HIST 199 Modernity: A History
It is a cliche to say that "we live in a modern world." But what does that mean? Is modernity defined by science and technology? Secularism? Capitalism? Globalization? Certain forms of art or mass politics? There is a lively debate among historians and theorists about the nature of modernity and its implications for the ways in which we live our lives. We begin by exploring the vexed historiographical question of when modernity begins and ends (if indeed, it has ended). From there we will explore the question of whether modernity represents a "universal path" to the same generic phenomenon everywhere or whether it manifests itself differently in different parts of the world--sometimes with surprising results! We will also explore some of its distinctive features--rationalization, mass culture, the loss of community--along with the affective states presumed to be associated with it: anxiety, alienation, disenchantment, nostalgia. No matter what definitions and approaches we accept, there is wide agreement that modernity marks an historical transformation so profound that it alters nearly everything it touches. This course will explore these themes, with particular attention to the unprecedented challenges posed by modernity--environmental devastation, totalitarianism--as well as the very real possibilities that this "brave new world" makes available to us.