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Arts and Literature

            Art, Literature and Society from 1955-1970.
             Fear and Loathing in a Clockwork Age.
             That intangible achievement that all artists lust after and lay in torment over. And during the post war era that struggle reached incredible magnitudes. The world cried out for legions of anti-heroes, who were only virtuous in their unapologetic and brutally honest lack of virtue. And the art world provided as many counter culture messiahs as was needed to "Damn the Man". The Beats, hippies, and punks are evidence that behind the white picket fence of suburbia lay an America that wanted more out of life than the sugar coated portrayals of domesticity and patriotism it received from pop culture. The unfortunate side of authenticity often lead to the conclusion that autonomy was an impossible dream and that just mere existence required an individual to compromise his integrity. The post-war generation developed an interesting love-hate relationship with the mass culture of it's time. Some, like Andy Warhol, embraced the inevitability of mass culturalization in order to control the beast (yes, this is a reference to Revelations). While others recognized the American Dream as being a hypocrisy and so chose the Golden Eternity instead.
             The Beat generation and early hippies sought to separate themselves from mainstream society where they believed they could start anew and fully experience life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The flower child philosophy was in fact very Transcendental, minus the stuffy New England mentality. The sexual, spiritual, and intellectual freedom and autonomy that characterized the Haight-Ashberry scene were closer to the Whitmanesque ideal than anything achieved during his life time. .
             Postwar America was extremely prosperous from the stand point of the middle class white suburbanite. The only problem was that not everyone fit that mold. And even those who were born into that environment often found it's conventions limiting and unfufilling.


Essays Related to Arts and Literature

1. Liberal Arts

James Madison is a liberal arts university. ... Differing from a specialized education, liberal arts requires students to take a wide variety of courses, ranging from business to theater, including, history, literature, government, psychology, communication, mathematics, and science. ... A person who sits in a chemistry lab for four years of college might get a fantastic, high-salary job, but the chances of them managing a conversation about politics, literature, or philosophy are relatively low. ... A liberal arts education, not only helps socially, but mentally as well. A liberal arts educ...

  • Word Count: 742
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. The Power of Literature

Most dystopian novels show the loss of the arts and the major advance in science. ... As this society shifted itself farther and farther away from English and its literature, its importance was forgotten. ... This world was letting literature and art slip away from it. ... Atwood is emphasizing the importance of history and literature on individuals understanding of the world they live in. ... This attempt to delete the arts and humanities from human nature was a lost cause. ...

  • Word Count: 1036
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Liberal Arts Studies - It's Worth the Cost

The liberal arts major is a growing one. ... The essay I read was The New Liberal Arts by Sanford J. ... The Merriam Webster dictionary defines liberal arts as college or university studies (as language, philosophy, literature, abstract science) intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop general intellectual capacities (as reason and judgment) as opposed to professional or vocational skills. ... Julie Schumacher, an American author, once said that "...the literature student has learned to inquire, to question, to interpret, to critique, to compare, to research, to argue, to s...

  • Word Count: 1041
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Russian Literature

Russian literature has had a lasting effect on Russian arts. ... Literature was a means for the writers to explore and convey their ideas. ... (Rzhevsky, 1996, p. x) Russian literature not only influenced other artistic works and ways of thinking, certain Russian literature left distinct impressions on works that followed it. ... Russian literature has a rich influential history. Many aspects of the arts have been influenced one by one, as writers place their visions and beliefs on paper....

  • Word Count: 657
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography

5. The Relationship Between Literature and Society

Literature itself has no defined meaning. ... Plato demands that the arts must be strictly censored due to his belief that art's purpose is to shape character and an ideal society must instead shape its citizens through education and training. ... First, I believe that the arts are no more damaging to character than any form of literature. The arts are a form of literature, and like all literature, they evoke emotions. ... Society influences the literature of its time and literature influences the society studying it. ...

  • Word Count: 2612
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Literature

Literature Literature is everything that has ever been written. Literature is more than just printed words. It is one of the fine arts. ... There are two types of literature, fiction and non-fiction. By examining the literature itself, the readers, and the writers, one can note the differences and similarities in the two types of literature In the poem, "A Study of Reading Habits," Philip Larkin talks of being unhappy both in his home and at school. ...

  • Word Count: 496
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

7. The History and Theory of Anglo-American Literature

What is literature? ... What is literature? ... Literature is a creative act. ... Other criteria came to the literature realm. ... Third, the term of 'literature' ought to be limited at imaginative literature. ...

  • Word Count: 5585
  • Approx Pages: 22
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. A Liberal Arts Degree: Take it or leave it

If I plan on opening a convenience store, why do I need to know about Japanese literature, how to write an essay or what is going on in Indonesia? ... This is referred to as a "liberal arts" education. ... The traditional liberal arts education can be traced back to Athens. ... "Arts" was perceived as meaning "skills". ... They created seven subjects to represent the "liberal arts". ...

  • Word Count: 967
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Black Arts Movement

An Examination of The Black Arts Movement In a 1968 essay, "The Black Arts Movement", Larry Neal proclaimed the Black Arts Movement was "the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept". The Black Arts movement, usually referred to as a 1960s movement, solidified in 1965 and broke apart around 1975. ... The 1960s Black Arts Movement was a cultural revolution that reinvented African-American literature and art. Like its beginning, the end of the Black Arts Movement is difficult to determine. ... The Black Arts Movement is the reason that students today can enjoy ...

  • Word Count: 1196
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

10. Arts Reveal the Otherwise Hidden Ideas & Impulses of Society

Arts are to the sciences, what emotions are to reason. ... Arts are often said to be a mirror of the society. I would go a step further and suggest that arts offer not only a reflection, but also an interpretation of life. ... As civilization progresses, many new patterns are emerging in the society, which are defined, analyzed and questioned continually through literature, cinema, painting and so on. In fact, this is the contribution of the arts to the enrichment of human life. ...

  • Word Count: 547
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

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