Being modern: the cultural impact of science in the early twentieth century

In the early decades of the twentieth century,engagement with science was commonly used as an emblem of modernity. Thisphenomenon is now attracting increasing attention in different historicalspecialties. Being Modern builds on this recent scholarly interest toexplore engagement with science across culture from the end of the nineteenthcentury to approximately 1940.

Addressing the breadth of cultural forms in Britainand the western world from the architecture of Le Corbusier to working classBritish science fiction, Being Modern paints a rich picture. Seventeendistinguished contributors from a range of fields including the culturalstudy of science and technology, art and architecture, English culture andliterature examine the issues involved. The book will be a valuable resourcefor students, and a spur to scholars to further examination of culture as aninterconnected web of which science was a critical part, and to supersede suchtired formulations as 'Science and culture'.