benjamin more positive?
What is the aura and and how does mechanical reproduction destroy it? What are the consequences for culture?
How does the past influence our interpretation of the present?
What is the relationship between progress and nihilism?

These questions or some form of will make up most of the material on the final exam. In some cases I will also ask to compare some of these ideas/themes to the films and books we looked at in the first half of the class.