the set to merge into IHUM 202

Ragtime

A late 19th- and early 20th-century musical style characterized by syncopated (“ragged”) rhythms and strong piano melodies; influential in the development of jazz. Often associated with Scott Joplin.

Jazz

A musical genre originating in the United States in the early 20th century, characterized by improvisation, syncopation, blues influences, and expressive rhythms. It developed from African American musical traditions.

Harlem Stride Piano

A jazz piano style developed in Harlem in the 1920s–30s in which the left hand alternates bass notes and chords (“striding”) while the right hand plays melodies and improvisations.

Scatting

A jazz vocal technique in which singers improvise using nonsense syllables, sounds, or wordless vocables instead of lyrics to imitate instrumental solos.

Cotton Club

A famous Harlem nightclub in 1920s–30s New York known for featuring prominent Black jazz musicians and entertainers, though it primarily served white audiences during segregation.

Montage

A film editing technique that combines a series of short shots or images to condense time, create meaning, or show connections between ideas, emotions, or events.

Montage of Collisions

A film theory developed by Sergei Eisenstein in which meaning is created through the “collision” or contrast of opposing shots, producing emotional or intellectual effects beyond individual images.

“Degenerate Art” Exhibit

A 1937 Nazi-organized exhibition in Germany that mocked and condemned modern art (such as Expressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism) as corrupt or un-German.

Essentialism vs. Existentialism

Essentialism argues that humans possess a fixed nature or purpose (essence), while Existentialism argues that people create meaning and identity through choices and actions rather than being born with a predetermined essence.

Teleology

The philosophical idea that things have an inherent purpose, end goal, or final cause. Often associated with Aristotle.

The Absurd

In existential thought, especially associated with Albert Camus, the conflict between humanity’s search for meaning and an indifferent or meaningless universe.

Authenticity

In existential philosophy, the idea of living genuinely according to one’s own values and choices rather than conforming to social expectations or outside pressures.

Action Painting

A style of abstract art in which the physical act of painting—such as dripping, splattering, or energetic brushstrokes—is emphasized as part of the artwork itself.

Conceptual Art

An art movement in which the idea or concept behind the artwork is more important than its physical form or appearance.

Light and Space Art

An art movement that emerged in California in the 1960s focused on perception, using light, color, transparency, and space to create immersive sensory experiences for viewers.

Installation Art

A form of art in which an entire space is transformed into an artwork that viewers can physically enter or experience.

Screenprinting

A printmaking technique in which ink is pushed through a mesh screen onto a surface to create repeated images or designs.

Combine Painting

An art form developed by Robert Rauschenberg that blends painting with nontraditional materials or objects, combining painting and sculpture.

Theater of the Absurd

A mid-20th-century dramatic movement portraying life as irrational, meaningless, or illogical through disjointed dialogue and bizarre situations.

Structuralism in Music

A method of composing music using organized systems or structures, often emphasizing mathematical relationships and patterns.

Aleatoric Music

A style of music in which elements of the composition are left to chance or performer choice.

Minimalism in Music

A musical style characterized by repetition, steady rhythms, gradual change, and simple harmonies.

Bauhaus

A German school of art, architecture, and design (1919–1933) that emphasized simplicity, functionality, and the integration of art with technology.

International Architecture

An architectural style emphasizing simplicity, geometric forms, glass, steel, and functional design with minimal ornamentation.

Organic Architecture

An architectural philosophy that seeks harmony between buildings and their natural surroundings.

Deconstructivist Architecture

A late 20th-century architectural style characterized by fragmented forms, unusual shapes, distortion, and designs that challenge traditional order.

Scott Joplin: “Maple Leaf Rag” (Ragtime)

A work from the Transitional Fin de Siècle / Harlem Renaissance & Jazz period (1899) that became one of the most famous examples of ragtime music, characterized by syncopated rhythms and lively piano melodies.

Louis Armstrong: “West End Blues”

A landmark work from the Harlem Renaissance & Jazz period (1928) famous for its virtuosic trumpet introduction and jazz improvisation.

Billy Strayhorn / Duke Ellington: “Take the A Train”

A signature jazz composition from the Harlem Renaissance & Jazz period (1941), known for its swing rhythm and celebration of Harlem culture.

George Gershwin: “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess

A work from the Harlem Renaissance & Jazz period (1935) blending jazz, blues, classical, and folk influences.

Igor Stravinsky: excerpt from The Rite of Spring

A major Modernist work (1913) known for harsh dissonance, irregular rhythms, and themes of ritual sacrifice.

Arnold Schönberg: “Mondestrunken” from Pierrot Lunaire

A Modernist work (1912) using atonality and Sprechstimme (“speech-song”), breaking traditional harmonic rules.

Pierre Boulez: Piano Sonata No. 2, 1st Movement

A highly experimental Modernist work (1948) associated with total serialism and strict organization.

John Cage: 4’33”

A Postmodern work (1952) in which performers remain silent, encouraging audiences to hear environmental sounds as music.

Philip Glass: Company, 2nd Movement

A Postmodern minimalist work (1983) characterized by repetitive patterns and gradual musical change.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein: “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” from South Pacific

A Musical Theater work (1949) addressing racism and prejudice as learned behaviors.

Galt Macdermot: “Aquarius” from Hair

A Musical Theater work (1967) associated with the counterculture movement and optimism of the “Age of Aquarius.”

Jonathan Larson: “Seasons of Love” from Rent

A Musical Theater work (1996) reflecting themes of love, loss, community, and the AIDS crisis.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: “96,000” from In The Heights

A Musical Theater work (2008) blending hip-hop and Latin musical styles while exploring dreams, identity, and opportunity.

Art and artists of the Harlem Renaissance: Douglas, Hughes, Joplin, Armstrong, Fitzgerald, Ellington

The Harlem Renaissance (1920s–30s) was a flourishing of African American art, music, and literature celebrating Black identity and culture through influential artists, writers, and musicians.

Socially-conscious photographers and filmmakers: Lange, Bourke-White, Eisenstein, and Riefenstahl

Lange and Bourke-White documented social realities through photography, while Eisenstein and Riefenstahl used innovative filmmaking techniques to shape political and cultural messages.

Contextual background information about World War II

World War II (1939–1945) was a global conflict between the Axis and Allied powers that included the Holocaust, widespread destruction, and the use of atomic weapons.

Postwar Existentialism as seen in the writings of Camus and Sartre

Postwar Existentialism focused on freedom, responsibility, authenticity, and the search for meaning in an uncertain world.

Abstract Expressionist art of Pollock, Krasner, de Kooning

An American postwar art movement emphasizing emotion, spontaneity, abstraction, and individual expression through energetic techniques and large-scale works.

Site-specific art of Smithson, Christo, and Jeanne-Claude

Site-specific art is created for a particular location and interacts directly with its environment, often on a monumental scale.

Social consciousness in the works of the Guerilla Girls, Ringgold, Brooks, Sexton, Rodgers and Hammerstein, MacDermot, Larson, and Miranda

These artists used their work to address issues such as racism, sexism, inequality, identity, war, poverty, and social justice.

The pop art of Warhol, Hamilton, and Oldenburg

Pop Art drew inspiration from popular culture, advertising, and consumer goods, blurring the line between fine art and everyday life.

Modern to Postmodern shift in works of visual art, drama, music, and architecture

The shift from Modernism to Postmodernism moved from faith in originality, order, and universal truths toward pluralism, irony, experimentation, multiple perspectives, and questioning authority.