What is dada?

Also called Dadaism, Dada was a literary and artistic movement that started in 1916 in the area of Zurich, Switzerland. It began as a rejection of rationalism and nationalism which were seen as practices that brought world war I. It also had some political affinities in addition to being an anti world-war I art. Dada activities were demonstrations, gatherings, and the publication of literary/art journals that covered culture and political topics.