Modernism and the sense of history

Modernism in the arts and literature is conventionally thought of as anti-traditional and therefore as anti-historical, in spite of the insistence by Eliot, Greenberg, Pound, and others of their of their interest in both archaic traditions and the redemption of what was best in ‘the past.’ Modern hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of art historiography 2016-12, Vol.15, p.15-HW1
Main Author: Hayden White
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
history
modernism
modernization
the past
tradition
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Modernism in the arts and literature is conventionally thought of as anti-traditional and therefore as anti-historical, in spite of the insistence by Eliot, Greenberg, Pound, and others of their of their interest in both archaic traditions and the redemption of what was best in ‘the past.’ Modern historiographical theory distinguishes between ‘the past’ and that ‘history’ which is only a part of it. This essay exploits this distinction by seeking to identify the extent to which the first generation of modernist writers rejected ‘history’ as an impediment to a knowledge of ‘a past’ on which to base a reformation of a Western culture grown stagnant and desiccated as a result of ‘modernization.’
ISSN:2042-4752