Modernism: A Cultural History

Thelast20yearshasseenanexplosionofworkonliterarymodernismanditsculturalandhistoricalcontexts.Inthisinnovativestudyaimedatageneralaudience,TimArmstrongseekstodefinemodernismnotonlybyitsaestheticsandliterarygenresbutalsobyitslinkswithbroaderculturalareasinwhichthe‘modern’isimplicatedanddebated,andwhichinformitsrepresentationalmodes.Modernism:ACulturalHistoryexploresmodernism'sstrugglewithasplittemporalityinwhichtheoldandtheemergingnewstruggle,andinwhich,withthehorroroftheGreatWar,notionsofatraumaticor‘frozen’timeemerge.Itconsiderssuchtopicsasmodernism,marketcultureandobscurity;thecultureofscienceandtechnology;politics,economics,eugenics,andsexology;primitivismandrace;cinemaandsoundrecording;genderandmodernism;andthestudyofconsciousnessandthesenses.Itportraysmodernismlessasamovementinrevoltfromthemodernworldthanasattemptingtoengagewiththatworld:thecryof‘reform!’whichcharacterizesmuchofpost-enlightenmentthoughtisusedtodescribemodernistwriters’engagementwithpoliticsorbodiesaswellaswithinheritedstyle.Inthiswide-rangingstudy,aparadeofwriters–fromthecanonicallikePound,EliotandWoolftolesswell-knownfigureslikeMaryButts,MurielRukeyserandSterlingBrown–areconsidered,andliterarymovementslikeImagism,SurrealismandtheHarlemRenaissancearedrawnintothedebate.Studentsandscholarsalike,ofModernismandTwentiethCenturyLiterature,willfindthebreadth,clarityandfreshapproachofthistextinvaluable.