The Age of Anxiety (1880-1940)

Question 1

Nietzsche publishes “On the Genealogy of Morals”

Answer 1

1844-1900. german philosopher. rejected religion. published in 1887 and rejects religion. warned that the west was heading towards a period of nihilism. he was not well read during his lifetime but his ideas gained traction in the 20th century.

Question 2

Freud publishes “The Interpretation of Dreams”

Answer 2

1900. concluded that human behaviour was essentially irrational and governed by the unconscious. 
the id (primitive and irrational and entirely unconscious), the ego (rational self that was mostly conscious, negotiator) and the superego (conscience, irrational).

Question 3

Stravisky’s “The Rite of Spring” premiers in Paris

Answer 3

1913

Question 4

Treaty of Versailles; Freudian psychology gains popularity; Keynes publishes “The Economic Consequences of the Peace”; Rutherford splits the atom; Bauhaus school founded

Answer 4

1919. Bauhaus school was a German interdisciplinary school of fine and applied arts that brought together many leading modern architects, designers, and theatrical innovators.
      Keynes’ book stated that huge reparations for Germany would mean not only impoverished Germany but also encourage Bolshevism and increase economic hardship in all countries.

Question 5

Existentialism, Dadaism, Surrealism gain prominence

Answer 5

1920s.
existentialism is a philosophy that stresses the meaninglessness of existence and the importance of the individual in searching for moral values in a =n uncertain world. thinkers mostly atheists.
dadaism delighted in outrageous behaviour. anti art.
surrealism with S. Dali. images of the unconscious.

Question 6

Eliot publishes “The Waste Land”; Joyce publishes “Ulysses”; Woolf publishes “Jacob’s Room”; Wittgenstein writes on logical positivism

Answer 6

1922

Question 7

first broadcast by BBC

Answer 7

1922

Question 8

French and Belgian armies occupy the Ruhr; Corbusier publishes “Towards a New Architecture”

Answer 8

1923. Corbusier lays out guidelines meant to revolutionize building design. International style

Question 9

Dawes Plan

Answer 9

1924. war reparation agreement that reduced Germany’s yearly payments, made payment dependent on economic prosperity, and granted large US loans to promote recovery.

Question 10

Berg’s opera “Wozzeck” first performed; Kafka publishes “The Trial”

Answer 10

1925

Question 11

Germany joins the LoN

Answer 11

1926.

Question 12

Heisenberg formulates the “uncertainty principle”

Answer 12

1927. nature itself is ultimately unknowable and unpredictable.

Question 13

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Answer 13

1928. fifteen countries signed. renouncing war as an instrument of international policy.

Question 14

Faulkner publishes “The Sound and the Fury”

Answer 14

1929

Question 15

Great Depression

Answer 15

1929-1939. a worldwide economic depression unique in its severity and duration and with slow and uneven recovery.

Question 16

Roosevelt announces New Deal

Answer 16

1932. reforming capitalism to save it. forceful government intervention in economy, government supported social programs.
      agricultural recovery in the US through innovative federal programs.
      NRA (National Recovery Administration), WPA (Works Progress Administration).
      national social security system.

Question 17

Nazis take power in Germany

Answer 17

1933

Question 18

Release of Riefenstahl’s documentary “Triumph of the Will”

Answer 18

1935

Question 19

Formation of Popular Front in France

Answer 19

1936. a short-lived New Deal-inspired alliance led by Leon Blum that encouraged the union movement and launched a far-reaching program of social reform.

Question 20

modern philosophy

Answer 20

critics of the enlightenment ideals rejected general faith in progress and the rational human mind. Nietzsche and Bergson.
In english-speaking world the trend went towards acceptance of logical positivism in university circles.
in the continental countries existentialism was the primary development.

Question 21

logical positivism

Answer 21

a philosophy that sees meaning in only those beliefs that can be empirically proven, and that therefore rejects most of the concerns of traditional philosophy, from the existence of God to the meaning of happiness, as nonsense.

