Modernities and Modernization in North America

From the ‘early modern’ period to the present moment, the United States has consistently been associated with notions of modernization and modernity. Nevertheless, ideas of what is considered modern change over time, in accordance with a respective historical context’s understanding of the ‘old’ or ‘ancient.’ And although any period in US history is (self-)stylized as modern, the discourse of modernity culminates particularly at the beginning of the twentieth century, when fundamental categories and concepts of spatial, temporal, and moral orientation were redefined. This volume combines two lines of inquiry: it brings together new assessments of turn-of-the-century modernity in diverse formats such as literature, film, and stage performances and it offers investigations of modernity and modernization in other eras and media, including depression-era documentaries, the 1940 and 1964 World’s Fairs, twenty-first-century computer games, and augmented reality art projects.