The Contemporary Period

1
The Contemporary Period
1939-Present
2
Reasons For Its Name

• 1939 marked the beginning of the Contemporary
  Period of American Literature. This period
  includes an abundance of important American
  literary figures spanning from WWII into the new
  millennium. This period received its name
  because it is the most modern of eras. Currently
  the Contemporary American literary scene is
  crowded and varied.

3
Characteristics of the Period

• The Contemporary Period can be broken down
  into three eras. The first being Modernism
  (1900-1946), the second Post-Modernism
  (1946-1980), and the third being the Contemporary
  Period (1980-present).

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• During this period people were unable to
  communicate effectively and had a fear of eroding
  traditions and grief over loss of the past. This
  period was marked by overwhelming technological
  changes of the twentieth century. It brought
  upon a rise of the youth culture. The style was
  highly experimental and it had the use of
  fragments, juxtaposition, interior monologue, and
  stream of consciousness. Writers were seeking to
  create a new style. The effect of this period
  was that common readers were alienated by this
  literature.

Modernism
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• During this period people observed life as
  the media presented it rather than experiencing
  it directly. The populace of this period
  experienced post WWII prosperity and while the
  media culture interpreted the peoples values.
  The style present in this period was a mixture of
  fantasy with non fiction which blurs the lines of
  reality for the reader. A variety of styles
  emerged during this period including a rise in
  narratives, metafiction, magic realism, and a
  lack of heroes. The genre of the period was
  usually detached, unemotional and humorless.
  This period is revolutionary because it eroded
  the distinctions between classes of people. An
  additional effect of the period was that values
  are not permanent but merely temporary.

Post-Modernism
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• During this period the people experienced a
  new century and new millennium which stirred new
  ideas. Content included in this period is that
  people began learning to cope with problems
  through communication. Also the sense of
  identity is shaped by cultural and gender
  attitudes. Finally is the emergence of ethnic
  and women writers. Styles emerging in this
  period are both fiction and non-fiction
  narratives, anti-heroes, emotional works,
  humorous irony, and autobiographical essays.
  Effects of the period have not been concluded
  because it is too early to tell.

Contemporary
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Major Historical Events

• Modernism
• 1939- WWII begins
• 1941- Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese
• 1945- The U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima
  and Nagasaki, Japan

8
Major Historical Events

• Post-Modernism
• 1949- Apartheid occurs in South Africa
• 1950- The Korean War begins
• 1956- Fidel Castro takes power in a communist
  Cuba
• 1957- Sputnik, the first Russian satellite is
  launched
• 1963- President Kennedy assassinated
• 1968- Martin Luther King is assassinated
• 1980- Gulf War begins

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Major Historical Events

• Contemporary
• 1981- First PC launched by IBM
• 1991- Operation Desert Storm commenced by U.S.
• 1993- Waco Texas compound stormed by U.S.
  government agents.
• 1998- Explosive growth of internet for personal
  use
• 2001- Twin Towers attacked
• 2003- SARS epidemic spreads worldwide

10
People Worth Knowing

• Niels Bohr - regarded together with Einstein,
  Planck and Rutherford as the founder of
  contemporary physics.
• Max Planck - was a theoretical physicist, he
  discovered that radiation of energy was
  discontinuous which provided the basis for his
  quantum theory
• Albert Einstein - was one of the most creative
  scientists in human history. He initiated a
  revolution in scientific thought with his theory
  of relativity.
• Pablo Picasso - The Spanish painter, sculptor,
  and graphic artist was one of the most prodigious
  and revolutionary artists in the history of
  Western painting.
• George Bernard Shaw - G. S. Shaw was born in
  Dublin, Ireland, and became the most significant
  British playwright of the last 300 years.
• Bertold Brecht - His popularity came with the
  'Threepenny Opera' in 1928.

