Syllabus
Weekly schedule
1. Introduction
2. Leisure in the city: parks and corsos
3. Semi-public spaces of leisure, entertainment and information: coffeehouses, casinos and salons
4. Spa holidays and travel
5. Entertaining the upper and middle classes: theatre and opera
6. Entertaining the lower classes: beer halls, fairs, street entertainment
7. Sport
8. Exhibitions: expos, museums and millennium celebrations
9. Entertainment for a new age: cinema
10. Music: the rise of jazz
11. Group Presentations
12. Conclusion (presentations, if necessary)
Annotation
The concept of leisure and how to spend one’s free time underwent a significant shift in the second half of the nineteenth century, as a result of social and economic developments: industrialisation produced mass migration to the cities from villages and smaller towns and the middle classes, as a result of the new economic and social situation, greatly expanded. Vienna, Budapest and Prague underwent a large-scale modernisation process starting in this period and by the end of the century became large metropolises.
The expanding definition of the middle class and the mass migration to the cities resulted in the opening up of the public sphere – these new arrivals did not only want to work, but also wanted to socialise –, of which the most iconic example is the burgeoning coffeehouse culture of the late nineteenth century.