what is modernism?

Answer 1

Modernism is a trend of thought which affirms the power of human beings to make, improve and reshape their built and designed environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation, thus in its essence both progressive and optimistic. The term covers many political, cultural and artistic movements rooted in the changes in Western society at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. Broadly, modernism describes a series of reforming cultural movements in art and architecture, music, literature and the applied arts which emerged in the decades before 1914. Embracing change and the present, modernism encompasses the works of artists, thinkers, writers and designers who rebelled against nineteenth century academic and historicist traditions, and confronted the new economic, social and political aspects of an emerging fully industrialized world. Some people divide the 20th century into movements designated Modernism and Postmodernism, whereas others see them as two aspects of the same movement.

Modernism as a tendency emerged in mid-nineteenth century Western Europe; it was rooted in the idea that the "traditional" forms of art, literature, social organization and daily life had become outdated, and that it was therefore essential to sweep them aside. In this it drew on previous revolutionary movements, including liberalism and communism. Modernism encouraged the re-examination of every aspect of existence, from commerce to philosophy, with the goal of finding that which was "holding back" progress, and replacing it with new, and therefore better, ways of reaching the same end. In essence, the modernist movement argued that the new realities of the industrial and mechanized age were permanent and imminent, and that people should adapt their world view to accept that what was new was also good and beautiful.

Answer 2

the oxford dictionary of literary terms has a great definition, although a full definition of modernism is impossible, as it refers to such a wide range of avante garde trends in the early twentieth century.

Answer 3

The site on the Internet to find
http://www.dricq.com/school/index.shtm
http://www.dricq.com/school/Health/14102.shtm
http://www.dricq.com/school/Health/index.shtm

Answer 4

Different from others.....