Modernism
Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, and were strongly influenced by the writings of Harvard sociologist Talcott Parsons.
6 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Existentialism
Melvyn Bragg discusses existentialism, a twentieth century philosophy of everyday life concerned with the individual, and his or her place within the world.
28 June 2001
Featuring: A. C. Grayling, Christina Howells, Simon Critchley
Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce's groundbreaking 1916 novel about growing up in Catholic Ireland.
26 November 2009
Featuring: Roy Foster, Katherine Mullin, Jeri Johnson
CultureLiterary theoristsModernist writersModernismIrony theoristsTrope theoristsIrish male poetsMetaphor theoristsSurrealist writersHumor researchersIrish male novelistsEyepatch wearersDeaths from ulcers20th-century letter writersIrish satiristsIrish male dramatists and playwrights, Irish expatriates in France20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights, 20th-century Irish male writers, 20th-century Irish poetsIrish male short story writers, 20th-century Irish short story writers, 20th-century Irish novelistsModern Culture
Melvyn Bragg discusses whether contemporary culture is evidence of a moral and aesthetic decline in our civilisation in the 20th century or if it shows a society richer and more diverse than ever.
21 January 1999
Featuring: Will Self, Roger Scruton
Modernist Utopias
Melvyn Bragg discusses the mad, bad world of modern utopias where babies are hatched from test tubes, where women live without men, where machines have taken over, and where the poor are exterminated.
10 March 2005
Featuring: John Carey, Steven Connor, Laura Marcus
Surrealism
Melvyn Bragg discusses surrealism, the art of the unconscious, repression, desire and sex.
15 November 2001
Featuring: Dawn Adiss, Malcolm Bowie, Darian Leader
The Avant Garde's Decline and Fall in the 20th Century
Melvyn Bragg examines the social and aesthetic impact of the Avant Garde and discusses whether it has failed in making painting relevant in the 20th century.
25 February 1999
Featuring: Eric Hobsbawm, Frances Morris