LFU:online

An examination of selected topics in the Humanities drawn from contemporary issues in fields including but not limited to the arts, culture, economics, and politics as they relate to the human condition. Lectures and/or discussions featuring local experts in the area of study. May be repeated for credit (total of 6 credit hours)

A study of the intersections, practices, techniques, and schools of contemporary art and popular music in Austria. Austria has historically had a rich tradition of radical artistic revolution. Today, it is one of the world’s great epicenters of cutting-edge, experimental and avant-garde music and art.

We will closely examine the rise in the 1970s of the seminal Austrian rock band Drahdiwaberl, and the political/cabaret-inspired Die Schmetterlinge. We trace a path through New Wave and Funk, to underground bands of the 80s, Falco (of “Rock Me Amadeus” fame), Heavy Metal, Punk, and R’n’B, to the gender-defying pop sensation, Conchita Wurst, winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, and recent electronic music by Der Schwimmer and Tosca. We will explore Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music and its critical reception in Austria.

Contemporary Austrian visual artists now work in a culturally diverse, globally influenced, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a layered combination of methods, materials, concepts, and subjects that challenge all boundaries. We will study the work of Günter Brus, Martin Arnold, and Brigitte Kowanz, among many others.

Contemporary art and music is part of a dialogue that concerns larger frameworks such as individual and cultural identity, community, and nationality. Throughout the course, we learn how music and visual art in the 20th and 21st centuries have been continually influenced and shaped by turbulent European history and politics.

This course has a fieldwork component with concerts and gallery exhibitions.

The University of New Orleans International Summer School program has a mandatory class attendance policy. All students are required to attend class for all morning classes and any required afternoon and/or weekend fields trips and lectures. No unexcused absences are allowed. However, LFU students who have to miss a UNO class due to LFU examinations in the first two weeks of our program, can receive one excused absence for this. Any further unexcused absences will result in an academic penalty. Each faculty member determines the penalty for missed classes. Most professors deduct a letter grade for each additional missed class day. For details, please refer to your course syllabi, which will be distributed on the first day of class. The listed ECTS credits are a recommendation by the University of New Orleans Innsbruck Summer School, based on contact hours, anticipated out-of-classroom requirements such as field trips, and projected workload for readings, assignments, and exam preparation. Mail: Center-New-Orleans@uibk.ac.at