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People Worth Knowing

• Thomas Mann - Mann is the best-known German
  novelist of the early 1900's. ('The Magic
  Mountain)
• Ernest Hemingway - was a novelist and short-story
  writer who wrote in a virile and extrovert style.
  His literary work is distinguished for his
  concise stylistic purity, emotional veracity and
  dramatic vision.
• Bertrand Russell - ranks among the greatest
  philosophers of the 1900's and is known as the
  most important logician since Aristotle
• Jean-Paul Sartre - Sartre ranks as the most
  versatile writer and dominant influence in three
  decades of French intellectual life.
• Joseph Stalin - In the 1930's Stalin became
  virtual dictator of the USSR.
• Winton Churchill - was prime minister of England
  twice and played a considerable role in the
  eventual allied victory over Germany.
• Adolf Hitler - was the leader of the National
  Socialist German Worker's Party (Nazi) and the
  Fuhrer of the Third Reich. Historically he may be
  called the most destructive man of the 20th
  century and his reckless war policy contributed
  greatly to the decline of Europe as the center of
  world affairs

12
People Worth Knowing

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt - was the 32nd
  President of the US. He was born in Hyde Park,
  N.Y. Admitted to the New York bar in 1907, he
  served as a progressive state senator and
  assistant navy secretary. After a crippling
  attack of polio in 1921, he resumed his political
  career, becoming governor of New York.
• Mahatma Gandhi - Gandhi was the leader of the
  Indian nationalist movement against British rule
• Mao Tse-Tung - Leader and revolutionary
  strategist of the Chinese communist revolution

13
Prominent Authors and Their Works

• 1 Ernest Hemingway
• The Torrents of Spring
• The Sun Also Rises
• Winner Take Nothing

• 6 E.B. White
• Stuart Little
• Everyday is Saturday
• The Points of My Compass

• 2 William Faulkner
• Intruder in the Dust
• Knights Gambit
• The Hamlet

• 7 James Thurber
• Men Women and Dogs
• Many Moons
• The White Dear

• 3 Lewis Sinclair
• Gideon Planish
• Cass Timberlane
• The God-Seeker

• 8 Adrianne Rich
• A Change of World
• Leaflets
• The Dream of a Common Language

• 4 Pearl Buck
• Mandala
• The Hidden Flower
• East and West

• 9 Sylvia Plath
• Pursuit
• The Colussus
• The Bell Jar

• 5 R.P. Blackmur
• The Second World
• From Jordans Delight
• The Second World

• 10 Samuel Eliot Morrison
• Christopher Colomus
• Old Brain
• John Paul Jones

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Architecture

• Art Deco was a very popular form of
  architecture in the early contemporary period
  (1925-1940). This style was characterized by
  geometric designs, bold colors, and the use of
  plastic and glass. Newer styles today are still
  being influenced by this older pattern. This
  design did not just affect architecture, but also
  furniture, sculpture, clothing, and jewelry.

Chrysler Building This art deco masterpiece was
completed in 1930, its distinctive cap echoing
the shape of the 1929 Chrysler radiator cap. The
architect William Van Alen made many other
references to Chrysler automobiles in the design
and decoration of the building.
Essex house
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Architecture

• Modern architecture emerged in many Western
  countries in the decades after the World Wars.
  It is based on the rational use of modern
  materials, the principles of functionalist
  planning, and the rejection of historical
  precedent and ornament. This style has been
  generally designated as modern.

Abteiburg Museum An example of Modern
architecture designed by Hans Hollein.
Bank of China Tower
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Architecture
Allen-Lambe House By Frank Lloyd Wright
Fallingwater House By Frank Lloyd Wright
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Technological Advances

• 1942 Atomic Reaction
• 1951 UNVIC I commercial computer
• 1958 Polio Vaccine
• 1958 Explorer I Satellite
• 1969 Moon Landing
• 1974 Barcode
• 1981 Space Shuttle
• 1982 Artificial Heart
• 1983 Personal Computer

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Fashion

• 1947 Tight waist, Stiff petticoats, billowing
  skirts
• 1950 Stiletto Shoes
• 1954 Semi-fit dresses
• 1960s Mini-skirts Hot pants bell bottoms
• 1968 Earthy clothes
• 1970 Sweater Sets, form fitting dresses
• 1979 Leather becomes popular
• 1990s - Everything goes

