A Singular Modernity

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by Fredric Jameson

Verso

Due/Published October 2002, 252 pages, paper

ISBN 1859844502

The concepts of modernity and modernism are amongst the most controversial and vigorously debated in contemporary philosophy and cultural theory. In this new book Jameson explores these notions in a new and distinctly unique way..

The revival of discussions of modernity, as well as of new theories of artistic modernism, demands attention in its own right. It seems clear that the provisional disappearance of alternatives to capitalism plays its part in the universal attempt to revive 'modernity' as a social ideal. Yet the paradoxes of the concept illustrate its legitimate history and suggest some rules for avoiding its misuse as well.

In this new interpretation of the problematic, Jameson concludes that both concepts are tainted but nonetheless yield clues as to the nature of the phenomena they purported to theorize. His judicious and vigilant probing of both termswhich can probably not be banished at this late datehelps us clarify our present political and artistic situations.Contents

Preface: Regressions of the Current Age
Part I: The Four Maxims of Modernity
Transitional Modes
Part II: Modernism as Ideology
Conclusion: 'Il faut être absolument moderne!'
Notes
Index