Debates and Controversies of the Modernist Era

Drawing from various surveys of modernist literature, this index identifies some of the critical arguments that have fueled modern art. We hope this information will improve our understanding of modernist concepts and values by pointing us to the actual debates, conducted in the pages of magazines, in which they originally unfolded.

Part 1: Controversies associated with modernism today (organized by area or field)

• What is modernism? Its identity and diversity
• Aesthetics: the modernist view of art
• History #1: modernism's relation to the past
• History #2: the relation between modernism and modernity 
• Modernism and place 
• The politics of modernism 
• Modernism and philosophy
• Modernism and war

Part two: Notable dustups from the past

• Ruskin vs. Whistler
• James vs. Wells
• Sickert vs. Hulme
• The New Age vs. Rhythm  

Sources surveyed