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• Many Artist of the Contemporary period were
  influenced by the Harlem Renaissance
• Some of the artists included Charels Sebree, John
  Biggers, Hale Woodruff, Beauford Delaney and
  Ernie Barnes
• Ernie Barnes Sugar Shack has become famous in
  the last few decades
• Pablo Picasso was also world renown during this
  period for his revolutionary paintings
• Another form of Art for the time period is known
  as Contemporary Realism which is straightforward
  realistic style of painting which continues to be
  widely practiced in this post-abstract era
• Some of the best known Artists of this style are
  Neil Welliver, William Bailey, and Philip
  Pearlstein

Fine Art
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Music

• Jazz- A popular style of music which originated
  in the early twentieth century in New Orleans
  which combined elements of European-American and
  African music. This style developed largely in
  urban areas, especially in Chicago, and New York.
  It is characterized by syncopated rhythms, blue
  notes, and the use of the seventh and ninth
  cords.
• Famous artists Keter Betts, Benny Golson
• Blues- American form of folk music related to
  jazz. It is based on a simple, repetitive,
  poetic-musical structure. Famous artists B.B.
  King
• Broadway Musical- This popular form of theater
  was developed in the twentieth century America
  and England. These performances use popular
  music of the time to augment the story line.
  Famous artists Steve Barton (Raoul from Phantom
  of the Opera)
• Rock and Roll-A type of popular American music of
  the 1950s. Essentially this style is a highly
  rhythmic style of blues and most compositions are
  in some form of the twelve-bar blues form.
  Famous artists The Beatles (John Lennon, George
  Harrison, Paul McCartney, Stu Sutcliffe)
• Heavy Metal- A style of rock music characterized
  by the extreme use of the electric guitar, a
  persistent beat, either fast or slow, and a vocal
  part. This became very popular in the later half
  of the twentieth century mostly among young
  audiences.
• Famous artists Van Halen ( Eddie Van
  Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee
  Roth, Sammy Hagar, Gary Cherone)
• Rap- An American style of rhythmic chanting
  consisting of improvised rhymes performed to
  rhythmic accompaniment. Famous artists Eminem,
  50 Cent

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Billy Joel, We Didnt Start the Fire

• Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie
  RaySouth Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe
  DiMaggioJoe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker,
  televisionNorth Korea, South Korea, Marilyn
  Monroe
• Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, PanmunjomBrando,
  The King and I and The Catcher in the Rye
• Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new
  queenMarciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
• CHORUSWe didn't start the fireIt was always
  burningSince the world's been turningWe didn't
  start the fireNo we didn't light itBut we tried
  to fight it
• Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser aand
  ProkofievRockefeller, Campanella, Communist
  Bloc
• Roy hn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacronDien Bien
  Phu falls, Rock Around the Clock

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning
teamDavy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley,
Disneyland Bardot, Budapest, Alabama,
KrushchevPrincess Grace, Peyton Place, trouble
in the Suez CHORUS Little Rock, Pasternak,
Mickey Mantle, KerouacSputnik, Chou En-Lai,
Bridge on the River Kwai Lebanon, Charlse de
Gaulle, California baseballStarkweather,
homicide, children of thalidomide Buddy Holly,
Ben Hur, space monkey, MafiaHula hoops, Castro,
Edsel is a no-go U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and
KennedyChubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the
Congo CHORUS Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a
Strange LandDylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

• Lawrence of Arabia, British BeatlemaniaOle Miss,
  John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
• Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sexJFK,
  blown away, what else do I have to say
• CHORUS
• Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back
  againMoonshot, Woodsto, Watergate, punk
  rockBegin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the
  airlineAyatollah's in Iran, Russians in
  Afghanistan
• Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal,
  suicideForeign debts, homeless vets, AIDS,
  crack, Bernie GoetzHypodermics on the shores,
  China's under martial lawRock and roller cola
  wars, I can't take it anymore
• CHORUS
• We didn't start the fireBut when we are
  goneWill it still burn on, and on, and on, and
  on...