Modernism: The Basics provides an accessible overview of the study of modernism in its global dimensions. Examining the key concepts, history and varied forms of the field, it guides the reader through the major approaches, outlining key debates, to answer such questions as: What is modernism? How did modernism begin? Has modernism developed differently in different media? How is it related to postmodernism and postcolonialism? How have politics, urbanization and new technologies affected modernism? With engaging examples from art, literature and historical documents, each chapter provides suggestions for further reading, histories of relevant movements and clear definitions of key terminology, making this an essential guide for anyone approaching the study of modernism for the first time.

Modernism: The Basics provides an accessible overview of the study of modernism in its global dimensions. Examining the key concepts, history and varied forms of the field, it guides the reader through the major approaches, outlining key debates, to answer such questions as: What is modernism? How did modernism begin? Has modernism developed differently in different media? How is it related to postmodernism and postcolonialism? How have politics, urbanization and new technologies affected modernism? With engaging examples from art, literature and historical documents, each chapter provides suggestions for further reading, histories of relevant movements and clear definitions of key terminology, making this an essential guide for anyone approaching the study of modernism for the first time.

It was prominent architect and publicist Felix Novikov (b. 1927) who first coined the term Soviet modernism, which refers to the third, concluding period (1955-85) of Soviet architecture. The value of Novikov’s creative path lies in the fact that it spans the years both before and after Soviet moder­nism. Today, the architect continues to be a prolific writer, critic, and initiator of many inspired ideas that materialize into publications, exhibitions, and conferences. He is the key surviving source for the fullest and most accurate understanding of Soviet architecture after World War II. His principal built works are the Palace of Pioneers in Moscow (1962) and the Science Center of Microelectronics (1969) and Moscow Institute of Electronics (1971) in Zelenograd. His numerous books include Formula of Architecture (1984) and Architects and Architecture (2002).

This accessible guide provides the ideal first step in understanding literary theory.

What exactly is “modernism”? And how and why has its definition changed over time? Modernism: Evolution of an Idea is the first book to trace the development of the term “modernism” from cultural debates in the early twentieth century to the dynamic contemporary field of modernist studies. Rather than assuming and recounting the contributions of modernism's chief literary and artistic figures, this book focuses on critical formulations and reception through topics such as: - The evolution of “modernism” from a pejorative term in intellectual arguments, through its condemnation by Pope Pius X in 1907, and on to its subsequent centrality to definitions of new art by T. S. Eliot, Laura Riding and Robert Graves, F. R. Leavis, Edmund Wilson, and Clement Greenberg - New Criticism and its legacies in the formation of the modernist canon in anthologies, classrooms, and literary histories - The shifting conceptions of modernism during the rise of gender and race studies, French theory, Marxist criticism, postmodernism, and more - The New Modernist Studies and its contemporary engagements with the politics, institutions, and many cultures of modernism internationally With a glossary of key terms and movements and a capacious critical bibliography, this is an essential survey for students and scholars working in modernist studies at all levels.

Considering the immense diversity of sub-Saharan Africa's architecture and built realities, does it make sense to speak of an African architecture? How does this differ from archi-tecture in Africa? What does the term architecture actually mean in the African context? And how could these questions be conceptualised while leaving behind pre-existing theoretical moulds and biases? Searching for new ways to theorise sub-Saharan African architecture, this collection of 49 essays broadens and develops the discourse around the architecture of a very rapidly changing continent. Its authors - practising archi--tects and renowned scholars - put forward an array of heterogeneous perspectives, question old tropes and emerg--ing narratives, and challenge popular concepts whilst pro-pos-ing new ones. All with the aim of critically examining and advancing theoretical reflection on African archi-tec-tures, both on the continent and globally.

Adopting the role of tour guide, award-winning writer Kevin Hart leads the reader through the pitfalls, conundrums and complexities that characterize postmodernism, while providing an overview of the many different approaches (philosophical, cultural, literary…) to the subject. All the major thinkers are introduced – from Derrida to Blanchot, Irigaray to Foucault, and more besides – while the book is unique among introductory guides in its consideration of the role of religion in a postmodern world.

Art History: The Basics is a concise and accessible introduction for the general reader and the undergraduate approaching the history of art for the first time at college or university. It will give you answers to questions like: What is art and art history? What are the main methodologies used to understand art? How have ideas about form, sex and gender shaped representation? What connects art with psychoanalysis, semiotics and Marxism? How are globalization and postmodernism changing art and art history? Each chapter introduces key ideas, issues and debates in art history, including information on relevant websites and image archives. Fully illustrated with an international range of artistic examples, Art History: The Basics also includes helpful subject summaries, further ideas for reading in each chapter, and a useful glossary for easy reference.

Praise for the first edition: "This is a great introduction and contribution to the subject. It is unusually wide-ranging, covering the historical development of cultural theory and deftly highlighting key problems that just won′t go away." - Matthew Hills, Cardiff University "To say that the scope of the book′s coverage is wide-ranging would be an under-statement. Few texts come to mind that have attempted such a thorough overview of the central tenets of cultural studies." - Stuart Allan, Bournemouth University This fully revised edition of the best selling introduction to cultural studies offers students an authoritative, comprehensive guide to cultural studies. Clearly written and accessibly organized the book provides a major resource for lecturers and students. Each chapter has been extensively revised and new material covers globalization, the post 9/11 world and the new language wars. The emphasis upon demonstrating the philosophical and sociological roots of cultural studies has been retained along with boxed entries on key concepts and issues. Particular attention is paid to demonstrating how cultural studies clarifies issues in media and communication studies, and there are chapters on the global mediasphere and new media cultures. This is a tried and tested book which has been widely used wherever cultural studies is taught. It is an indispensable undergraduate text and one that will appeal to postgraduates seeking a ′refresher′ which they can dip into.

The term "modernism" is central to any discussion of twentieth-century literature and critical theory. Astradur Eysteinsson here maintains that the concept of modernism does not emerge directly from the literature it subsumes, but is in fact a product of critical practices relating to nontraditional literature. Intervening in these practices, and correlating them with modernist works and with modern literary theory, Eysteinsson undertakes a comprehensive reexamination of the idea of modernism. Eysteinsson critically explores various manifestations of modernism in a rich array of American, British, and European literature, criticism, and theory. He first examines many modernist paradigms, detecting in them a conflict between modernism's culturally subversive potential and its relatively conservative status as a formalist project. He then considers these paradigms as interpretations-and fabrications-of literary history. Seen in this light, modernism both signals a historical change on the literary scene and implies the context of that change. Laden with the implications of tradition and modernity, modernism fills its major function: that of highlighting and defining the complex relations between history and postrealist literature. Eysteinsson focuses on the ways in which the concept of modernism directs our understanding of literature and literary history and influences our judgment of experimental and postrealist works in literature and art. He discusses in detail the relation of modernism to the key concepts postmodernism, the avant-garde, and realism. Enacting a crisis of subject and reference, modernism is not so much a form of discourse, he asserts, as its interruption-a possible "other" modernity that reveals critical aspects of our social and linguistic experience in Western culture. Comparatists, literary theorists, cultural historians, and others interested in twentieth-century literature and art will profit from this provocative book.