The Significance of Modernity
Throughout time, nations have attempted to become independent from one another by discovering means, which would help their citizens experience more fulfilling lives. The dilemma that troubled each of these countries is whether or not innovations, in technology and society, led to a higher quality of life. Modris Eckstein and Marshall Berman examine both, the damages and benefits of modernity. Eckstein looks at individual changes that lead to the overall acceptance of modernity. He examines Germany, and how the lives of every citizen was altered following the revolutionary changes of the first half of the 20th century. Marshall Berman, on the other hand, assesses modernity as an all-encompassing characteristic of certain societies. He analyzes whether or not large-scale changes that societies made, improved the well being of their inhabitants.
Rites of Spring, by Modris Eckstein, gives an overview of all the modifications Germany experienced, in the first half of the 20th century. Eckstein considers these individual alterations to be an attempt, by German society to modernize itself. General beliefs in German nationalism, and the treatment of homosexuals, are two of the several topics Eckstein uses to describe the aforementioned change in German livelihood. These two subjects encompass Ecksteins belief of a national German movement towards a unified culture. “It is a book about the emergence, in the first half of this century, of our modern conscious?
At the turn of the century Germany was a divided nation that did not have a sense of national pride. In the forthcoming years, the convictions of all German citizens changed and the nation became unified. Eckstein attributes this massive modernization of German nationalism to the ongoing threat of war. The citizens of Germany relinquished their internal feuds, and centered their attention on the enemy outside of their borders. German focus changed abruptly because their newfound enemy was Russia and Great Britain. To the German people an assault by Russia and England was an attack on all forms of German livelihood. “We are defending in this moment all that is German Kultur and German freedom? Therefore, all German citizens came together in support of their brethren and decreed their approval of foreign bloodshed.
Along with a new sense of nationalism, Eckstein believes accepta...
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...o gay, or what a homo? The turning point of my approach, towards homosexuals, came when I met a guy named Adam. Adam enlightened me by explaining the true aspects of homosexuality. He also informed me that my vocabulary was hateful. After that day I came to understand that individuals who deplore homosexuals or use derogatory language are no different than those who are racists. Unfortunately, large portions of Americans do not hold the same stance. For this reason I can relate my modernist perspective to that of Eckstein’s. Individually, some people have changed their opinion of homosexuals, but the nation as a whole has done little to accept their lifestyle.
Lastly, I can also relate to Marshall Bermans attitude towards modernism. I believe that in certain societies one can notice a general trend towards modernist behavior. It is my belief that one can observe this in modern day Germany. As opposed to the conservative regimes of the 30’s and 40’s, Germany presently lives in one of the world’s most progressive societies. This is a perfect example of Berman’s argument because the German people came together and implanted their newfound convictions into their everyday way of life.
The historical analysis of the “History of Germany” reveals many hidden facts including the complex issues such as fighting against homosexuality, Hitler’s racial ideology and the ecclesiastical Christian Church movements that needed to be appropriately addressed and rectified. This analytical paper aims to analyze the History of Germany by assessing two articles that are; “Combating homosexuality as a political task” and “Who can resist temptation?” to analyze the situation of Germany through historical documents.
Hagen W (2012). ‘German History in Modern Times: Four Lives of the Nation’. Published by Cambridge University Press (13 Feb 2012)
“The Spirit of 1914” gives a comprehensive examination of the opinions and feelings felt during the beginning of the Great War by the German people. This monograph goes into extensive detail on the complexity of the German nation’s reactions and response to the vast, “patriotic outbursts…which many contemporaries and historians categorized as “war enthusiasm.””(2) The content of the book also centers on how German unity was portrayed. “Conservative journals claimed that these crowds spoke for public opinion…what had transformed a materialistic, egotistical German “society” into an idealistic, fraternal, national German “community.””(231)Verhey challenges the myth that all Germans wanted to go to war in 1914 by methodically explaining each of the different regions, classes, and political parties’ reactions and responses. The argument of his work comes down to how well he is able to answer the questions of:
ABSTRACT: Richard Wagner always represented for Nietzsche the Germany of that time. By examining Nietzsche's relationship to Wagner throughout his writings, one is also examining Nietzsche's relationship to his culture of birth. I focus on the writings from the late period in order to clarify Nietzsche's view of his own project regarding German culture. I show that Nietzsche created a portrait of Wagner in which the composer was a worthy opponent-someone with whom he disagreed but viewed as an equal. Wagner was such an opponent because he represented the disease of decadence which plagued the culture and from which Nietzsche suffered for a time, but of which he also cured himself. In other words, Nietzsche emphasized his overcoming and revaluation of Wagner because he wanted his readers to understand it as a metaphor for his larger battle with decadence in general. The goal of this portraiture is to demonstrate on an individual level what could be done on a cultural level to revitalize culture. Through an analysis of Nietzsche's portrait of Wagner in the late period, I will claim that in order to understand Nietzsche's revaluation of decadent values in nineteenth century German culture, one must understand his relationship with the composer.
...Perloff, Marjorie. “Modernism without the Modernists: A Response to Walter Benn Michaels.” Modernism/Modernity 3:3 (1996): 99-105.
