Integrated Modernisms

In the introduction to The Contemporaneity of Modernism, Michael D’arcy and Mathias Nilges acknowledge the existence of two dominant trends in New Modernist Studies concerning the potential for contemporary modernist literature1. They argue that despite a critical tradition aligned with the Frankfurt School’s critical theory and New Materialism, which suggests that art and the world are in a constant dialectical relationship, New Modernist Studies tend to prioritize either art or the world separately, rather than emphasizing their interconnectedness. As such, when focusing on art, New Modernist Studies engages with trust in modernist aesthetic autonomy that manifests by employing the legacy of historical modernism in contemporary fiction. When focusing on the world, instead, it rejects the tradition of aesthetic autonomy in favor of addressing what is essential for today’s society, namely the political and ethical dimensions of art.