Taught by Eva Scheicher
Taught in English. NO Prerequisites or knowledge of German necessary. Credits may be applied toward the German major or minor.
What do cities dream of—and how do those dreams shape us? This course explores two very different “Cities of Dreams”: Vienna at the turn of the 20th century and contemporary New York City. Both have been called dream cities, but for radically different reasons. Vienna’s dreams were inward—psychoanalytic, philosophical, artistic. We will draw on Freud, Schnitzler, and Kafka to explore the subconscious mind and the darker corners of modern life in this world. New York’s dreams, by contrast, are outward-facing: ambitious, fast-moving, and tied to the American Dream of reinvention and success. Think Broadway, Wall Street, and the city that never sleeps. Using literature, film, art, and pop culture, we’ll look at how these two cities imagine themselves and what they represent in the wider cultural psyche. Why does Vienna dream while New York hustles? What connects these urban fantasies across time and space? From Schnitzler’s “Dream Story” to Kubrick’s controversial erotic drama Eyes Wide Shut, from Bernstein’s West Side Story to Mary Harron’s American Psycho, this course will offer students a chance to think about cities, culture, identity, and the strange power of dreams both sleeping and waking.
Learning Goals:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Identify key characteristics of Vienna’s and New York’s cultural identities at the turn of the 20th century and in the current period, respectively.
- Analyze literature, film, and visual art through the lens of “dreams” as both personal and collective experiences.
- Compare how cities express ambition, fantasy, and failure in different cultural contexts.
- Connect urban spaces to broader themes of globalization, migration, and modernity.
This course is a 1.5-credit mini-course starting on Thursday, October 23, 2025 and running for seven weeks. The meetings of the course are conducted face-to-face.