This course explores major cultural shifts of the Modernist period (roughly 1870-1970) as a means of understanding our own tumultuous time. The path is roughly chronological, identifying the conditions of Modernism throughout the period, with an emphasis on artistic and popular cultural expression as a means of articulating social concerns, and with a constant eye on our own placement in contemporary culture. We will study the individualist influence of the late nineteenth century, popular performance and the rise of cities during massive cultural shifts at the turn of the century, new media platforms (recorded sound, radio and film) intersecting with social and political turmoil in the Jazz Age of the 1920s and ‘30s, and the counter-cultural Beat, Psychedelic, Glam, and Punk movements amidst the cultural revolution of the 1950s-70s. The course aims to develop students’ critical abilities through discussions of primary and secondary texts and artworks that bring to life key ideas of artistic and cultural Modernism. This upper-level course is restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.