Surrealism: A Global Revolution

Module coordinator: Dr Tara Plunkett

Teaching arrangements: Trimester 1, Fridays 2-4 (option)

What do an umbrella, a sewing machine, and a dissecting table have in common? How did a French poet’s desire to reconcile the irreconcilable forces of the mind reverberate in image and text around the globe? This module will take André Breton’s 1924 Manifesto of Surrealism as a point of departure to discover how Surrealism galvanised painting, poetry, film, and theatre in Europe, the United States, Latin America, and beyond. Recent exhibitions such as the Tate Modern’s Surrealism Beyond Borders (2021) encourage us to redress the power imbalance inherent in viewing Surrealism simply as a European idea, displaced by exile and enhanced by “peripheral stories”. This module, therefore, will consider not only the key catalysts of the surrealist rebellion in Western Europe and how surrealist cultural production was moulded by the different geopolitical contexts of its creators. Students will also study examples of Surrealism beyond the conventional canon to consider the intersectional itinerary of this revolutionary movement.