After the First World War Germany recognised her first ever democratic government, the Weimar republic lasted from 1918 – 1933 an astonishingly long time given its turbulent start. The November revolution saw the election of soldier and worker councils similar to that of the Russian revolution in 1917, it spread across Germany like wildfire and in turn split the country before a democracy could even be instated nevertheless on November 9th 1918 the German republic was established. From then on The Weimar Republic was set on unstable and insecure path and this is why it is one of Germanys most important historical periods; it was Germanys earliest form of non-imperial government and rule and its collapse in 1933 paved the way for the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. For these reasons there have been endless works published on the Weimar republic and the outpouring of literature post world war two focuses on the collapse of the Weimar republic and how the Nazi party came to power. However, to understand why the debate surrounding the Golden Era in the Weimar Republic is an interesting one and lacking in historical works, it is key to examine the historiography of the Weimar republic as a whole. Furthermore, to understand why historians focus on other periods in the Weimar’s history in particular the consequences of the treaty of Versailles and the consequences of the Wall Street crash in 1928 which led to its collapse.
In the year 1929 their was a large depression in the country of Germany. This depression was made up of power struggle and economic distress. The people of Germany no longer trusted the democratic government that they once knew. This allowed Adolf Hitler, the great speaker that he was, to persuade the German people to bring him and his Nazi party into power. Adolf Hitler approached the German people speaking of nationalism which was very much needed after World War I. Not only did he need the...
... is good [,] what’s from the east is bad” (Kirschbaum). These sentiments clearly show the divide and discontent between the “Ossies”, East Germans, and the “Wessies”, West Germans, highlighting the rift in “united Germany.”
In today’s society, to be even considered as cool, one must learn how to become modern and contemporary. By the day, the elderly pursue the quality of being young again. One disastrous method of doing so is through technology, which leads to arguments and frustration. In the 1800s, the use of modernization played an important role in the possession of power. The first country to start the race to modernization was Great Britain. This period of time was called the industrial revolution. Not only did the industrial revolution bring vital advancements to Great Britain, but also fatal diseases. Therefore, the industrial revolution positively and negatively affected Great Britain and its people.
What is Modernism? Modernism is an era that covers many creative disciplines from design and art to influencing architecture, music and literature. The power of machines forced artists to strategically re-think their practice; the results were revolutionary and still influences designers to this very day. This new technology provided the opportunity for mass production, and the machine itself became a theme in modernism. Modernism particularly inspired fine art, it saw a break in the world of the 'ism' - these art styles include Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Futurism, Brutalism and Surrealism. With the influence making such an impact across multiple creative disciplines Modernism is arguably being the most influential movement of the
The “German” nation, before it even became known as Germany, had undergone a period of transition from its inherited culture as a result of the French invasion and the Napoleonic wars. There was a sense that the German cultur...
In the article “What’s in a Word?” (2004), the author George Lakoff, a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, describes that the term utilized to refer to the issue of same-sex marriage and the way that society frames the issue can change the whole view. Lakoff develops his claim by breaking down the issue of gay marriage into three perspectives: to American society, to conservatives and to liberals. Lakoff’s purpose of this article is to reveal how the meaning of a word and attitude towards an issue can have a negative affect as a whole in order to encourage Americans to reframe the negative connotation of gay marriage. Lakoff utilizes analytical and persuasive tones throughout the article to approach to his intended
Paul de Man once said, “Modernity exists in the form of a desire to wipe out whatever came earlier, in the hope of reaching at least a point that could be called a true present, a point of origin that marks a new departure.” But what is he really trying to say? Modernity takes out the old and brings in the new, continually upgrading to something else? Modernity appears as a concept of change. It most commonly refers to the social conditions, processes, and discourses resulting from the Age of Enlightenment. The concept of modernity captures the progress of societies, from primitive civilizations, which evolved gradually through discrete stages, reaching a modern age characterized by industrialization and capitalism, concluding in the current, post-modern state of globalization which shapes contemporary society with ever increasing coercion. Modernity can be placed into many different time periods. There are two, however, that are the most relevant: Early modernity and Classical modernity. Early modernity consisted of theorists such as Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Adam Smith and Alexis de Tocqueville. Classical modernity consisted of theorists such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. Many theorists have defined their own form of “modernity” which will be discussed throughout this paper.
The issue is whether the changes in the world since that time are modest and continuous with those associated with modernity, or are so dramatic and discontinuous that the contemporary world is better described by a new term – postmodern. Our guess is that in most of the parts of world, modernity is still a continuing process. Habermas, the German modernist, argues that the project of modernity, which started after enlightenment, is still an incomplete
Modernism is a term which is typically associated with the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The literary Modernism takes place after World War I shook men’s faith in the foundations and continuity of western civilisation and culture. The First World War was an event so devastating that it created rapidly a set of demands upon artists and writers that most would have found inconceivable before. Modernism is often used to refer to a twentieth century belief in the virtues of science, technology and of social change. Modernism as a movement can be recognized not only in literature but also in the sciences, Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology, Painting, Music, Sculpture and Architecture.