When I signed up for this class, I was incredibly excited. Excited enough to break my “no more 8ams” rule that I had planned on enforcing after the fall semester. This subject ties so many of my interests together, while also filling a gap in my knowledge of 20th century French music. (I had researched the 1910s and after 1930, but the 1920s were a missing part of my research. The class did not disappoint.
One of my favorite aspects of this class was the paper format. Although at first, I was unsure of how to go about creating a fictional primary source, once I figured out my argument and a perspective, I had a great time trying to write as a French person in the 1920s. I love both research papers and creative writing, and this format is a wonderful way to incorporate two writing styles that I enjoy into an assignment. Plus, it was fun for me to channel some of my wacky middle school French teachers in creating a character to portray.
In my research, I found social structure and class to be a theme that consistently popped up. While I had thought about it somewhat prior to this class (for example, in my research on Lili Boulanger earlier this year), I had not considered how class would affect someone’s perspective. The character whose perspective I wrote from for the first paper was raised in an upper-class home, where he would have had plenty of exposure to classic literature, and a varied education that definitely would have included art and music. His perspective toward the emergence of Dadaism in Paris is vastly different from that of someone who had more limited access to these subjects. While Jean-Philippe might hold classical art in high esteem and look down on Dada art, someone who never learned to idolize Rembrandt or David might not have the same reaction. To them, maybe Dada more accurately reflects their experience in the world.
In the class, my favorite days were the class periods in which we discussed gender and sexuality. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I rarely hear about famous historical figures that share an identity with; discovering that representation was quite refreshing. Looking at Poulenc through the lens of Camp was especially exciting for me, since the only formal education I had had on the topic was a week in a high school English class, where we learned about drag/ballroom scene in New York in the 1980s. While that was interesting, it was far less applicable to my life than learning about one of my favorite composers and making a connection between him and a very important aspect of my identity.
I am very glad I took this class. Although 8am start times are difficult, I really loved looking at all of the different lenses and finding ways to connect the course material with prior knowledge and personal experience. I do wish that there could have been more time to delve in deeper to some of the topics we discussed, but I know where to go to learn more.