Question 22

revival of christianity

Answer 22

rediscovery of Kierkegaard’s work (impossible to prove the existence of God but one should take a leap of faith).
important names were K. Barth, G. Marcel, J. Maritain,

Question 23

new physics

Answer 23

the breakthrough came with the discovery of atoms being composed of fast-moving particles.
big names were M. Curie, M. Planck, A. Einstein, E. Rutherford, W. Heisenberg. physics no longer offered comforting truths about natural laws or optimistic answers about humanity’s place in an understandable world.

Question 24

theory of special relativity

Answer 24

time and space are relative to the observer and that only the speed of light remains constant.

Question 25

modernism

Answer 25

a label given to the artistic and cultural movement sof the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which were typified by radical experimentation that challenged traditional forms of artistic expression.

Question 26

architecture and design

Answer 26

US pioneered new architecture. Chicago schools in the 1890s (Sullivan, Lloyd Wright). functional construction with cheaper materials became popular.

Question 27

functionalism

Answer 27

buildings, like industrial products, should serve as well as possible the purpose for which they were made, without excessive ornamentation.
in Europe architectural leadership centered in German speaking countries until Hitler. W. Gropius, L. M. van der Rohe.

Question 28

new artistic movements

Answer 28

avant-garde emerged. form was being broken down into its constituent parts.
Berlin, Munich, Moscow, Vienna, New York, Paris had impressive artistic undergrounds.
impressionsim with C. Monet, E. Degas, M. Cassatt. looking at things around them. capturing a fleeting moment of color and light.
post-impressionism and expressionism with V. van Gogh. deep psychological element.
cubism with P. Picasso. analytical approach to art.
futurism with F. T. Marinetti. embracing the future.
art had been associated with politics.

Question 29

20th century literature

Answer 29

authors adopted the limited viewpoint of an individual. big names were M. Proust

Question 30

stream-of-consciousness technique

Answer 30

literary technique, found in works by V. Woolf, J. Joyce, and others, that uses interior monologue - a character’s thoughts and feelings as they occur - to explore the human psyche.

Question 31

modern music

Answer 31

expression of emotional intensity and shock of modernism in experimental forms.

Question 32

mass culture

Answer 32

highly industrialized manufacturing system, mass production of inexpensive goods, efficient transportation, national markets, professional advertising.
housework revolved around modern appliances.
a cult of youthful sex appeal.
commercialized mass entertainment.
department stores.

Question 33

modern girl

Answer 33

somewhat stereotypical image of the modern and independent working woman popular in the 1920s.

Question 34

the appeal of cinema

Answer 34

cinema first emerged in the US around 1880. movies offered distraction to troops and citizens and served as an effective means of spreading propaganda.
UFA (Universal Film Company).

Question 35

the arrival of radio

Answer 35

every major country quickly established national broadcasting networks. well suited for political propaganda and manipulation.

Question 36

Germany and the Western powers

Answer 36

France remained frigid in the harsh treatment of Germany while others backtracked. France also allied itself with eastern European nations.
the Ruhr crisis was a sort of undeclared war until both parties tried to compromise.

Question 37

hope in foreign affairs

Answer 37

the Locarno era established some stability and ground rules but tensions increased in central Europe due to the unwillingness to deal with the Eastern half and its borders.

Question 38

hope in democratic government

Answer 38

in the late 1920s liberal democracy seemed to take route in Weimar Republic. a new currency was established and the economy stabilized.
Britain also managed the unemployment crisis with state benefits.

Question 39

economic crisis

Answer 39

the crash of the stock market in October 1929 in the US was the last drop to push the many waning economies into collapse. when Americans started to ask back their loans the European economies started to break down.
economic nationalism took root and made recovery even harder.

Question 40

mass unemployment

Answer 40

social problems caused by unemployment emerged.
poverty increased, people lost their spirit, homes and ways of life were disrupted, marriages were postponed and birthrates fell, suicides and mental illnesses were on the increase.

Question 41

Scandinavian response to the depression

Answer 41

under social democratic leadership these nations responded most successfully. the government built on the tradition of cooperative community action.

Question 42

recovery and reform in Britain and France

Answer 42

Britain: followed orthodox economic theory. increasing attention on the national market. while old industries continued to decline, new ones thrived. low interest rates encouraged a housing boom.
France: depression hit later but harder. economic stagnation reflected and hightened political tensions.