现代主义m.pptVIP

Lecture 12American Modernism(1914 - 1945) Section 1 The 1920s I. Introduction The 1920s is a flowering period of American literature. It is considered “the second renaissance” of American literature. The nicknames for this period: (1) Roaring 20s – comfort (2) Dollar Decade – rich (3) Jazz Age – Jazz music II. Background 1. The First World War (1) Economically: became rich from WWI. Economic boom: new inventions; Highly-consuming society. (2) Spiritually: dislocation, fragmentation. 2. wide-spread contempt for law (looking down upon law)P156 3.Minorities, African Americans and newer immigrant people were discriminated against. II. Background 4. Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species (1859) radically altered the nineteenth century romantic view that nature, especially human nature, was benign. 5. The German philosopher Nietzsche had declared the death of God. 6. Russell’s ideas. II. Modernism Modernism is a cultural movement that generally includes the progressive art and architecture, design, literature, music, dance, painting and other visual arts which emerged in the beginning of the 20th century , particularly in the years following World War I. It was a movement of artists and designers who rebelled against late 19th century academic and historicist tradition, and embraced the new economic, social and political aspects of the emerging modern world. II. Modernism 2)The avant-garde movements that followed including Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Constructivism, and Abstract Expressionism are generally defined as Modernist. Modernism in literature is not easily summarized, but the key elements are experimentation, anti-realism, individualism and a stress on the cerebral rather than emotive aspects. The work of Modernist writers is characterized by showing the disenchantment, dislocation, and alienation of men in the world, and by the emphasis on experimentation and formalism and objectivism which are, in mos