Name: Modernism: A Very Short Introduction
ISBN: 9780192804419

Modernism ushered in some of the most exciting innovations in art and literature, from Fauvism, Cubism, and Dada, to the novels of James Joyce and Franz Kafka, to such provocative works as Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain." But Modernism also left many people puzzled in its wake. How can a routine bathroom fixture be considered a work of art? Shouldn't a novel have a beginning, a middle, and an end--or at least a story? In this Very Short Introduction, Christopher Butler provides a coherent account of Modernism across various aesthetic and cultural fields. Butler examines how and why Modernism began, explaining what it is and showing how virtually all aspects of 20th and 21st century life have been influenced by its aesthetic legacy. Butler considers several aspects of modernism, including some classic modernist works, movements and notions of the avant garde, and the idea of "progress" in art. Finally, Butler sheds light on modernist ideas of the self, subjectivity, irrationalism, people and machines, and the political dimensions of modernism as a whole.

About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

Book Details

Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publish Date: Sep 3rd, 2010
Pages: 144
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 6.60in - 4.10in - 0.10in - 0.25lb
EAN: 9780192804419
Categories: • Movements - Modernism• Conceptual

About the Author

Christopher Butler is Professor of English Language and Literature at Christ Church College, University of Oxford.

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What people are saying

HeyJudeNotJudy

@HeyJudeNotJudy

2 years

Jude Hopkins. Novel "Babe in the Woods" available now. Essays in Los Angeles Times, The Belladonna, other places, other times. https://t.co/rVDSC0Ufiy

@five_books I'm reading "Early Modernism" by Dr. Christopher Butler, a recommendation from one of the authors on your site. Dr. Butler is such a magnificent writer. https://t.co/yA92QyEfla

Let's preserve our liberal social contract. Matthew 5:44. Bylines: @quillette @AreoMagazine @fairforall_org . Contributor @dcexaminer. Writer for @feeonline

I'm mostly through with "Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction" (as recommended by @omni_american) and seeing a lot of parallels between postmodernism and CSJ. I might write about this, in part to clarify my own understanding. https://t.co/Unh9Zbac4N

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James 🌻. GIFford 😷💉💉💉💉 @GiffordJames@mas.to

@GiffordJames

2 years

Professor & Director @FDU_Press ¶ President @DurrellSociety ¶ solo dad ¶ sing opera ¶ cut my own hair ¶ he/him ¶ own my views (views my own) ¶ typos pletniful

@bleakhousing Chris Butler's *Modernism: A Very Short Introduction* is great for its brevity. For your specific questions, maybe Rabaté's edited collection *A Handbook of Modernism Studies*? But as @EmmettStinson pointed out, the new modernist studies opened the gates. WIDE.

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