The first half of the 20th century witnessed catastrophic
destruction through world wars and genocides;
its third quarter, in contrast, became a period of
unprecedented stability and affluence; this,
however, gave way to yet another phase of
collapse and epochal change that
marked not only the end of the century but perhaps
also the end of the entire Modern
Era. This course proposes to look at all this
social and political tumult, as well as the accompanying
history of culture, ideas, art and science, through the
works and overlapping yet diverging
interpretations of some its major observers
and commentators.
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