modernity
Current era's character
Modernity is the condition of being modern—belonging to the present era rather than the past.
The term often refers specifically to the period beginning with industrialization, characterized by scientific rationalism, technological progress, and the decline of traditional authority.
In academic contexts, modernity describes the social and cultural shifts that distinguish contemporary life from premodern societies: urbanization, secular institutions, individual autonomy.
The tensions between modernity and tradition shape much of the novel's conflict.
Transition to factory-based economy
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- contemporaryOf the present age
- twentieth-centuryYears 1901-2000
- post-warAfter military conflict ends
fin-de-siècle · space-age · victorian · colonial-era · interwar · millennium · zeitgeist · epoch
Breakdown of shared standards
- disconnectionState of being severed
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- rootlessnessState of having no anchor
- disenchantmentLoss of cherished belief
fragmentation · isolation · ennui · nihilism · commodification · rationalization · bureaucratization · depersonalization
Forward movement or promotion
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- innovationCreating something original
- breakthroughSudden important advance
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
improvement · growth · technology · science · engineering · research · invention · discovery
Aesthetic of reduction
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- abstractionDistilling to essential qualities
- brutalismHarsh, unsparing conduct
Large important city
- cityscapeView of urban architecture
- skyscraperVery tall urban building
- infrastructureBasic physical systems
- subwayUnderground transit passage
gentrification · highrise · boulevard · cosmopolitan · downtown · commute · traffic · zoning
Interconnected computer systems
- smartphoneHandheld connected computer
- AISimulated cognitive processing
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
- connectivityState of being linked
e-commerce · streaming · cybersecurity · software · data · digitalization · automation · platforms
State of mutual linkage
- cosmopolitanismBelief in shared humanity
- transnationalCrossing country lines
- multiculturalismCoexistence of diverse traditions
- borderlessWithout defined limits
exchange · mobility · integration · homogenization · glocalization · deterritorialization · diversity · networks
industrialization
Transition to factory-based economy
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- contemporaryOf the present age
- twentieth-centuryYears 1901-2000
post-war · fin-de-siècle · space-age · victorian · colonial-era · interwar · millennium · zeitgeist · epoch · present-day
anomie
Breakdown of shared standards
- disconnectionState of being severed
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- rootlessnessState of having no anchor
disenchantment · fragmentation · isolation · ennui · nihilism · commodification · rationalization · bureaucratization · depersonalization · meaninglessness
advancement
Forward movement or promotion
- developmentProgress toward maturity
- innovationCreating something original
- breakthroughSudden important advance
evolution · improvement · growth · technology · science · engineering · research · invention · discovery · automation
minimalism
Aesthetic of reduction
- functionalismTheory emphasizing purposes and roles
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- abstractionDistilling to essential qualities
brutalism · streamlined · geometric · futurism · constructivism
metropolis
Large important city
- cityscapeView of urban architecture
- skyscraperVery tall urban building
- infrastructureBasic physical systems
subway · gentrification · highrise · boulevard · cosmopolitan · downtown · commute · traffic · zoning · conurbation
internet
Interconnected computer systems
- smartphoneHandheld connected computer
- AISimulated cognitive processing
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
connectivity · e-commerce · streaming · cybersecurity · software · data · digitalization · automation · platforms · networks
interconnectedness
State of mutual linkage
- cosmopolitanismBelief in shared humanity
- transnationalCrossing country lines
- multiculturalismCoexistence of diverse traditions
borderless · exchange · mobility · integration · homogenization · glocalization · deterritorialization · diversity · networks · migration
- Futurismjetpacks, holograms, robots, androids, cyborgs
- literary themesheroism, hero's journey, ennui, social realism, morals
- Weberrationalization, Protestant ethic, iron cage, disenchantment, social action
- timesecond, minute, hour, day, seconds
- city lifecity, urban life, traffic noise, downtown, metropolis
- erasera, epoch, age, bronze age, period
modernityantiquity
Great age, ancient era
ancient times · prehistory · classical antiquity · medieval period · the past
modernitytradition
Custom passed through generations
antiquatedness · primitiveness · backwardness · archaism · old-fashionedness
modernitytraditionalism
Adherence to inherited customs
tradition · antiquatedness · conservatism · primitivism · atavism
- modernist artExperimental early-twentieth-century aesthetics
- modernist designStripped-down, geometric aesthetic movement
- modernist architectureSpare, functional building design
- modernist furnitureTwentieth-century design movement pieces
- modernist styleArt movement rejecting ornamentation
- modernist homesTwentieth-century design residences
modernize, modernized, modernist, modernism, modernization, modernizing, modernizer, modernistic, modernizers