Comparing The New: Four Big Ideas And How They Made The Modern World

Modernism Modernism begins with World War I and the Great Depression and is the rejection of tradition. Writers in this time era began to question the authority and tradition that seemed to be the foundation of America. Modernists destroyed the American Dream. The modernist group ask themselves three questions. Who are we?

Though the start of the modernisation may trace back to the beginning of Industrial Revolution. “Modernism in the design world did not exist in a fully developed form, until well after First World War.” (Wilk, 2006) Causing the great loss of lives and other countless damage to the world, it reshaped many people’s way of thinking the world. With the inspiration of early avant-garde movement, the modernism began to emerge advocating an utopian future and shared certain core principles by various styles of modernists: rejecting the past and applied ornament; forms follow function, a preference for

Kuiper, Kathleen. “Modernism.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 02 DEC 15.

Between the mid-1700s and the mid-1800s, the scientific revolution introduced experimentation, observation, and logic. At the same time a group of people, referred to as Philosophers, started to apply reason to propose a new social order which brought the Age of the Enlightenment. These people believed in the ideals of liberty and equality, which brought revolutions throughout Europe, and the colonies of North and Latin America. Before the Enlightenment, A major problem was that almost everyone was still in the medieval mindset. This consisted of the clergy and the king controlling large masses by using their lack of information and ‘blind trust’ in god.

One major turning point in world history is Enlightenment, otherwise know as “The age of reason”. It was named this because during this era people began to think for themselves and started to be independent. ”The Enlightenment was a period in the 1700s when European scientists and philosophers began examining the world through reason, or human intellect, rather than religious or spiritual faith”(Chavez). This occurred in the late 17th century. Before the Enlightenment, people were completely under the influence of their government and did not really know what was best for them or know of a better life. But soon thinkers in Britain, France, and

Modernism is the heartbeat of culture, or as Clement Greenberg (1992:754) states, modernism involves of what “is truly alive in our culture” and it includes more than just art and literature. Western civilization began to interrogate their foundations and progressed into a self-critical society (Greenberg 1992:754). This notion began with the theories of the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804); he criticized the means itself of criticism (Greenberg 1992:754). Therefore, Greenberg (1992:754) perceived Kant as the first real Modernist.

During the 18th century, advancements to European thought commenced being wide spread throughout the continent. These advancements, known as the Enlightenment, urged Europeans to look beyond what they had previously known and to expand their knowledge, in order to reform their societies in political and economic matters. Enlightenment thinkers believed in human ability to understand the world in which they lived and to conform it to their needs. They advocated many methods of economic reform including the application of ingenious rational methods to preexisting social and economic practices. Due to advancements in thought throughout Europe the enlightenment was prepared to challenge preconceived intellectual and theological principles. As a result of the aforementioned desire of expansion of knowledge and the challenges this expansion brought forth, the 18th century encountered various views of religion that emerged in Europe pertaining to preceding religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. However, these views were not limited to preceding religions, as a new religion known as Deism originated from the conclusions and discoveries of philosophes.

The mistrust of the world which is at the center of modernism can be attributed to the world wars and the psychological effect that it had on the individual. The horrors and violence altered public perceptions of life, a change that is evident within writers of the time period. The focus of writing shifted from the outward world to inner thoughts and feelings and overall representation of an individual’s stream of consciousness which are themes associated with modern text. In “Impact of Modernism”, focuses on the idea that world needed new outlets for expression and in finding them rejected the tradition that was already there with the quote, “Many modernists believed that by rejecting tradition they could discover radically new ways of making art.” (Impact) .The world no longer had the beauty it once did so a a discovery of new arts were needed. The mind of an individual became that new found inspiration and beauty that modern writers needed and for that reason it was one of the main focuses of modern

To fully appreciate the differences and similarities between Postmodernism and Modernism, it is required to understand exactly what they are. Modernism is the term we give to the accumulated creations and activities of designers in the early 20th century, who had the theory that traditional forms of literature, religion, social organization, and most of all, art and architecture, had become outdated in the new social, political, and economic environment of a fully industrialised world. One of the main characteristics of Modernism is self-consciousness, which typically caused exstensive experimentations of form and function. The creative process of generating work was also explored, forming new techniques in design. Modernism rejected all ideology of realism and prefers to reference and parody works of the past. Postmodernism, on the other hand, is a radical rejection of Modernist design. Taking place in the late 20th century, it is a movement in art, criticism, and architecture that disputes the majority of modernist tendencies. The Postmodernist analysis of society and culture lead to the expansion of critical theory and advanced the works of architecture, literature, and design. This entire re-evaluation of the western value system of popular culture, love, marriage, economy, that took place from the 1950s and 60s, leading to the peak of the Social Revolution in 1968, is commonly referred as Postmodernity which influenced postmodern thought, as opposed to the term

Modernism started in the 1900’s in America, it was a time in which the homeland had meaningful changes. Although it may have not been for the best, it still had a part in our society. Willa Cather wrote Neighbour Rosicky. In this short story it lets us envision how modernism has occurred. Modernism is “ limitation accorded with the modernist sense that “truth” does not exist objectively but is the product of the mind’s interaction with reality.” In this story, Willa Cather does not explain how or what will happen in the story with each character. We will see how Rosicky will not give up his hard working skills to keep providing for his family.

Enlightenment philosophers, like Voltaire, railed against organized theocracies and argued that religion prevented rational inquiry while it endorsed repression, tyranny and war. The philosophy of Immanuel Kant, who sought, “liberation of the human mind from the dogmatic state of ignorance,” had a major impact on the future ideology of revolutionaries.4 It was Enlightenment ideas which challenged people to question religious orthodoxy and use their own intelligence to draw conclusions about the legitimacy of traditional authority. These philosophies were the foundation of modern, egalitarian, democratic societies which would later replace Louis XVI’s absolutist monarchy. Enlightenment ideals had profound effects upon the politics of the early and mid-nineteenth century. However, a severe backlash against rationalism and liberal ideologies in France caused the return of church-state power; while conversely, in the state of Prussia, Enlightenment ideals inspired a suppression of the church’s power.5 Whether or not Enlightenment ideals and values were able to root themselves permanently in society, the introduction and widespread acceptance of secular ideas created major changes across Europe.

Modernism was a movement that was developed during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Modernism developed due to the changes happening in societies at the time. Around the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century there was a rise in the industrial society’s where there were advancements in technologies and machines, and a rapid growths in cities. This lead to a change in cultural trends and philosophies, which is known as modernism. Modernism was well known for the rejection on traditional way, such as the arts and beliefs. It rejected the idea of realism and religious beliefs. During these years modernism could be distinguished by two aspects, High and Low Modernism.

Both Modernism and Modernismo were movements around the turn of the 20th century which caused cultural upheaval and renovation in times where the society was, or needed to be, changing. Modernism took place throughout Europe and in the United States, while Modernismo was a Latin American movement. The two movements share several general characteristics, but were, without a doubt, two separate and distinct movements, and should not be confused. Therefore, it is useful to clarify the causes, characteristics, and effects of each movement, comparing their similarities and contrasting their differences.

The term Modernism, which refers to a literary movement must not be confused with Modern which refers to “being ahead of ones time or being ahead of ones contemporaries”

What further contributed to the rise of modernism was the First World War, which shell-shocked many. People lost their sense of certainty and it made them change their points of views. It made modernists question civilisation. This is seen in T.S Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” which questions