This course will examine the historical avant-gardes of the 1910s-30s, including Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Constructivism, De Stijl, and Surrealism, with a focus on their pursuit of a modern artistic language that would transcend national borders. Emerging in the wake of the unprecedented disaster of World War I, many avant-gardists sought to counteract the narrow nationalist agendas of their countries of origin. At the same time, several newly established independent states, including Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Baltic countries, sought to establish their distinct cultural identities and artistic idioms, while many people migrated across the redrawn territories of former empires. We will examine such key historical terms as internationalism, cosmopolitanism, and nomadism and the ways they can illuminate our understanding of the artistic practices of such figures as Vasily Kandinsky, Aleksandra Exter, Marcel Duchamp, Sophie Taeuber, Tristan Tzara, and Theo van Doesburg among others. We will study a range of artistic strategies, including collage, photomontage, performance, and exhibitions. Finally, we will consider how a transnational approach remains relevant today. The class is a seminar + course, which meets once a week for a double session and includes additional events, such as visits to museum exhibitions and guest lectures.